Canadian PM draws Indian ire by wishing ‘Diwali Mubarak’

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.