The triumph of light over darkness that Diwali celebrates has been likened to the defeat of apartheid and the release of former President Nelson Mandela by a South African minister here.
"This triumph that Diwali celebrates also has another meaning in South Africa. It's the triumph of the light of democracy over the darkness of apartheid," South African Minister of Communications Yunus Carrim said at the First National Bank, Gauteng, Diwali Festival.
"Diwali, as you know, commemorates the return of Lord Rama along with Sita and Lakshman from his fourteen-year long exile and his vanquishing the demon-king Ravana. In joyous celebration of the return of their king, the people of Ayodhya, the capital of Rama, illuminated the kingdom with lamps and lit fireworks," Carrim said last night at the event.
"There is a parallel here with our own freedom struggle, with the release of Mandela from his 27-year exile, as it were, in prison, his triumphant return and his election as President (in 1994), and the light and joy we experienced when this happened," he said.
The Minister also lauded the freedom of religion entrenched in the South African Constitution.
"How wonderful that in a country where over 95 per cent of the people are Christian or African Traditional Religion followers, equal space was given to Hinduism, Islam and Judaism in the swearing-in ceremony of South Africa's first ever President of our democracy," Carrim said.
"Although Diwali is essentially a celebration for Hindus, its message is for everyone," he pointed out
 "Diwali is a Hindu celebration, but in its messages, especially of the triumph of light over darkness, of good over evil, it has a universal meaning, and people of all religions and even those who don't believe can identify with it and share in it. And I certainly am very happy to share Diwali with you," Carrim, who was invited as a guest speaker at the event, said.
More than 10,000 people enjoyed the entertainment put up jointly by the South African Tamil Federation and the South African Hindu Maha Sabha. The evening ended with the Johannesburg skyline being lit up with a spectacular 20-minute fireworks display.
Similar events were hosted by the India Club, comprising mainly Indian expatriates, at Newtown in Johannesburg and in the sprawling largely Indian township of Lenasia, south of Johannesburg, where more than 6,000 people joined the Hindu Coordinating Council to mark its 21st anniversary with dances by a score of local groups and a huge fireworks display.
The Diwali festivals are hosted annually ahead of the 'Festival of Lights', which falls on November 3 this year.
