Washington, Dec 3
Four distinguished diplomats from different countries were honoured with the 2025 Power of One Awards at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Tuesday, in the presence of India's Permanent Representative Parvathaneni Harish.
The annual award, bestowed by Diwali Foundation USA and hosted this year by the Permanent Mission of Georgia, recognises leaders who have worked "to form a more perfect, peaceful and secure world for all," reflecting the core aspirations of the UN Charter.
This year's honourees were Jonathan R. Cohen, former Acting Permanent Representative of the United States to the UN; Dennis Francis, the 78th President of the UN General Assembly and former Permanent Representative of Trinidad and Tobago; Darja Bavdaz-Kuret, former Permanent Representative of Slovenia; and Magzhan Ilyassov, former Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan.
Addressing the gathering, Ambassador Harish spoke of the symbolism of celebrating Diwali at the UN during a turbulent moment for the international system.
"The spirit of Diwali… indicates that light shall prevail over darkness," he said, urging member states to "find ways to work together to face the challenges and to overcome those challenges… for every person around the world who needs help."
He stressed the need for collective action to reduce conflict, safeguard the environment and advance the Sustainable Development Goals.
"Even as 2030 looks a distant goal, we will do all we can and we must to achieve these goals," he noted.
Harish also paid tribute to Ranju Batra, chair of Diwali Foundation USA, whose decade-long campaign led to the creation of the historic Diwali postage stamp in the United States and later inspired the Power of One Awards.
"One individual who had a mission… sought out hands of collaboration," he said, commending her perseverance through "the difficult and arduous path" that resulted in a stamp widely seen as a symbol of cultural inclusion.
In her remarks, Batra described her seven-year grassroots campaign for the USPS Diwali stamp -- a journey she said was driven by "patience, persistence, and partnership." She recalled collecting and mailing "tens of thousands" of petitions until the Postal Service approved the stamp. "In 10 days, I personally sold over 170,000 stamps… making Diwali stamp the number one stamp, the best seller in the history of the United States Postal Service," she said.
She noted that the idea of the Power of One Awards emerged soon after the stamp's issuance, during a UN event honouring her work in 2016, when diplomats observed that her effort embodied the UN's highest ideals.
"Our honorees have truly achieved many victories of good over evil and light over darkness," she said, adding that their contributions represent what "the UN Charter dreams of".
