US President Donald Trump celebrates Diwali with Indian diaspora, CEOs; participates in the ceremonial lighting of the diya | Details | Today’s news
US President Donald Trump attended Diwali celebrations at the White House on Friday (local time) and also joined the diya lighting ceremony.
The rally was attended by several prominent members of the Indian diaspora as they celebrated the festival of lights inside Trump’s executive office, PTI reported.
Among those present were India’s ambassador to the US, Vinay Mohan Kwatra; FBI Director Kash Patel; celebrity chef Vikas Khanna; businessman Vishal Gondal; IBM CEO Arvind Krishna; and US National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya.
Trump celebrates Diwali with Indian businessmen
During Diwali celebrations in the Oval Office, the US President also met prominent Indian-American members of his administration, businessmen and top CEOs, including Sanjay Mehrotra of Micron Technology.
Among those in attendance were Ruby Dhalla, President and CEO of the Dhalla Group of Companies; Rajiv Sharma, Founder and CEO of Knack Systems; Viswajith Mallampati, president of Keshavam DC; and Hetalkumar Patel, guest of the President.
The celebrations began with Trump lighting a diya in the Oval Office amid an intimate gathering that also included Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Social Security Administration Deputy Commissioner Arjun Mody.
Events at the White House Usher Arvind Chadha was also present at the celebration.
Gondal, founder and CEO of GOQii Technologies, wrote in a post on X: “A moment of shared light in the Oval Office.” He added: “Honored to celebrate Diwali with President @realDonaldTrump and proud to present him with a copy of the Hanuman Chalisa, Tulsidas’ hymn to Lord Hanuman, recited by millions of us for courage, devotion and strength.”
He also shared photos from the celebrations and wrote, “As the diyas were lit, my prayer was for friendship between India and America and for the triumph of light over darkness. Jug Jug Jiyo, a blessing that many of us have heard, means ‘may you live forever’.” It’s the wish behind everything I do, and today I did it for everyone around the world: peace, prosperity, good health and longevity.”
History of White House Diwali Celebrations
According to PTI, former US President George W. Bush started the tradition of celebrating Diwali at the White House in 2003. Earlier, Diwali celebrations were mostly held at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in the presence of members of the Indian-American community and Indian diplomats.
Six years later, Barack Obama became the first US president to light the diya (lamp) at the White House during a ceremony in the East Room in 2009.
Since then, Diwali celebrations with the lighting of lamps have been held at various locations in the White House.
