The Canadian Bazaar
TORONTO: Dressed in a colourful attire for the occasion, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau celebrated Diwali – the Indian festival of light – in Ottawa on Monday.
He lit the traditional lamp and greeted the Indo-Canadian community on the auspicious occasion.
But his Twitter greetings – “Diwali Mubarak! We’re celebrating in Ottawa tonight. #HappyDiwali!” – to his 3.71 million followers didn’t go down well with many people.
They took offence to the word `Mubarak’ which is usually used in the context of greetings for Eid.
Poor Trudeau got lectured on the proper way to send Diwali greetings. The prime minister was told that it is either `Shubh Diwali’ or `Diwali Ki Badhai.’
One tweeted, “My man you can’t say Mubarak when referring to Diwali.’’
Another one said, “Word to the wise : It’s “Shubh-Deepavali”, (Auspicious Deepavali), and NOT “Diwali Mubarak”. “Mubarak” is Arabic, not Indian.’’
Yet another one said, “You are awesome. Not sure why ppl getting offended by “Mubarak” Respect the sentiments behind, Mubarak just an Arabic word for blessing.’’
Someone else said, “Thank you, Mr. PM. It’s good to hear from a global icon. But it’s either ‘subh deewali’ (Hindi) or deepavali Vazhthukal (Tamil).’’
Trudeau was even advised to `correct’ his tweet.
“It’s not “Diwali Mubarak”, it’s “Diwali Ki Badhai” … Correct it ..’’ wrote one of his followers.
Another said, “PM Justin, thanks for the Deepavali Greetings. Confirm w. @CanadainIndia, please amend your tweet. Nobody, but nobody, says “Diwali Mubarak”.
Yet another tweet said, “What an odd way of phrasing it, but Thank you.’’
Mr Prime Minister, you can’t afford to be politically incorrect in the age of social media.
