Source: The Times of India

Wire Service: PTI

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1266099.cms

On October 18, 2005 the Press Trust of India reported, "Hindus in the UK have urged the government to grant a bank holiday on Diwali, as the festival of lights was celebrated in the British capital with much fanfare. 'It is now time for us to ask the Government to grant a Diwali Bank Holiday,' Anil Bhanot of the Hindu Council UK, said amid loud cheers from a vast gathering in Trafalgar Square here on Sunday night... Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, spoke of the vast diversity in London and how the Greater London Authority led the way in establishing London as a great multicultural city. Tarlochan Singh Shani from the Shepherds Bush Gurudwara said Diwali was significant for Sikhs as the 4th Guru Ramdas ji returned home liberated, on a Diwali day. Speaking on the occasion, Veni Lal Vaghela from Hindu Council Brent encouraged the Hindu voters to be active in making the Hindu voice more prominent."