ISSUE
Friday, August 22, 2025
Volume 16 . Issue 73
Diwali is a Hindu festival, right? Not if you live in Wellington. A trend observed in the country’s rapidly expanding culturescape is that of various Indian associations and organisations launching annual Diwali festivals to shine in its limelight.
Two things are happening here. One, the eternal message of Diwali – good triumphs over evil – is being ignored.
Secondly, instead of being described as a Hindu festival, Diwali is being generalised as a South Asian festival of lights. Now Hindus, who believe in the concept of “the world is one family”, are not about to file a patent on Diwali, but they do get worried when others wittingly or otherwise delink it from Hinduism.
One of the biggest ethnic celebrations in New Zealand is the Diwali Festival of Lights organised in Wellington by Community Action Trust New Zealand (CATNZ) in partnership with Asia New Zealand Foundation (Asianz), an NGO dedicated to building New Zealanders’ knowledge and understanding of Asia.
To its credit, Asianz says on its website that Diwali is an ancient Hindu festival. (Although it adds incorrectly that it marks the beginning of the Hindu New Year.) CATNZ, however, describes Diwali as a South Asian festival, totally blanking out the festival’s Hindu origins.
(For the record, Diwali has been celebrated since ancient times when the citizens of the kingdom of Ayodhya in central India lit millions of lamps to welcome King Rama, who was returning after slaying Ravan, the unrighteous king of Lanka. Hence the term “festival of lights”.)
So describing Diwali as a South Asian festival is simply misleading. South Asia is a sweeping geographical term whereas Diwali is celebrated only by Hindus. The festival is celebrated wherever there are large Hindu communities such as in Fiji, Trinidad, Guyana, the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand – none of which is in South Asia.
The abundance of food, fun, dance, music, fireworks and other myriad forms of entertainment during Diwali should not divert us from the festival’s primary message: truth and knowledge will always prevail.
That message – more than any cultural gala – can act as the healing touch for New Zealanders impacted by natural calamities and an uncertain economic climate.
Rakesh is a writer based in Auckland. He has previously worked at India Today, Hindustan Times, Business Standard and was news editor at the Financial Express.
Diwali is a Hindu festival, right? Not if you live in Wellington. A trend observed in the country’s rapidly expanding culturescape is that of various Indian associations and organisations launching annual Diwali festivals to shine in its limelight.
Two things are happening here. One, the eternal...
Diwali is a Hindu festival, right? Not if you live in Wellington. A trend observed in the country’s rapidly expanding culturescape is that of various Indian associations and organisations launching annual Diwali festivals to shine in its limelight.
Two things are happening here. One, the eternal message of Diwali – good triumphs over evil – is being ignored.
Secondly, instead of being described as a Hindu festival, Diwali is being generalised as a South Asian festival of lights. Now Hindus, who believe in the concept of “the world is one family”, are not about to file a patent on Diwali, but they do get worried when others wittingly or otherwise delink it from Hinduism.
One of the biggest ethnic celebrations in New Zealand is the Diwali Festival of Lights organised in Wellington by Community Action Trust New Zealand (CATNZ) in partnership with Asia New Zealand Foundation (Asianz), an NGO dedicated to building New Zealanders’ knowledge and understanding of Asia.
To its credit, Asianz says on its website that Diwali is an ancient Hindu festival. (Although it adds incorrectly that it marks the beginning of the Hindu New Year.) CATNZ, however, describes Diwali as a South Asian festival, totally blanking out the festival’s Hindu origins.
(For the record, Diwali has been celebrated since ancient times when the citizens of the kingdom of Ayodhya in central India lit millions of lamps to welcome King Rama, who was returning after slaying Ravan, the unrighteous king of Lanka. Hence the term “festival of lights”.)
So describing Diwali as a South Asian festival is simply misleading. South Asia is a sweeping geographical term whereas Diwali is celebrated only by Hindus. The festival is celebrated wherever there are large Hindu communities such as in Fiji, Trinidad, Guyana, the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand – none of which is in South Asia.
The abundance of food, fun, dance, music, fireworks and other myriad forms of entertainment during Diwali should not divert us from the festival’s primary message: truth and knowledge will always prevail.
That message – more than any cultural gala – can act as the healing touch for New Zealanders impacted by natural calamities and an uncertain economic climate.
Rakesh is a writer based in Auckland. He has previously worked at India Today, Hindustan Times, Business Standard and was news editor at the Financial Express.
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