Diwali celebrations just got grander for the Hindu community in Florida, USA. In another big win for the community, Broward County in Florida has recognized November as Hindu Heritage Month. A resolution was adopted by Broward County also recognizing the contributions of Hinduism in the form of Yoga, Ayurveda, meditation, food, music, arts, and much more.
The resolution was shared by the Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA) on social media platform X, formerly Twitter. CoHNA is a grassroots advocacy group representing the Hindu community of North America and seeks to protect the collective interests of the Hindu community.
The resolution reads: “Hinduism is one of the world’s largest and oldest religions with over 1.2 billion adherents in over 100 countries and which encompasses an array of diverse traditions and belief systems, also known as “Sanatana Dharma,” with core values of acceptance, mutual respect, freedom and peace.”
It further goes on to talk about the contributions of Hinduism to the world and that of Hindu Americans to the United States. The resolution document concludes by declaring that “the School Board of Broward County, Florida declares November as Hindu Heritage Month to recognize and celebrate the importance and valuable contributions of the Hindu community in Broward County.”
The resolution also mentioned the significance of Diwali in Hinduism. This comes following a petition called by the CoHNA seeking to declare Diwali as a school holiday in Broward County.
“We thank our volunteers who worked with our partners such as Networking for Hindu Professionals and local community leaders to make this happen,” the CoHNA posted on their X account.
In April this year, Georgia became the first American state to pass a resolution condemning Hinduphobia. The ordinance read, “In July 2022, a report released by Rutgers University titled “Anti-Hindu Disinformation: A Case Study of Hinduphobia on Social Media” detailed how hate messages in social media translate into real-life threats for people of the Hindu faith.”
Just last month, Georgia also passed a resolution declaring October as Hindu Heritage Month. On 18th May 2023, the first Hindu and Indian American Ohio State Senator Niraj Antani followed suit and introduced a resolution to condemn Hinduphobia. Antani had in February introduced another resolution to declare October as ‘Hindu Heritage Month.
The development shows the repeated triumphs of the Hindu community living abroad in upholding their religious rights in the face of the anti-Hindu lobbyists that are targeting the Hindu faith from all fronts.