Washington, Dec 3 (NationPress) Four renowned diplomats from various nations were awarded the 2025 Power of One Awards at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Tuesday, with India's Permanent Representative Parvathaneni Harish in attendance.

This prestigious annual award, presented by the Diwali Foundation USA and hosted this year by the Permanent Mission of Georgia, honors leaders dedicated to creating a more perfect, peaceful, and secure world for all, echoing the foundational goals of the UN Charter.

The distinguished recipients this year included 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.

In his address, Ambassador Harish emphasized the significance of celebrating Diwali at the UN during a time of global unrest.

"The essence of Diwali… symbolizes that light will triumph over darkness," he stated, encouraging member states to "collaborate to confront and surmount the challenges faced by those in need around the globe."

He highlighted the necessity of unified efforts to mitigate conflict, protect the environment, and further the Sustainable Development Goals.

"Although 2030 may seem a distant target, we will strive to achieve these goals with all our might," he remarked.

Harish also acknowledged Ranju Batra, chair of the Diwali Foundation USA, whose decade-long advocacy resulted in the creation of the historic Diwali postage stamp in the United States and later inspired the Power of One Awards.

"One individual on a mission… reached out for collaboration," he noted, commending her unwavering commitment through "the challenging and demanding journey" that led to a stamp viewed as a symbol of cultural inclusion.

In her address, Batra recounted her seven-year grassroots initiative for the USPS Diwali stamp, a journey fueled by "patience, persistence, and partnership." She remembered gathering and sending out "tens of thousands" of petitions until the Postal Service approved the stamp. "In just 10 days, I personally sold over 170,000 stamps… making the Diwali stamp the top seller in the history of the United States Postal Service," she stated.

She remarked that the concept of the Power of One Awards was conceived soon after the stamp's release, during a UN event honoring her efforts in 2016, when diplomats recognized that her work epitomized the UN's highest ideals.

"Our honorees have indeed realized numerous triumphs of good over evil and light over darkness," she added, asserting that their endeavors embody what "the UN Charter envisions."