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Deep Daan Utsav

Is Diwali/Deepawali deep daan utsav?

Claim: Diwali isn’t what you thought it was—It’s actually Deep Daan Utsav, a Buddhist festival

Source: https://twitter.com/ThePrintIndia/status/1456166875675574279

Fact: There is no reference to Deep Daan Utsav in the entire Buddhist literature.

Source: https://twitter.com/BharadwajSpeaks/status/1456284149837275140

There are many Ashokan inscriptions. There are Sanskrit and Pali Buddhist sources that tell us about the life of Ashoka. Nowhere is it mentioned that Ashoka inaugurated a special Buddhist festival known as “Deep Daan Utsav”. This is a fake festival that was manufactured in the 20th century.

The referenced author indulges in downright fraudulent practices like faking attributions. The author claims Buddhist scholar Rahul Sankrityayan talked about “Deep Dan Utsav”. This is a false attribution. Sankrityayan nowhere talks about this fake festival.