Joe Biden hosts the greatest Diwali party at the White House: President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden called Monday’s White House Diwali celebration the largest since President George W. Bush started celebrating the occasion.
Over 200 notable Indian Americans attended the East Room event. Here, Obama and Singh signed the nuclear pact and held a press conference in November 2008.
During the reception, the Sa Dance Company and sitarist Rishab Sharma put on entertaining cultural shows. The guests wore traditional Indian clothes like sarees, lehengas, and sherwanis while they ate delicious Indian food.
“The East State Dining Room packed… This event honors the accomplishments of the Indian American community throughout the country. The White House and the President are doing us all a great favor by hosting us on Diwali.
As an Indian American, I feel honored to be here, “said Atul Keshap, president of the US India Business Council,” to PTI during the event.
“It is a pleasure and an honor to be here to celebrate Diwali. According to H. R. Shah, chairman and CEO of TV Asia, the most prominent South Asian television station in the US, Indian Americans applaud the President and First Lady for this.
Joe Biden, Diwali Reception, and Indian Express. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden conduct a Diwali event in the White House East Room. Dancers perform throughout. Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein
Ajay Jain Bhutoria of the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders said the event recognized South Asian economic progress and COVID-19 response.
According to him, Biden has appointed a record number of over 130 Indo-Americans at different levels of the administration.
Bhutoria said Diwali showed “how much President Biden and this administration cherish and respect the South Asian community.”
Biden greeted attendees and claimed it was the White House’s largest Diwali celebration.
“The amazing South Asian community in America has helped the country emerge stronger from this pandemic, building an economy that works for everyone, teaching children and caring for elders, responding to the cry for action on climate change, working to fix the immigration system, defending rights and freedoms, building a more just and equitable country, serving and protecting our communities and the nation, informing, entertaining and inspiring,” he said.