The battle of Deepavali VS Diwali

It's the time of the year again where the festival of lights is ushered in merrily. In Malaysia, the festival of lights is celebrated in a grand scale by Hindus - we don't even get public holiday for Pongal, only for the festival of lights and Thaipusam in some states.

You might be wondering why I am using the term festival of lights instead of just Deepavali. Because that's not the only term to address the festival and the irk evoked when it's mentioned as Diwali - particularly on behalf of Malaysian Hindu Tamil people. I am a Malaysian Hindu Tamil myself but I am an exception to this status quo come the festival of lights addressing. Because for the non Tamil Hindus/Jains/Sikhs here, they call the festival of lights differently - Punjabi and Telugu people call it Diwali/Divali respectively while Malayalam people call it Deepaveli. It's Dipavali in Kannada.

Most Malaysian Hindu Tamil people frown on the using of the term Diwali as it is a perceived glorification of the North India people. Some see it as the preservation of the Tamil language. But mostly it's due to the 'we're the majority so we are special' kind of thinking exactly like a significant chunk of the Malays. Somehow, when a group of people is the majority, their tendency to become hostile towards the minorities elevates. If North India people make up the majority here and the Tamils minority, the same situation will persist. It's about not only racism, it's the power of being in a greater number which incurs bullying predisposition, perhaps in human nature.

But, it's mostly due to ignorance and apathy - we don't acknowledge diversity present in this diaspora of ours. And, we like to separate ourselves in silos and in the name of Tamil nationalism, hate non Tamil people. Non Tamil people are no better at times. And, we all know of the Cauvery issue. Actually, Indians can do everything, be it in Malaysia or the Indian subcontinent - can land orbit on Mars on first attempt, can be math geniuses, can work in NASA but cannot unite. We're not only divided by ethnicity but also by caste and connected to both, skin color. And, we're shamelessly perpetuating division despite the first man who proposed the idea of global citizenship being an Indian, a Tamil at that, Kaniyan Poongudranar who gave the world these words, 'yaathum oore, yaavarum kelir' which Abdul Kalam explains in the video below.

So, are we continuing the legacy of the great Tamil poet said 3000 years ago? Let's not point fingers at others, be the change you want to see - again, words by Mahatma Gandhi, another Indian. Like I said, Indians can do everything but unite.

Now, Diwali is the universal term for the festival of lights. Obama says Happy Diwali to the NRIs in the US, who spearhead Uncle Sam's development.

It's not wrong for us to want to preserve our heritage and language. What's wrong is being an imposing bully while doing it, trampling on the rights of others to preserve their language and heritage. We have various names for god - iraiva, andava, kadavul, sami, bhagwan, rab (Yes, Rab ne.. banadi Jodi) devuda but it all means god. Similarly, Deepavali, Diwali, Divali, Deepaveli or Dipavali, all of it is festival of lights.