ADDRESS BY THE GAUTENG PREMIER ON THE OCCASION OF FNB DIWALI CELEBRATION IN JOHANNESBURG, 23 OCTOBER 2010

Program Director

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

Greetings to all

At this stage of our country’s history and development, we cannot help but to reflect and remember the gallant contribution made by notable individuals of Indian extraction in a fight against the evil forces. These are forces that once repressed the multitudes of our people and deprived them of their birth rights. It was the peoples’ fight against that which sought to relegate and confine masses of people of particular culture and race into the dark dungeons of eternal suffering.

In the fight for freedom and democracy, the good triumphed over evil resulting in the voiceless regaining their voice and dignity. The beginnings of this fight can be traced as far back as the early 20th century when the Great Freedom Fighter Mahatma Gandhi set in motion an avalanche of peaceful resistance, the Satyagraha, against that which was evil and oppressive.

Many courageous disciples of Satyagraha took to the streets to advance the cause for peace and justice. It became a movement embraced by all freedom-loving people across race, culture and religion. Because its appeal was not based on vain attributes of complexion, class or social standing and individualism rather on the inner core of humanity which espouses freedom for all, equality, justice and peace.

Today’s Diwali, the Festival of Light, is the celebration of domination of good over evil. It is the celebration of light over darkness. This celebration can be equated to the celebration of freedom of wrongfully oppressed; the march of the chained towards the promising world of love and peace.

This period of celebration comes at a time when we commemorate 150 years of the coming of first Indians to work as indentured labourers in the sugar plantations of KwaZulu-Natal. They had to contend with dehumanising conditions they were forced to work long hours by the colonisers. Inspite of all the hardship, the will to live as equal and free men was never diminished. They understood that their freedom was intertwined with those of the so called “natives”. Therefore, the fight for freedom would have to be a concerted effort. All that they wanted was a creation of a country free from prejudice and inequalities.

So the Diwali festival is the time in which we should all honour the triumph of good over evil as embodied by Lord Rama, Lord Krishna and Mahavira in their epic battles against the demonic Gods. Their strong motivation was the attainment of “moksha” (liberation) and goodwill for all humankind. Many of our leaders learnt from these epic battles that peace and justice will only prevail when the attainment of good is the ultimate goal.

Diwali, in line with the Will of the Gods, dictates that we should seek to engage in new endeavours. However, our search and involvement in new enterprises must always be guided by the values learnt and upheld by the Gandhis, Mandelas and Luthulis. These noble leaders sought to achieve the good for all members of society, the best for the collective as opposed to narrow selfish interests as has becomethe norm today. We need to resist and fight tendencies that seek to erode what makes us human. Let us discard habits that are an anathema to the spirit of Diwali.

It is in the interests of everyone to work towards the improvement of our society so that the generations that follow can inherit a better world; a world that does not judge and discriminate its children because of the colour of their skin, race or religion.

Above all, the celebration of Diwali is a reminder to all of us about the richness of our cultural diversity in South Africa. It is almost a call to all of us to remain united in our diversity so that our country can prosper. In fact, events such as this one must be encouraged and promoted with an aim of achieving social cohesion and appreciation for one another’s cultural practices.

In conclusion, I wish you all Happy New Year. May you all enjoy the celebrations.

Dankie. Ngiyabonga