Bills introduced in Michigan to recognise Diwali, Eid as official holidays
Darpan News Desk IANS, 28 Apr, 2023 11:06 AM
New York, April 28 (IANS) Three legislators, including an Indian-American, in the Michigan State House have introduced a set of bills to establish festivals like Diwali and Eid as official state-recognised holidays.
Led by Majority Floor Leader in the House, Abraham Aiyash, and state representatives Ranjeev Puri and Sharon MacDonell, introduced the legislation to make Diwali, Vaisakhi, Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha and Lunar New Year as official holidays in Michigan.
House Bills 4446 and 4449, introduced by Puri, establish Diwali and Vaisakhi as state holidays.
"Celebrating our cultural diversity is a cornerstone of a vibrant and inclusive society. By recognising these holidays, we are not only showing our respect and appreciation for the traditions and beliefs of our fellow Michiganders, but we are also sending a powerful message of inclusion and unity," Puri said.
A Hindu religious festival, Diwali celebrates the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance, and Vaisakhi is a spring harvest festival celebrated by both Hindus and Sikhs, a statement released by Michigan House Democrats read.
"These bills embrace the diverse fabric of our state by recognising various religious and cultural holidays," Aiyash said, introducing Bill 4447, which calls for Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr as state holidays.
"Making these holidays official state holidays will let Michigan's many communities know that they have a place in our great state and deserve to celebrate their joyous occasions like everyone else."
At present, Michigan has 12 officially recognised holidays, including Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Year, Juneteenth, and Martin Luther King Jr Day among the notable ones.
Close to 900,000 Asian Americans live in Michigan, with Indian-Americans making up the largest subgroup, according to Indian American Impact.
Most South Asians reside in Detroit and the surrounding area, in places like Troy, Novi, and Farmington Hills.
Recently, Pennsylvania declared Diwali as a national holiday after senators, Greg Rothman and Nikil Saval introduced a legislation in February this year.
Kunal Chopra was returning from work when his Hyundai Getz collided head-on with a concrete pumping truck on William Hovell Drive last week, SBS Punjabi, a multicultural and multilingual broadcaster in Australia, reported. The Australian Capital Territory Ambulance Service paramedics declared Chopra dead on the scene.
Harinder Singh Randhawa, who is recuperating in the hospital under police custody, was driving a Peugeot with four passengers inside when it collided with a Toyota Hilux ute at an intersection at Pine Lodge, near Shepparton earlier this month, the SBS Punjabi channel reported. Randhawa will be appearing in Melbourne Magistrates' Court on June 8.
More than 200 people held a candlelight vigil in McKinney, Texas, in the memory of a nine year-old Indian-origin boy who was allegedly stabbed to death by his father last week.Subramanian Ponnazhakan, 39, was booked on capital murder charge and his bail was set at $1 million, the McKinney Police said.
Among the 313 respondents from the US and India, more than half said they often do cyberbullying while only 6 per cent said they had never committed cyberbullying. Educated and married people, irrespective of their gender, were most likely to commit cyberbullying more frequently, but demographics were not the only factors at play.
Hashim Aziz was driving at over three times the speed limit to "impress his cousins" when his Audi A3 crashed into Baljinder Kaur Moore's Vauxhall Corsa in West Midlands, in November last year, the Mirror reported. Baljinder, 32, was on her way to pick up her husband from his brother's home, and she was driving at 62 mph.
From January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2016, Pandya knowingly submitted false claims to federal healthcare programmes for medically unnecessary cataract extraction surgeries and YAG laser capsulotomies, according to a Justice Department release.
