“As President, I’ve been honored to host the biggest Diwali receptions ever at the White House,” shared President Joe Biden while welcoming hundreds of South Asians for Diwali celebrations to the White House in Washington DC, on October 28, 2024.
He expressed pride on the occasion saying, “Diwali is celebrated openly and proudly here in the White House… And, by the way, this is not my house. This is your house. No, it really is. It’s the People’s House.”
President Biden emphasized the importance of the South Asian American community – one of the fastest growing and most engaged groups in the country.
Reflecting on past celebrations, he recalled, “Jill and I hosted the first Diwali reception [in 2016] at the Vice President’s residence—an Irish Catholic Vice President opening our home for a holiday celebrated by Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs… How America can remind us all of our power to be the light, all of us.”
President Biden also highlighted the contributions of South Asian Americans throughout his public service career, noting their presence in his administration, from Vice President Kamala Harris to Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy and others at the event.
“I’m proud that I kept my commitment to have an administration that looks like America …taps into the full talents of our nation, including a record number of South Asian Americans at every level across our entire government.”
During a reception, President Biden called out the names of three Indian American members of Congress—Ro Khanna, Raja Krishnamoorthi, and Shri Thanedar, and even warmly asked, “Are your kids here, Ro?” and welcomed his children to join him on stage.
Referring to Astronaut Sunita Williams’ address prior to his speech from the Space, President Biden said, “We just heard how far that journey can take you as we watched Suni Williams wish us a happy Diwali from the International Space Station…” adding “She’s traveling 17,000 miles an hour, 5 miles a second, and she’s going to see 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets all while the very precise experiments are being done. It’s incredible. We couldn’t figure out when the hell she’d show up.”
The President went on to highlight how astronauts describe the thin blue line that separates Earth from Space—a line that represents life from destruction, light from darkness. He shared that celebrating the festival of lights at the White House felt especially meaningful when looking up to the heavens, keeping our heads high.
He further conveyed, “Together, we may show the power in the gathering of light — the light of knowledge; the light of unity and truth; the light of freedom of — for democracy, for America we share and cherish. Only in America is everything possible.”
President Biden also expressed that he selected Kamala to be his running mate for many reasons. “She’s smart. She’s tough. She’s trusted. A District Attorney, an Attorney General of California, a United States Senator, now Vice President of the United States.”
Referring to President Trump without naming him, he went on, “There’s more experience that she has than the whole of that other guy she’s running against,” he added.
He recalled that in late November 2016, a dark cloud of “hate and hostility” was aimed towards immigrants, including South Asian Americans, and that America is experiencing it again in 2024.
Emphasizing the message of Diwali, Dr. Murthy, who spoke before President Biden, underscored, “Choose light always, whatever the future may bring. It is our light and our fierce commitment to one another that will see us through to a better day,” recalling his childhood experiences celebrating Diwali in the US.
Astronaut Sunita Williams in her message, stated that this year she has the “unique opportunity,” to celebrate Diwali from 260 miles above Earth on the ISS.
“On this day, I specifically think about my father, who immigrated to the US from India. He kept and shared his cultural roots by teaching us about Diwali and other Indian festivals. Diwali is a time of joy as goodness in the world prevails,” she added.
President Biden was introduced at the event by Shrusti Amula, a freshman at Georgetown University, and the founder of the Rise and Shine Foundation, a youth-led nonprofit focused on reducing food waste in Clarksburg, Maryland.
