Hindu Heritage Month Concludes With Milestones
A ‘Shobha Yatra’ was held in Chicago, IL on October 10.
India-West Staff Reporter
BOSTON, MA – The declaration and celebration of October as the Hindu Heritage Month, while in just its second year, has received tremendous response.
This year’s HHM became an international phenomenon with 180 Hindu organizations– from New Zealand to Norway – joining in to celebrate their cultural and spiritual heritage as one.
In the US nearly 25 states and 50 city governments rose to acknowledge the many contributions of the Hindu diaspora and issued formal proclamations declaring October as Hindu Heritage Month, a press release said.
Organizers said more than 200 events had been held around this year’s theme, “Relevance and Importance of Hindu Values in Today’s World,” which was launched with an inaugural program on October 1.
Other highlights included a multi-day conference, showcasing the ongoing contributions of the next generation of Hindus in their public and professional lives, “Enlivening Hindu Heritage: Voices of Diaspora Raised Hindus.” A special edition was published of ‘Hindu Vishwa,’ a quarterly magazine of the World Hindu Council of America (VHPA), one of the leading organizers of Hindu Heritage Month.
Events across the world ranged from the traditional Navaratri, Durga Puja, Vijaya Dashami, and Deepawali festival celebrations that fall in October – the very reason the month was picked to showcase Hindu heritage – to educational seminars and promotional talks.
Service events like blood drives, fund-raising walks, and a megaton food collection drive for the needy, also drew huge responses.
The organizing team, keen that the oft-repeated statement of the youth being the future goes beyond being a mere cliché, held networking events that had Hindus from 15 nations participating, the release said.
Looking forward, Dr. Jai Bansal, the global coordinator for Hindu Heritage Month, said that while they were delighted with the momentum HMM had gathered, they were hoping to ride on it to make it a more encompassing one with several tangible goals including working to have a formal declaration of October as Hindu Heritage Month in five countries by 2025 and a United Nations declaration to the same effect by 2030.
Hindu Heritage Month aims to provide a common global platform to showcase the rich and diverse Hindu heritage and, increase awareness of their core principle that the ‘world is one family.’
