Diwali – The Festival of Light and Brotherhood
- Shared Celebrations in India’s Glorious Past
- The British Policy of Divide and Rule
- Lighting a Diya – A Simple Act of Harmony
Justice Markandey Katju urges Muslims and other non-Hindus across India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh to celebrate Diwali to revive harmony and Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb.
My appeal to all Muslims and other non-Hindus in the Indian subcontinent to celebrate Diwali
By Justice Markandey Katju
I had gone to the dargah of the great sufi saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia in Delhi on his urs on 12th October 2025 with my friend Salman Khurshid, the eminent senior advocate of the Supreme Court and former Indian Foreign Minister, about which I wrote an article, whose link is below :
The purpose of the visit was to send a message throughout the Indian subcontinent that despite differences in religion, and despite the efforts of some elements to sow discord between us, we Hindus and Muslims stand united together by the Ganga Jamuna tehzeeb.
For the same purpose, I have kept one day roza for the last 25-30 years during the Holy Month of Ramadan
Diwali, the Hindu festival of light, symbolizing the victory of good over evil, is coming on 20th October this year.
On this occasion I appeal to Muslims and other non Hindus of the Indian subcontinent to celebrate it along with their Hindu brothers and sisters, to show their solidarity with Hindus, as I have appealed earlier
At one time, Hindus would participate in Eid and Muharram, and Muslims would participate in Holi and Diwali. Even Mughal Emperors such as Akbar, Jehangir, Shah Jahan, and the later Mughals up to Bahadur Shah Zafar, as well as the Nawabs of many kingdoms in India like Avadh and Murshidabad would celebrate Holi and Diwali.
Diwali was also known as Jashn-e-Chiraghaan and celebrated by Muslim rulers with great enthusiasm. Some paintings of Muslim rulers and their wives celebrating Diwali are given at the end of this article.
After the Great Mutiny of 1857 the British rulers started the nefarious practice of divide and rule, and sowed the venom of communal hatred, because of which this practice largely stopped.
It is time to revive and renew the amiable custom of celebrating festivals of all religions together. I am confident non-Hindus everywhere will pay heed to this appeal and celebrate Diwali on 20th October this year.
How to celebrate Diwali is up to you. One way is to light and place a ‘diya’ (an earthen lamp) in front of your house (if that is not available, some other kind of lighting), and greeting your Hindu friends with some sweets.
I particularly appeal to Muslims and Christians in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh to celebrate Diwali by at least lighting one lamp ( diya ) and placing it outside the door of your house. A pic may be sent to me on justicekatju@gmail.com with your name, location and other details, which I will post on my fb page, if you permit.
Upto 1857 there was no communal problem in India, and Hindus and Muslims used to live like brothers and sisters, and participate in each others festivals.
In 1857 the Great Mutiny broke out, in which Hindus and Muslims jointly fought against the British. After suppressing the Mutiny, the British decided that the only way to control and rule India was divide and rule, i.e. make Hindus and Muslims fight each other.
Letters came from the Secretary of State for India in London to the British Viceroy in India for this purpose.
All communal riots began after 1857. Details about how this policy of divide and rule was implemented are given in the first link in this article, so I am not repeating them.
The communal venom was injected into our society year after year and decade after decade, first by the British, and after 1947 by some other elements who benefited from inflaming communal tension and hatred.
When a poison enters our body, doctors give antidotes to neutralize its effects. Lighting a lamp on Diwali by Muslims and other non-Hindus in our subcontinent is one of such antidotes against the communal poison. No doubt it is only a small one, and many more antidotes will have to be given to totally eliminate the venom, but it is a step in the right direction. We must all unite, and give a strong rebuff to communal elements, and this is one way to do it.
Last year when I made a similar appeal there was an overwhelming response from the students ( almost all Muslims ) of Rehan School, Korangi Campus, Karachi, Pakistan, who celebrated Diwali by lighting diyas (earthen lamps). This gesture, including the participation of the school’s principal, Altaf Educationwaala, symbolized a historical event where Muslims celebrated a Hindu festival.
Diwali is celebrated in the famous dargah of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya in Delhi which I visited recently along with my friend Salman Khurshid
(Justice Katju is a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India. These are his personal views.)
