November 6, 2010 – President Barack Obama makes a state visit to India. The year prior, he became the first U.S. president to host a Diwali celebration at the White House. He made this statement: “Last year, I marked this holiday as many will this weekend––by lighting the diya, or lamp. This lamp symbolizes the victory of light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance.”
Sindya N. Bhanoo writes the Observatory column in the Science section of The New York Times. She is also a board member of South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA). This column’s material is from SAADA. https://www.saada.org/.