President Biden Celebrates Diwali at the White House with Indian American Community

US President Joe Biden celebrated Diwali on Monday at the White House.

The event was attended by more than 600 prominent Indian Americans, according to news agency PTI.

Biden said, “As President, I have been honoured to host the biggest Diwali receptions ever at the White House. To me, it means a great deal. As Senator, Vice President, and President; South Asian Americans have been key members of my staff."

He added, “From Kamala to Dr. Murthy to so many of you here today, I'm proud that I kept my commitment to have an administration that looks like America.”

The event included an introduction by Indian American youth activist Shrusti Amula.

There were also speeches from Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy, the US Surgeon General, and Sunita Williams, a retired Navy officer and NASA astronaut, who sent a video message from the International Space Station.

Vice President Kamala Harris and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden were absent due to campaign obligations.

Biden remembered the first Diwali celebration at the White House in 2016.

He noted that a “dark cloud formed from hate and hostility toward immigrants, including South Asian Americans” had appeared again in 2024.

He said, “An Irish Catholic President, Vice President at the time, opened our home for holiday celebrations by Hindus, Buddhists, Jainists, Sikhs, and more. How America reminds us all of our power to be the light, all of us.”

Biden lit a formal diya in the Blue Room and thanked the South Asian American community for its role in American democracy.

He stated, “On this day in America, we think about that journey of light. Early in our nation's founding, a generation before diya, in the shadow of suspicion, now in a time Diwali is celebrated openly and proudly here in the White House.”