WASHINGTON (Diya TV) — Indian Americans will finally have a stamp of their own, a joyous victory in a matter the community have fought rigorously for to mark the symbolic coming of age of an increasingly influential ethnic minority.
The U.S. Postal Service announced Tuesday it will issue a stamp to commemorate Hinduism as it has in years past for other religions, said Congresswoman Caroline Maloney during a press conference in New York. The stamp will bare the picture of a diya, known simply as a Diwali lamp, and will be officially launched in October.
The diya was photographed by Sally Andersen-Bruce, the stamp was designed by Greg Breeding, and William J Gicker of the postal service was the project’s art director.
“I really feel uplifted,” said Ranju Batra, the Indian American who spearheaded the Diwali Stamp Project for years. She attended Maloney’s announcement in person.
According to MR Rangaswami, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur who began working on the project of commissioning a stamp years ago, Indian Americans as a whole first launched the effort nearly two decades ago — the first efforts, launched by Washington doctor Shailendra Kumar, fizzled out because of a lack of traction.
“There wasn’t enough support,” Rangaswami said.
The community refused to quit. As their efforts became more amplified, their organization gained more structure, and soon, it caught the attention of Maloney. She got involved in the project in 2014, when she moved for a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“But a resolution was not sufficient to move the US postal service to issue a stamp,” said Rangaswami. The community began writing to the service.
More than 10,000 hand-written petitions were submitted on the matter throughout the years. Additionally, in a further effort to impress Washington lawmakers, the community organized a Diwali event on Capitol Hill in 2015. Finally, a resolution was moved in the Senate by Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat, and Republican John Cornyn, both of whom serve as co-chairs of the Indian Cauc
Rangaswami said Indian Americans needed the stamp as a “symbolic coming of age of the community,” to reflect, perhaps, their growing clout in the country.
“HAF is proud to have been a part of what truly was a grassroots community effort,” said Suhag A. Shukla, Esq., Hindu American Foundation Executive Director and Legal Counsel. “The issuance of the Diwali stamp symbolizes several important things: it displays the strength of the Hindu American community when we unite behind a cause; it celebrates the contributions of our community to America; and most importantly, it acknowledges the strength our country draws from its diversity. This year and for many more, diyas and spirits will shine brighter, as will greetings cards and gift packages sent donning the Diwali stamp.”
