King Misuzulu calls for Zulu-Indian unity at Bayede Diwali Festival

King Misuzulu kaZwelithini hosted the Bayede Diwali Festival at eMashobeni Royal Palace in Phongolo on Friday for the first time since ascending the throne. From left are Princess Sihle kaMdluli, Queen Nozizwe kaMulela, Queen Ntokozo kaMayisela and Prince Ishwar Ramlutchman Mabheka Zulu. The annual festival aims to promote social cohesion between the Zulu nation and the Indian community.

The sacred grounds of eMashobeni Royal Palace in Phongola, northern KwaZulu-Natal, were transformed into a beacon of unity on Friday evening as King Misuzulu kaZwelithini hosted the 11th Annual Bayede Diwali Festival, urging Zulu and Indian communities to forge unbreakable bonds of fellowship and mutual respect.

Hosted alongside the Sivananda World Peace Foundation and Prince Ishwar Ramlutchman Mabheka Zulu, the Royal Ambassador for Social Cohesion and Economic Development, the celebration marked a reaffirmation of the royal household’s commitment to social harmony.

King Misuzulu kaZwelithini celebrated the Bayede Diwali Festival at eMashobeni Palace, calling for cultural harmony, mutual respect, and lasting peace across KwaZulu-Natal.

Addressing dignitaries, traditional leaders, and guests, the Zulu monarch paid homage to the enduring legacy of his late father, King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu, who championed the annual royal Diwali celebrations for ten consecutive years.

The King also recalled his father’s historic adoption of Prince Ishwar into the Zulu Royal Family, describing the relationship as living proof of cultural integration. The monarch reflected on the shared struggles of African and Indian communities against colonialism and apartheid, paying tribute to the resilience of indentured labourers and early traders who helped build the nation’s foundations.

King Misuzulu kaZwelithini and Prince Ishwar Ramlutchman Mabheka Zulu Royal Ambassador for Social Cohesion and Economic Development called for unity between the Indian community and the Zulu nation during the celebration of the 11th annual Bayede Diwali Festival at eMashobeni Royal Palace in Phongolo on Friday.

King Misuzulu called on both communities to actively take part in each other’s cultural traditions, urging Indian families to join the uMkhosi woMhlanga (Reed Dance) and the Zulu nation to embrace Durban’s annual Hare Krishna Festival of Chariots.

Echoing the theme of the festival, Prince Ishwar Ramlutchman Mabheka Zulu delivered an impassioned address, declaring that King Misuzulu’s role as Isilo Samabandla Onke represents a ruler who embraces every resident of KwaZulu-Natal as his child.

“Diwali, or Deepavali, means a row of lights,” said Prince Ishwar, recounting the festival’s spiritual origins, from the triumph of Lord Rama over Ravana to Lord Krishna’s defeat of the demon Narakasura.

“Each one of us is intimately attached to the soil of this beautiful country. The spiritual and physical oneness we all share explains the depth of the pain we carried as our country tore itself apart in terrible conflict.”

Prince Ishwar urged all citizens across KwaZulu-Natal to reject division: “I know that nothing troubles His Majesty more than strife among his people. I urge all to give His Majesty the gift he will cherish for the rest of his life, the gift of enduring peace.”

King Misuzulu kaZwelithini has called on the Indian community and the Zulu nation to unite for social cohesion in honour of the late king's wishes. He was speaking at the 11th Bayede Diwali Festival at eMashobeni Royal Palace in Phongolo.

King Misuzulu drew parallels between the Diwali lamps, the cleansing rites of uMkhosi woMhlanga, and the Zulu tradition of lighting candles for ancestral guidance, noting that all these paths reflect the enduring African ethos of Ubuntu: “Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu”—I am because you are.

The King identified pressing modern social ills, including youth unemployment, gender-based violence, moral decline, and digital acrimony, as forms of contemporary “darkness” that must be dispelled through service, education, and mutual care.

“Each one of us here today is a lamp,” King Misuzulu said, honouring teachers, mothers, job creators, and young people choosing education over drugs.

The main Diwali day (Lakshmi Puja) in South Africa falls on Sunday, November 8, 2026, preceded by the Dhanteras on Friday, November 6, 2026 and Kali Chaudas on Saturday, November 7, 2026. 

The South African Hindu Maha Sabha hosts the Durban Diwali Festival from Friday, October 30 to Sunday, November 1, 2026 at the Suncoast Tsogo Sun Parking Site.