US city Edina plans not to schedule public meetings on Hindu Diwali

17 February, 2012

The city council of Edina in Minnesota in the US is proposing a policy to create a public meeting..

EDINA'S CITY Manager Scott Neal, in a blog on the official city website, wrote that they “want to create a public meeting schedule that does not contain as many out-right conflicts with significant days of religious observance in order that all citizens in the community – regardless of religion – are afforded the opportunity to participate in major community decision making opportunities”.

Neal further wrote—the religious observance days we’re going to avoid scheduling public meetings on in the future are the following: Good Friday, Christmas Eve, First Night of Rosh Hashanah, First Night of Yom Kippur, First Night of Passover, First Night of Hanukkah, Eid al Fitr, Eid al Adha, Diwali.

Edina, incorporated in 1888 and one of the most affluent suburbs of Minneapolis, is home to some billionaires such as Best Buy founder Richard M. Schulze, a Hindu temple named Sri Venkateswara (Balaji) Temple, three places listed on the National Register of Historic Places, 44 parks; runs municipal liquor stores (others not allowed); and in popular culture of the state is known as acronym for "Every Day I Need Attention". Prominent people associated with it include baseball player Ike Davis, footballer Adam Goldberg, Olympian Jenny Potter, beauty queens Dorothy Benham and Barbara Peterson, golfer Hilary Lunke, hockey icon Bill Nyrop, singer Craig Finn and actress Lynsey Bartilson. James B. Hovland is the Mayor.

Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, applauded the Edina City Council for their inclusive approach, calling it “a step in the right direction”. He asked other city councils in USA and Canada to follow this pattern because of growing diversity in their populations.