Continuing his tradition of spending Diwali with soldiers who protect the Motherland, Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi on Thursday wished troops posted in the Nowshera sector of Jammu and Kashmir a Happy, Healthy and Safe Diwali.
According to forecasting agencies, the city is set to record its best air quality for the day after Diwali since 2015 on Tuesday.
Led by Congresswoman Carolyn B Maloney from New York, lawmakers on Wednesday announced that a bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives to declare Diwali, festival of lights, a federal holiday.
In a joint statement, Biden and Harris wished a happy Diwali to everyone celebrating the festival of lights across the US, India and the world.
In a statement, the Hindu American Foundation said: "Never before had a sitting US President personally celebrated the Diwali holiday, and with that one gesture, two million Hindu-Americans felt a bit more like they belonged -- one more reason to feel at home."
However, one younger Indian-American activist pointed out that 'this is the first time, a sitting president is actually going to be there at the Diwali observance.'
If you ask any young parent what they dread the most about planning their child's birthday, there'd be only one answer: Planning and buying return gifts, notes Divya Nair.
'This epic adaptation brings to life one of India's most cherished tales with unmatched scale and visionary storytelling.'
Uttam Ghosh outlins the festive madness
People visited their kith and kin, exchanged festive greetings and sweets while social media, including the likes of WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter, was flooded with Diwali messages as many took the virtual route to convey their wishes.
Modi invoked the epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata to assert that it is in Indian tradition to avoid war be it in Lanka or Kurukshetra and the country stands for world peace.
India's batting great Sachin Tendulkar celebrated Diwali at his home in Mumbai on Saturday, while Olympic medallists like Saina Nehwal and MC Mary Kom took to social media to wish their fans.
India is gearing up for the Festival of Lights in the times of the pandemic.
In his Diwali greetings on Thursday, Trump strongly "condemned the barbaric violence against Hindus, Christians, and other minorities in Bangladesh", which he said remains in a "total state of chaos."
The president and First Lady Laura Bush sent their greetings through the members of the community who came to the Indian Treaty Room of the White House to mark the occasion as it had been done in past years of the Republican administration.
After years of being sequestered by the pandemic, some intrepid travellers are planning to settle their score with the novel coronavirus. With fewer or no travel curbs, they are eager to get back on the road, again. Hotels and tour operators, too, are eager to shed excess Covid baggage. And this year's Diwali promises to add that extra layer sparkle with the introduction of new flights.
Indians around the world got a special Diwali message from outer space as Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams sent out warm wishes on the occasion from the International Space Station
Some sportsstars kept celebrations simple while some ushered in the Festival of Lights in style.
After their colleagues had departed following breezy fifties on a good M Chinnaswamy Stadium track, Iyer (128 not out) struck his fourth ODI ton before Rahul (102) exploded as the duo lit up the stage on the Hindu festival of Diwali to get India to 410-4.
Rohit Sharma urged everyone to celebrate cracker-free Diwali to ensure the safety of animals.
Presenting the best food pics shared by our readers this week.
Navendu Mishra (Stockport) and Nadia Whittome (Nottingham East) were among the other Labour MPs re-elected with convincing majorities.
The free trade agreement (FTA) talks with India are no longer working towards a Diwali deadline though negotiations are progressing well, UK Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch has said as New Delhi expressed confidence on Friday of an "early date" for a mutually beneficial deal. "There are ongoing negotiations as we know on the FTA. There is interest on both sides to see if we can work towards a deal, an FTA, that is beneficial to both the countries at an early date," external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi told reporters in New Delhi. It came as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke to his UK counterpart, James Cleverly, and referenced the Roadmap 2030 bilateral agreement signed between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former UK PM Boris Johnson in May last year, with no specific reference to the FTA.
The subscriber count made JioHotstar one of the largest OTT platforms in the world.
The currency in circulation (CIC) declined by Rs 7,600 crore in the Diwali week, making it the first such happening in two decades, a report said on Thursday. This was made possible courtesy of a greater reliance on digital payments by people, the report by economists at SBI said, adding that the Indian economy is undergoing a structural transformation at present. They clarified that the Diwali week in 2009 had also witnessed a marginal Rs 950 crore decline in currency in circulation, but that was purely due to the economic slowdown amid the global financial crisis.
The ISI strategy has been to use its proxies to target Hindus in India. They want an outrage and counter-targeting of India's minorities. Further, even the whiff of it restores the Pakistan army's popularity, especially when it's in the dumps, like now, points out Shekhar Gupta.
The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) also expects that consumers may spend about Rs 2 lakh crore during the Diwali festival sale period. "Like previous year, this year too CAIT has given a call of 'boycott Chinese goods' and it is certain that China is going to suffer a business loss of about Rs 50,000 crore in terms of stoppage of import of chinese goods by Indian traders," CAIT stated.
Diwali fashion is taking a new meaning this year.
Was this Chennai? Or Singapore? There's an area in Singapore that looked like a suburb of Chennai.
Uttam Ghosh's Take on Modi's controversial Diwali Nukes statement.
The Federation of Indian Associations of the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, the leading umbrella diaspora organisation in the US, partnering with the Empire State Building, marked the festival of lights by illuminating the iconic Manhattan building in orange on Friday.
Indians now want to travel abroad to celebrate Diwali: Survey
'There are supporters of Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi's government in Canada, but they do not represent all Hindu Canadians'
Sources had earlier said that the areas and patrolling status were expected to be moved back to pre-April 2020 level.
After spending his previous four Diwalis with the Armed Forces, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is breaking with tradition and spend Diwali this year in Kedarnath, setting off speculation that the decision was taken with an eye on the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. As the Festival of Lights is on us, here's looking back at Modi's Diwali celebrations.
Available in a range of standards, including gold and silver, the special collectors' coin is designed by Heena Glover and features an image of a lotus, India's national flower, alongside one of Gandhi's most famous quotes -- "My life is my message".
It sustained fatal bullet injuries on Monday while attempting to protect the troops from the terrorist assault.
A buoyant economic mood and tempting discounts, both online and offline, are fuelling a shopping frenzy this Diwali.
'For me, Diwali is all about sweets and shopping, spreading love and being with family and close friends.'
