Congressman Danny K. Davis of Chicago, Illinois, Nov. 3 hosted a Congressional reception to celebrate India’s oldest and largest festival Diwali at the National Democratic Club in Washington, DC.
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lit the traditional Indian lamp to signify Diwali and headlined the event. Several prominent elected officials joined the historic celebrations, a news release said.
Dr. Vijay G Prabhakar, Indian American community leader from Chicago, said that this Diwali celebration with the participation of Pelosi, the third-highest elected official of the US was significant.
Neil Khot, national chairman of the Indian American Business Coalition, praised the inspiring leadership of Prabhakar for facilitating this historic event and for also organizing Diwali celebrations in the City of Chicago Council, Cook County Treasurer’s Office and the State of Illinois government for the first time in 184 years.
Kishor Mehta, emeritus chair of Davis’s Multi-Ethnic Advisory Task Force, thanked Davis, who was the only congressman from the Midwest who welcomed India’s Prime Minister Modi to the United States in New York in 2014 and in Houston in 2019, for hosting the Diwali celebration.
Mehta added that Davis has been an ardent supporter of strong U.S.-India ties especially recalling his pioneering efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, the release said.
The Indian American Business Coalition, USA, American Multi-Ethnic Coalition, World Federation of Tamil Youth, Chicago Indo-U.S. Lions Club, and the Congressional Multi-Ethnic Advisory Task Force facilitated similar Diwali celebrations for the first time ever at Chicago City Council on Nov. 4, the Cook County Treasurer’s Office on Nov. 5 and the State of Illinois House Speaker’s office Nov. 8.
