Faced with mounting pressure by Hindu groups, the National Diwali Committee has renamed its Diwali pageant.
The Miss Diwali Pageant has been renamed the Miss Guyana Sari Pageant. The name change was announced at a public sashing of the contestants on Monday evening.  For weeks since the pageant was announced, there had been calls by Hindu organisations and some private citizens for it to be renamed because of the fear that it would defile the festival.

Guyana National Diwali Committee Chairman Pradeep Samtani told Stabroek News yesterday that the committee met on the issue after it was approached by a group. “We want everybody to be happy,” he declared.  Samtani, who had no problem with a name change, said he runs the committee democratically and hence the need for a committee decision. He had said last Thursday that it was too late to do anything, since the pageant was scheduled for October 25.

Samtani did not name the group that approached the committee but last week around a dozen Hindu organisations issued a public call for the pageant to be renamed and rescheduled and called for sponsors to pull their support for the event. In a statement, the groups said they were dissatisfied with the decision to go ahead with the pageant during the sacred and auspicious period, when Hindus are engaged in the worship of Mahalakshmi. It noted that for Hindus everywhere, Diwali is about the propitiation of Mother Lakshmi, who grants the devotees sustenance, fullness and enlightenment.   “Consequently, we are of the firm conviction that ‘Miss Diwali Pageant 2008’ violates the sacredness and spirituality of one of the most revered Hindu festivals and constitutes a blatant exploitation of Hinduism,” they said.