OTTAWA – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took to Twitter on Tuesday morning to wish everyone a happy Diwali, and suddenly came in the line of fire of several users from India for his choice of words.
‘Diwali Mubarak’, Trudeau greeted his 3.71 million followers, with a picture of himself in a black sherwani, lighting a lamp.
“Diwali Mubarak! We’re celebrating in Ottawa tonight. #HappyDiwali!” reads the caption of the image that has been retweeted nearly 800 times and ‘liked’ by 3.5K users.
Diwali Mubarak! We’re celebrating in Ottawa tonight. #HappyDiwali! pic.twitter.com/HBFlQUBhWX
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) October 17, 2017
PM Trudeau was instantly criticised for using the word ‘Mubarak’ that Indian say has its origins in ‘Arabic’. He was asked to correct his mistake:
It’s not “Diwali Mubarak”, it’s “Diwali Ki Badhai” … Correct it ..
— Bhavesh K Pandey (@bhaveshkpandey) October 17, 2017
Mr Trudeau. Please don’t disrespect Hindus. We would love to celebrate our most sacred festival without your Arabic “Diwali Wishes”.
— Ashish (@Ak_Ashii) October 17, 2017
PM Justin, thanks for the Deepavali Greetings. Confirm w. @CanadainIndia, please amend your tweet. Nobody, but nobody, says “Diwali Mubarak”
— Truthsayer (@a_truthsayer) October 17, 2017
Thank you, Mr.PM. Its good to hear from a global icon. But it’s either ‘subh deewali’ (Hindhi) or deepavali Vazhthukal(Tamil).
— Abinayah Raguraam (@AbinayahR) October 17, 2017
There were also some who thought the criticism was unnecessary and that the spirit of the festival should be enjoyed:
You are awesome. Not sure why ppl getting offended by “Mubarak” Respect the sentiments behind, Mubarak just an Arabic word for blessing
— Shaan (@Shanyousaf6) October 17, 2017
There isnt anything muslim about Mubarak..Its a Urdu word and people say this on congratulating others…Get a life !!
— Sameer (@QmSameer) October 17, 2017
Ignore these Trumpkins, if HAPPY Diwali is acceptable, Mubarak is too. Its an Urdu word, very much a language of India. @a_truthsayer
— Suryanarayan Ganesh (@gsurya) October 17, 2017
The festival of Diwali marks the return of Hindu Lord Rama to Ayodhya city in northern India after he defeated Ravana – the powerful demon king of Lanka – to rescue his wife Sita.
On Diwali, people light fireworks and illuminate their houses with different types of lights.
This year, Diwali will be celebrated on October 19 across India.
