For the past few years I have dreaded the approach of Diwali. Why? Because my email inbox gets flooded with emails asking me to sign a petition so that we can have a U.S. Postal Stamp commemorating the Hindu holiday. As if a simple postage stamp would rid me of years of pent up post-colonial anger.
To: Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee, c/o Stamp Development, U S Postal Service, Washington, DC
Dear Ronald A Robinson,
Chairman - Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee
We are requesting you to issue a US postal stamp commemorating ” Deepawali”, the ancient and joyous festival of lights celebrated universally by Hindu and several other faiths, reflecting the unity and multi-cultural rich diversity of the people of USA and India.
Freedom of religion is a hallmark of United States of America. The U.S. Postal Service has befittingly honored Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Eid by issuing commemorative stamps depicting these festivals. According to former President William J Clinton, ” Deepawali” presents all of us with an opportunity to reflect on the many ways, the talent, the history and the traditions of the Indian people who have contributed to our national life and cultural heritage. President George W Bush, this year- even though he was traveling in Asia-, made sure that ” Deepawali” was celebrated in The White House and he sent personal greetings and felicitations to the community on ” Deepawali”… [Link]
Even our own Sajit spread the word in 2004, prior to the formation of the Mutiny. Manish reluctantly followed suit in 2005. Now a crack team of SAJA assembled journalists [led by Arun Venugopal] has finally provided me with the excuse I needed to ignore this stupid petition, guilt free. The whole thing is fake.
The petition was started by [signatory] #2, Bob Ghosh, a businessman in Atlanta, and Amitabh Sharma (#42), who wrote the polite and pluralistic-minded appeal to Ronald A Robinson, whom they identify as Chairman of the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee (the Chairman’s name varies depending on the email you receive, as this early hoax detector realized)…The petition has been blessed with some very high-profile names, including Amitabh Bachan (sic, #452) and Bihar’s own Laloo Prasad Yadav (#458), as well non-desi celebrities like Bill Gates (#590), and dead ones like Nehru (#843)…
But none of that appears to change the basic futility of the matter. The US Postal Service most respectfully wants us to know that petitions don’t actually count.
“We do not track the number of signatures,” said Mark Saunders, a spokesman for the USPS, which is exactly what they told me last year when I wrote about it for India Abroad, in a famously un-circulated report. [Link]
This Diwali I will be enjoying the baklava my mom just brought me as I delete emails asking me to sign this petition. How will everyone else celebrate?
