Rajan Zed, president of the Universal Society of Hinduism, plans to place a display of Hindu deities at the state Capitol. He said, he hopes to have 10-foot-tall monument comprising of various Hindu deities such as Lord Ganesh, Lord Vishnu, Lord Krishna, Lord Ram or Goddess Lakshmi being displayed at the state Capitol during the Hindu holiday of Diwali in October 2022.

Recently, at the state Capitol, a Christian group recently was allowed to put a Nativity scene at the very government building.

Zed was of the idea, since the Nativity scene was placed at the Capitol, hence it should open the door for other faith groups to place their own displays and images there. “We would invite Oklahoma Governor J. Kevin Stitt and First Lady Sarah Stitt to inaugurate this proposed Diwali display by lighting a traditional lamp,” Rajan Zed reiterated in a statement.

File picture of Rajan Zed.

“We are thinking of a 10-feet-tall display monument and plan to sanctify it by chanting of mantras, some as old as 1,500 BCE; sprinkling of holy water from river Ganga in India; ringing of ghanta (big metallic bell); and other ancient rituals. It would be a nice blessing for the state.”  

Zed also clarified about the funding of the proposed Diwali monument, which would be a privately funded programme, financed and built by the Hindu community, with no assistance from the government.

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