All Pakistan Hindu Panchayat’s Ravi Dawani has urged Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah to reschedule Pakistan Medical Association (PMC) in wake of Diwali.
Rawi Dawani has called for PMC admission tests to be ‘put back’ and rescheduled amid wake of Hindu religious festival of Diwali.
The PMC entry tests are scheduled to be held on November 15th – the very next day of Diwali.
Significance of Diwali for Hindus
Diwali or ‘Deepavali’ is the Hindu festival of lights lasting five days and celebrated during the Hindu Lunisolar month Kartika (between mid-October and mid-November).
One of the most popular festivals of Hinduism, Diwali symbolizes the spiritual “victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance”.
The festival is widely associated with Lakshmi, goddess of prosperity, with many other regional traditions connecting the holiday to Sita and Rama, Vishnu, Krishna, Yama, Yami, Durga, Kali, Hanuman, Ganesha, Kubera, Dhanvantari, or Vishvakarman.
On the first day of the festival the celebrants prepare by cleaning their homes and making decorations on the floor, such as rangolis. The second day is Naraka Chaturdashi. The third day is the day of Lakshmi Puja and the darkest night of the traditional month. the day after Lakshmi Puja is marked with the Govardhan Puja and Balipratipada (Padwa).
Some Hindu communities mark the last day as Bhai Dooj or the regional equivalent, which is dedicated to the bond between sister and brother, whereas other Hindu and Sikh craftsmen communities mark this day as Vishwakarma Puja and observe it by performing maintenance in their work spaces and offering prayers.
