The school board of Broward County in South Florida announced in December 2024 that starting in 2025, the Hindu festival of Diwali will be an official school holiday in the county’s public schools. The decision came after more than a year of advocacy and organizing by the Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA), and local community leaders.
The advocacy effort started in the summer of 2023 when locals Shekhar Reddy and Fareida Rajkumar launched an online petition and circulated a toolkit for parents to reach out to the Broward County School Board and campaign for the inclusion of Diwali in the list of official school holidays.
“I want my fellow Hindu brothers and sisters from the entire diaspora to learn that we can accomplish so much more when we work together,” said Fareida Rajkumar, who was instrumental in leading this effort. “Having one strong voice should be a priority. We need to support our local elected officials, volunteer in our cities, and run for local office so we can represent the Hindu voice in America.”