Hindujas’ Diwali party focuses on religious unity
LEADERS HIGHLIGHT ‘STRENGTH’ OF DIVERSITY
HINDUJA Diwali parties have attracted high level dignitaries over the years but the one the brothers held at their Carlton Terrace mansion last Wednesday (26) drew Sir Clive Alderton, King Charles’s private secretary, who strolled down the Mall the short distance from Buckingham Palace with a message from the monarch.
Some of the guests had come on from 10, Downing Street, after Rishi Sunak had hosted a Diwali party on his first full day as prime minister.
As Gopi Hinduja looked on, flanked by his younger brothers, Prakash and Ashok, who had come from their homes in Geneva and Mumbai, respectively – the eldest, Srichand, was too unwell to attend – Baroness Sandip Verma acted as mistress of ceremonies and invited Sir Clive to “deliver the message” from the King.
Thanking Gopi, “dear friend, dear neighbour” for his hospitality, Sir Clive was commendably brief: “All I wanted to do on behalf of His Majesty is to wish everyone in the room a very happy Diwali. It is a community that the King has cared about for many, many years and spent a great deal of time and energy working in this country and around the world to bring communities together. And ‘GP’ (as Gopi Parmanand Hinduja is universally known) has done that so brilliantly this evening, bringing so many different communities into this wonderful house. So again, on behalf of the King, I would simply say a very happy Diwali to all.”
He was given a silver statue of Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth and prosperity, as were all other dignitaries.
They included politicians from all the three main political parties, represented by Nadhim Zahawi, the Conservative party chairman, the Labour mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, foreign office minister Lord Tariq Ahmad, and the Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey. Out of the 48 countries in which the Hindujas do business, 22 were represented by their ambassadors or high commissioners, including Saida Muna Tasneem from Bangladesh.
The fact that the King was Christian, the prime minister was Hindu and the mayor of London was Muslim reminded Gopi of the most successful Bollywood blockbuster of 1977 – Amar, Akbar, Anthony. The film’s theme of religious tolerance was stressed by others, with the mayor light-heartedly expressing his wish to make a sequel, Amar, Akbar, Anthony II, with help from Buckingham Palace.
Gopi spoke of what Diwali means to him: “Diwali is a festival of light, but there is a lot of depth in Diwali. Everyone prays to goddess Lakshmi for money, but I don’t believe in money. Wealth is nothing. Wealth is something you give away and get blessings from people – that is real wealth.”
The theme of unity among members of different faiths was taken up by Zahawi, who marvelled that “the boy from Baghdad”, as he called himself, was now Conservative party chairman. “You couldn’t script this, that on the day of Diwali, the festival of lights, we would have Rishi Sunak as prime minister of the United Kingdom,” said Zahawi.
He said that 10, Downing Street, had been flower decked and lit up for Diwali “but I have to say you have beaten us to it with the decoration of this extraordinary mansion. And of course, the lights on the outside have to take the Olympic gold for Diwali this year.”
The mayor also appealed for unity across religions. Sadiq said: “It sends a powerful message about a wonderful, wonderful country that you can have the prime minister and the King agreed on the importance of shared values, agreed that diversity is a strength, not a weakness.
“That’s why I come to GP and the Hinduja family. Thank you for having the headquarters of the Hinduja Group in London. Thank you for the wealth, the prosperity, that you create.”
With the recent communal disturbances in Leicester probably in mind, he warned: “Some people are trying to divide our communities, and we can’t allow them to succeed. And one of the reasons we are the greatest city in the world is the contribution made by Londoners of Hindu faith. More than half of Hindus in the UK live in London. And you are Londoners first and foremost.”
Foreign office minister Lord Tariq Ahmad began: “I was with the prime minister a few hours ago when he hosted his first event. And his first event was the Diwali function, where he lit a diya, which shows how light conquers darkness, how love conquers hate. Rishi said something quite poignant, that his journey was not unique in this country. His journey, he said, was your journey.”
Sir Ed said: “I couldn’t be prouder that we have a fantastic King, who is a Christian. I’m really proud that we have a prime minister who is a Hindu. I’m proud our great city has a mayor who’s a Muslim. What a fantastic country! What a fantastic city!”