"It's
about the flame of the human spirit - overcoming the darkness of ignorance and
bigotry with learning and understanding."
And
this message is "as relevant today as it has ever been", he said.
This is
because every major religion, including Hinduism, has seen a rise of religious
extremism, which will probably need decades of internal reformation to
overcome, he added.
Mr
Tharman yesterday wished all Hindus and "everyone who celebrates Singapore
diversity" a happy Deepavali, which is also known as the Festival of
Lights.
