Now, the Hindu festival Diwali is a public school holiday in New York City. Mayor Eric Adams officially declared the news a few hours back. Assembly Member Jenifer Rajkumar joined the Mayor’s announcement at City Hall today. Ms. Rajkumar is the first South Asian-American woman ever to be elected to a state office in New York
“When we acknowledge Diwali, we are going to encourage children to learn about Diwali,” said Mayor in the announcement.
New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks said that on the campaign trail, he learned so much about the festival. Rajkumar in the speech said that we recognize the festival of lights. “Today we say to families from India, Guyana, Trinidad, Nepal, and Bangladesh, we recognize you. We say to the 200,000 Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, and Jain Americans, we see you.”
For the school system to meet the 180 days a year in the school requirement, they eliminated Anniversary Day to accommodate Diwali as the holiday.
