The ideals of Diwali are the ideals of the UN Charter. The Power of One awards, Ranju says, honor diplomats whose work away from the public eye can make a difference between war and peace.

A historic number of 24 nations, led by Belarus and India as co-organizers, and United States Postal Service, came together in December 2016 at the United Nations to celebrate “Small Stamp for a Big Festival” and to honor Mrs. Ranju Batra for spearheading the seven-year-long campaign to secure the release of the Diwali Forever stamp by USPS.

Ranju felt the honor was for her journey for the Diwali Stamp seen as a metaphor for peace and harnessing its power to promote excellence in diplomacy. In fact, the ideals of Diwali are the ideals of UN Charter. Speaking to The Indian Panorama, she recalled that one diplomat dubbed her singular achievement the ‘power of one’. That inspired her to launch the ‘Diwali Stamp – Power of One’ awards to honor exceptional diplomats.
Under the aegis of the Diwali Foundation USA that she chairs, these awards are presented every year since 2017 (barring the Covid years) to exceptional world class diplomats at the UN.
Says Ranju about honoring diplomats, “They work hard every day away from the public eye but the public needs to know that what they do is important as that could be the difference between war and peace.”
The ‘Diwali Stamp – Power of One’ awards are supported multilaterally. For example, in 2023 the awards were co-organized and co-sponsored by over 70 member states and the European Union. The Permanent Mission of India at the UN has, of course, supports the ceremony every year.

Since 2017, 25 awards have been given to esteemed ambassadors. The honorees have included Lakshmi Puri, former Executive Director of the UN Women, former UK Ambassador to the UN Matthew Rycroft, former Permanent Representative of Georgia to the UN Kaha Imnadze, and former Permanent Representative of Grenada to the UN Keisha McGuire.
The most high-profile diplomat to be honored to date has been the UN Secretary-General (2007-2016) Ban Ki-moon. He was honored last December along with former Permanent Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the UN Amb. Mirsada Colakovic, former Permanent Representative of South Korea to the UN Amb. Kim Sook and 72nd UN General Assembly President and EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue Miroslav Lajcak.
In his acceptance speech at the event attended by UN diplomats, envoys, civil society members and policy experts, Ban commended the work and “forward-thinking vision” of the Diwali Foundation USA “for advancing vital light in a world of increasing darkness”. He said the world today “seems fractured like never before” as he cited the COVID-19 pandemic, climate crisis and regional crisis seen in the Middle East and Ukraine.
India’s Ambassador to the UN Ruchira Kamboj said that Diwali is a celebration that holds a special place in the hearts of over a billion Indians across the globe. Diwali “is more than just a festival. It is a sentiment that embodies the triumph of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance and hope over despair”, she said.
Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the UN Mohan Pieris said “Deepavali has become truly a secular festival in the world, since its message is not exclusively restricted to any religious creed.”
Ravi Batra, the eminent Indian-American attorney, and Chair of National Advisory Council South Asian Affairs, and moderator of the award ceremony, said the UN transcends borders and boundaries.
The Power of One award is given to a former permanent representative or former high-level member of UN secretariat or member state, or soon-to-be former, who has worked selflessly to help form a more perfect, peaceful, and secure world for all. Assuming eminence, these awards have come to be called the ‘Oscars of Diplomacy’.
The Diwali Foundation, USA’s mission is to support the UN Charter of multilateralism and enhance peace and security around the world by promoting excellence in diplomacy.
The Diwali Stamp triumph
Ranju’s campaign for the Diwali Stamp was fervently followed and supported by Indians in America. It was backed by many Congress members and Indian diplomats in the US. She took it up as President of the Association of Indians in America (AIA)-New York during its Silver Anniversary year, 2011-12. The entire Indian community celebrated with her when on October 5, 2016, USPS officially dedicated the stamp at the Indian Consulate in New York. Ranju’s personal sale of over 170,000 stamps for First Day made the “Diwali Stamp” the best seller in USPS’ over 200 years history.
Looking back, Ranju says, “The Diwali stamp issued by the USPS is equivalent to the US government issuing a passport to Diwali itself and supporting light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance.” Diwali is now part of Americana. Since the Diwali stamp was issued as a Forever stamp, USPS is required to issue it annually.
Since September 2021, Ranju is an Advisor for Legal and Humanitarian Affairs to the Permanent Mission of Georgia to the UN, having previously served as an Advisor to the Permanent Mission of Ukraine from 2015.
Since 1990, she has been the Administrator of The Law Firm of Ravi Batra, founded by her husband.