Diwali Holiday: New York has become the second state to declare a school holiday on Diwali, reports Mint.Earlier this year, Pennsylvania became the first state to make Diwali a public holiday.The New York City Assembly and Senate passed the bill last week, Now, Governor Kathy Hochul is likely to sign this bill into law. According to The Times of India, two other attempts in 2021 and 2022 had failed to make Diwali a public holiday in New York.
Assemblywoman Jennifer Rajkumar who had introduced the bill in the New York Assembly said she felt vindicated when it was voted by the City. Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers celebrate Diwali as the Festival of Lights and New York City’s decision makes them feel included.
Diwali is also celebrated in the White House and the US Capitol. However, it hasn’t been considered a federal festival so far. US Congresswoman Grace Meng has introduced The Diwali Day Act in Congress. If passed by both wings of the Congress, Diwali would become the 12th federally recognized festival in the United States.
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It is noteworthy that New York City’s decision comes a few days ahead of PM Modi’s state visit to the United States.
Indian Americans in Greater New York
The term Indian American refers to citizens of the United States with Indian ancestry. “Indians” on the other hand, are Native Americans or Red Indians.
According to Wikipedia, the number of Indian Americans in the US is 4.5 million and they make up 1.5% of the country’s population. ‘
As per Census 2020, the New York Metropolitan Statistical Area has over 650,000 Indians.
Socio-economic status
As per US Census Statistics, Indian Americans continuously outpace other ethnic groups in the US in terms of income.
According to a survey, Indians form the second largest group of physicians after non-Hispanic Caucasian Americans.
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