By I.S. Saluja

Diwali 2016 was  a special  one, with the USPS issuing a commemorative Diwali stamp. The month of October is very special for every Indian as it has the honor of having the birthday of one of the greatest sons of India– Mahatma Gandhi. But 2016 October added a new day of celebration in the form of a Diwali Stamp inaugurated by the USPS. For Millions of Indians living in the USA, it  was a moment of great pride to watch and witness the Stamp inauguration ceremony at the Indian Consulate in New York City on October 5, 2016.

But behind the issuance of the Diwali Stamp is a story of a long and grim struggle. At this time of the year when the world is celebrating Diwali, it is worth while to recall how the USPS Diwali Stamp was won. Let us celebrate with Ranju Batra , Chair,  Diwali Foundation USA the story.. Let us know from her  how she was able to win the Diwali Stamp when others before her had failed and given up.

TIP:When did it occur to you that a USPS Diwali Stamp should be issued?

RB:Diwali is an important holiday that celebrates “light” over “darkness,” “Knowledge” over “Ignorance,” “Good“ over “Evil.” It’s a holiday that celebrates humanity’s collective Ideals: Knowledge, Truth, Good.

Years ago, when my kids were young and going to school there would be several religious holidays that celebrated every major religion. But when it came to Diwali, there was no holiday.

Along the way, with our dear family friend then-New York City councilmember David Weprin, chairman of finance,  and dear friend then-New York City councilmember John Liu, chairman of transportation, we got Diwali recognized in New York City in the most precious way: a parking holiday. This achievement was over mayor Mike Bloomberg‘s veto.

With that important success under our collective belt, and aware that many community leaders had tried over 20 years to get to the United States Postal Service to issue a Diwali stamp and given up, I reached out to some of them, and one community leader in Jackson Heights, dear Shiv Dass, warmly and openly said to me that he would support me fully, but warned me that it was a near impossible job. With my mind made up that I was going to go get the USPS to issue a Diwali stamp, and not stop until it was done, I informed my husband, Ravi, of that decision. He, too like Shiv Dass, felt I was chasing windmill.

TIP: Why did you want a Diwali Stamp issued?

RB:Every single major religion has a postage stamp, and in the land of religious freedom and equal rights, there was no Diwali stamp. Very odd.

TIP:Did you know of any earlier attempts to have a Diwali stamp issued?

RB:Sure. I heard about it on and off through the decades and knew there was no success.

TIP:Did you ever get in touch with any of them to know why their efforts had failed?

RB:There were mixed feelings about it. Some said maybe not enough effort was made and then some others informed me that they tried and since they never heard back from USPS, so they gave up. That made me more determined not to give up.

TIP:Didn’t you fear that you may fail just as they had in their attempts to have a Diwali Stamp issued?

RB:The difference between failure and success is the level of dedication and the amount of time one is prepared to spend on achieving one’s goal. In fact, I had decided not to stop till I got the USPS to issue our stamp. Of course, there was no guarantee of my success either. But I continued with my efforts and in 2016 Diwali came early.

TIP:What initial steps did you take?

RB:First I started with online signatures but soon found out that was of no use. So, I created paper petition that was dignified and respectful and looked like normal electoral petition: name, address, signature etc. Then I told all my friends that I had started the Diwali Stamp Project to have USPS issue a Diwali Stamp and asked all to help in my effort and support the idea so it became a campaign. No money was taken from anyone.

I would give the petition to whoever I met. I would explain how I was trying to get USPS issue a Diwali Postage Stamp and if they supported my effort I would ask them to write their name, address, email and then sign, to make sure there was not a single fake petition. And that included everyone I knew and many more I didn’t know. That included my friends, people I met in lunches or dinners, every customer of the restaurant where I would be dining, outside shopping malls and supermarkets, many ambassadors in the UN including their families. I would mail those petitions every week without any acknowledgement from Citizens Advisory Committee ever receiving them, but I continued. And on August 30, 2013 I received a letter from USPS thanking me for all the signature petitions and informing me that Diwali Stamp is under consideration by the Committee for possible future stamp issuance.

TIP:What was your larger strategy for achieving the desired goal?

RB:We reached out to many of our congressional friends like Carolyn Maloney, Eliot Engel, Greg Meeks, Grace Meng, Yvette Clark, Ed Towns to name a few. Carolyn who had already stood up for Sikh issues was the one I partnered with and for her to provide national political leadership. Which she did with all her heart. We also reached out to then-India’s ambassador to the United Nations, dear H. E. Hardeep Singh Puri and his wife, UN ASG Lakshmi Puri, Executive Director of UN Women.

To create a public record of the need of USPS to issue the Diwali Stamp, we needed the media. And I must thank each and every one who helped – and there were so many.  We held many press conferences in New York, and in DC. Of the NY ones, many were in the Consulate General of India. In fact, Ambassador   Mulay, India’s CG in NY, a poet wrote the official poem for the Diwali Stamp Project. Ambassador  Mulay had the consulate always available to support this effort – as he too understood that this little stamp would  bring United States and India closer together. So, Ambassador   Puri, CG Mulay and Rep. Carolyn Maloney, who even got two congressional resolutions passed. I also asked and got PM Narendra Modi to support my project when he met with then President Barack Obama. I visited Congress many times with my kids and even had the legendary civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis to sign my stamp petition.

TIP:While Maloney took charge of the legislative initiative, what did you do? Did you mobilize community? How did you do it? Who were your supporters?

RB:Originally I started the campaign with email signatures but during one of the meetings with the leadership of the USPS in Washington DC with Carolyn and I, attended by Grace Meng, Tulsi Gabbard, Ami Bera, I realized USPS was not interested in emails at all and being a Postal Service, their interest would be only in petitions by mail. For me, that was a change, and that’s when I made paper petitions which I would give to friends to sign and mail but along the way I realized that not everybody I was giving the petition to, was actually mailing them out. So, I started to take the petitions back after I would get them signed, or when I gave blank petitions to my friends I told them to get them signed and give them back to me. This way, even though I was putting the postage on each petition, I knew the Postal Service was now getting thousands and thousands and thousands of paper petitions from me. Now every signed petition ended up with the Postal Service, without a single one getting forgotten or wasted.

TIP:What obstacles did you face in your struggle for a Diwali Stamp?

RB:Whoever I approached was more than happy to fill out the petition, many were very excited to hear that we may have Diwali Stamp coming. So, no obstacles at all except for uncertainty and lack of commitment by USPS. This process lacked an x-ray, where you get to see how things stand. This process lacked a report card, which would tell me what more I needed to do, or how right or wrong I was. It was a very dry spell, and I began to feel like I was walking in the desert looking for water. I received one letter after sending thousands of petitions.

TIP:How long did it take after Maloney moved a resolution to the issuance of Diwali Stamp, on October 5?

RB:Years.

TIP:What has been the community’s response in purchasing the stamp?

RB: I was asked by USPS to sell the Diwali stamp for the first day, and for that they created a special form for me. I take great pleasure in the fact that I personally sold 170,000 stamps in 10 days to make the Diwali stamp the number one stamp in the history of the United States Postal Service for day one. I know this was the most purchased stamp ever. Diwali stamp is purchased not only to put on envelopes as postage but is shared around the world as a Diwali gift.

TIP:Who all you would give credit to for the Diwali Stamp?

RB:Every  person who signed the petition and those who helped in getting petitions signed or just wished me success. The greatness of America and humanity lies in the fact that there wasn’t a single person that I asked for help or to sign a petition, being an everyday person or a powerful person, each one signed. Diwali is an idea, and an ideal, and it belongs to every single human being.

I am happy that there is a stamp that celebrates Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists as Americans forever. Diwali stamp will be a matter of pride for generations to come.