The White House event had been held every year since President Clinton’s tenure.
The Eid al-Fitr feast ends Ramadan, a period when Muslims fast and focus on charitable giving.
But US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson reportedly rejected a request to hold a reception.
In May, Reuters said Mr Tillerson had refused a recommendation from the State Department’s office of religion and global affairs to organise a celebration.
It’s US President Donald Trump’s first Diwali in the White House and carrying on with the Obama-era tradition, he will host a dinner on the occasion for 200 Indian-Americans at 1600, Pennsylvania Avenue.
The Indian-American community in the US hopes that Trump will address some visa-related issues with community members during this dinner.
In fact, the community is hoping Trump will also consider their request that he address a rally in Chicago for around 15,000 Indian Americans, said Shalabh Kumar, Trump supporter and founder of the ‘Republican Hindu Coalition’.
In June, Trump famously ended a decades-long White House tradition of celebrating Ramzan with an ‘iftar’ dinner, so there were some apprehensions in the Indian-American community whether the Diwali dinner too would be canceled.
It appears it won’t.
