Canadian poet Rupi Kaur and other prominent South Asians boycotted the White House’s Diwali celebration, citing the administration’s continued support of the violence in Gaza as their reason, Al Jazeera reports.
Over a week ago, Kaur posted a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter. In the statement, she said she had been invited to a Diwali event being hosted by Vice President on November 8 but declined the invitation.
The writer, known for her poetry book milk and honey, declared that she declines “any invitation from an institution that supports the collective punishment of a trapped civilian population—50% of whom are children.”
“Today, the American government is not only funding the bombardment of Gaza, they continue to justify this genocide against Palestinians—regardless of how many refugee camps, health facilities, and places of worship are blown to bits,” Kaur wrote.
Kaur added that she would not let her Sikh identity be used to whitewash the administration’s actions.
According to CBS News, other prominent South Asians supported Kaur. Actor Richa Moorjani from “Never Have I Ever” said in the comments of Kaur’s post: “I stand tall boycotting White House Diwali with you.”
Payal Desai, a content creator (@payalforstyle), also vowed to boycott the event. CBS News confirmed that the popular Brown Girl Magazine also declined an invitation.
In her statement, Kaur implored her “South Asian community to hold the administration accountable.”
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It is extremely rude and sad to decline an invitation from the Whitehouse for Diwali Celebration. As an American Citizen of Indian descent, I am really ashamed of those who think Ms. Rupi Kaur did the right thing. Whitehouse as a courtesy to us of Indian origin recognizes this great Indian festival of love and victory of good over evil. Ms. Kaur you may be a great poet but, in my opinion, you have to learn a lot. I really feel sorry for you. Regards and Best wishes.
I feel sorry for the professional engineer. I am a retired engineer and know my history.