Sal Mubarak: Joe Biden And Kamala Harris’ Diwali Wishes Extracts Mixed Reactions

By
Pramod Hegde
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On Sunday, the newly-elected President Joe Biden and the VP-elect Kamala Harris took to Twitter to wish the Indians on the auspicious occasion of Diwali. While a few were impressed with the duo’s tweets, a few others found fault with a certain word.

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris wish Indians on Diwali

Joe Biden posted: “To the millions of Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, and Buddhists celebrating the Festival of Lights, @DrBiden and I send our best wishes for a #HappyDiwali. May your new year be filled with hope, happiness, and prosperity. Sal Mubarak.“

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Kamala Harris said: “Happy Diwali and Sal Mubarak! Douglas Emhoff and I wish everyone celebrating around the world a safe, healthy, and joyous new year.“

Twitter shows mixed reactions to the wishes

While the US-representatives were appreciated for their wishes, a few users were critical of the word ‘Sal Mubarak’ used by the duo. Many were of the opinion that the word ‘Sal Mubarak’ is used on the occasion of Eid. One user said, “Sal Mubarak used for Eid” while another said, “Shubh Nav Varsh that’s what is called @JoeBiden @HillaryClinton, not Sal Mubarak.“

However, another section pointed out that the word ‘Sal Mubarak’ is used to wish people during a new year. The word is most commonly used in the Parsi and the Gujarati community. Going further, it is said that the word ‘saal’ has an Indo-Persian origin and means ‘year’ while ‘Mubarak’ is an Arabic-origin term that means ‘blessings’ or ‘good wishes’. 

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In fact, the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, who was earlier the Chief Minister of Gujarat has also used the term. In one of the tweets, that was posted in 2018, Modiji had said: “New Year greetings to all Gujaratis. May the coming year lead to the fulfillment of all your aspirations. May everyone be healthy and happy. Saal Mubarak!“

Source: Free Press Journal