Deepavali And Dussehra To Soon Be Public Holidays In UK? British Parliament To Debate Matter

The British Parliament will be debating whether public holidays should be declared for Hindu and Muslim festivals, The Hindu has reported. The financial costs of public holidays are at the centre of the debate among parliamentarians.

Over 11,000 people have signed a petition on the British Parliament website to declare Deepavali and Dussehra a public holiday. Close to 45,000 people have demanded through the same means that Id Ul Adha and Id Ul Fitr be declared a public holiday.

These demands have been driven by the changing demographics of the former colonial power which bossed over Hindu and Muslim subjects. According to a 2011 census, the United Kingdom has 8,17,000 Hindus (1.5 per cent of the population) and 4.7 million Muslims (4.8 per cent of the population).

The government had rejected both Hindu and Muslim petitions earlier in the year due to considerable financial costs of such holidays. It had pointed out that the cost of 2012 Diamond Jubilee holiday was 1.2 billion British Pounds. The parliament petitions committee has now brought forward the matter for discussion in the house.