HR 111
Page 1
Date of Hearing: July 1, 2024
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON RULES
Blanca Pacheco, Chair
HR 111 (Kalra) – As Introduced June 26, 2024
SUBJECT: Diwali.
SUMMARY: Recognizes this year’s Diwali festival on Friday, November 1, 2024, encourages
Californians to take part in this joyous day of celebration, and recognizes the religious and
historical significance of the festival of Diwali. Specifically, this resolution makes the
following legislative findings:
1) Diwali is a festival of lights during which celebrants light small oil lamps, place them around
the home, and pray for health, knowledge, and peace.
2) Diwali falls on Friday, November 1 this year in accordance with the lunar calendar and is
celebrated by Hindus as a day of thanksgiving for the homecoming of Lord Rama and the
beginning of the new year for many Hindus.
3) Diwali, a festival of great significance to Indian Americans and South Asian Americans, is
celebrated annually by Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Jains throughout the United States, and
across the globe. The word “Diwali” is a shortened version of the Sanskrit term “Deepavali,”
which means “a row of lamps.”
4) There are approximately 3.23 million Hindus in the United States, nearly 2 million of whom
are of Indian and South Asian origin.
5) Diwali, one of the world’s oldest religious holidays, brings together families, friends, and
communities here in California, the United States, and around the globe in goodwill, peace,
and a shared sense of renewal.
6) Hindu celebrants of Diwali believe that the rows of lamps symbolize the light of knowledge
and truth within the individual that signifies the destruction of all negative qualities—
violence, anger, jealousy, ignorance, greed, fear, or suffering; in other words, Diwali
celebrates the victory of good over evil.
7) For Sikhs, Diwali coincides with Bandi Chhor Divas, meaning Day of Liberation, marking
the day that the sixth founding Sikh Guru, or revered teacher, Guru Hargobind, was released
from captivity by the Mughal Emperor Jahangir after wrongful imprisonment.
8) For Jains, Diwali marks the anniversary of the attainment of moksha, or liberation, by
Mahavira, the last of the Tirthankaras (the great teachers of Jain dharma), at the end of his
life in 527 B.C.
9) For Buddhists, especially Newar Buddhists, Diwali is commemorated as Ashok
Vijayadashami, the day the great Emperor Ashoka embraced Buddhism as his faith.
FISCAL EFFECT: This resolution is keyed non-fiscal by Legislative Counsel.
 HR 111
Page 2
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by: Michael Erke / RLS. / (916) 319-2800