Today is Diwali. Diwali is India's biggest holiday.
It’s essentially the Christmas of India.
I didn’t grow up celebrating it because we are Sikh. But now I do celebrate it with my Hindu friends and plan on going to a celebration with fireworks tonight, which I am very excited about.
My parents grew up celebrating Diwali, but there is something that happened to Sikhs after 1984. The Prime Minister of India was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards after she ordered the military assault on the Golden Temple, the holiest gurudwara in Sikhism.
There were riots in India after Indira Gandhi’s death.
There were anti-Sikh pogroms in India, in which Sikhs were tortured, murdered, and raped in the streets in a manner I would not like to remember. I was 9 years old, and I remember my mom crying, and my uncle lived with us, and he had a turban. I remember someone throwing rocks through our window.
Many Sikhs in India in 1984 were at risk of being killed, tortured, or raped.
Sorry about the short history lesson, but the reason it is important is that Sikhs started to build an identity that was very separate from Hindus at that time. Sikhism had a distinct religious identity long before 1984. But the events of 1984 profoundly intensified that distinction for many Sikhs. That's an important difference.
Things are calmer now; it’s been a while. But there are many Sikhs who have been scarred for life after 1984. Some of them fled India and came to places like America.
Anyways, back to Diwali.
There's an interesting historical connection to Sikhs. Sikhs also celebrate Bandi Chhor Divas, which falls on Diwali. It commemorates Guru Hargobind's release from imprisonment, along with 52 other princes. Not all Sikhs celebrate Diwali in the same way, but the connection is important.
I remember the Diwali a year before my dad died. He asked me to bring him mithai, or Indian sweets. I was too depressed to do that. God, I regret that. Damn it.
Anyway, Diwali is so much fun, and these past ten years I have been celebrating with good friends of mine who are obsessed with fireworks. I’m not a pyromaniac. I light candles a lot, but am constantly afraid I will set my hair or the house on fire.
But let’s celebrate; it is a good time. Whether it be Diwali or Bandi Chhor Divas!
Happy Holidays!
nina
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