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Indians mark Diwali by lighting a record number of earthen lamps

LUCKNOW, India (AP) — Millions of Indians began celebrating the annual Hindu festival of lights, Diwali, by symbolically lighting a record 2.51 million earthen oil lamps at dusk on Wednesday on the banks of the river Saryu in a northern Indian city they believe to be the birthplace of the deity, Lord Ram.

Diwali is the most important festival of the year in India — for the Hindu majority in particular. It is marked by socializing and exchanging gifts with loved ones. Many light earthen oil lamps, candles, and fireworks are set off. In the evening, a special prayer is dedicated to the Hindu goddess Lakshmi, who is believed to bring luck and prosperity.

A Guinness World Records team presented a certificate to Uttar Pradesh state Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, acknowledging the unprecedented number of oil lamps, exceeding last year’s 2.2 million. Drone cameras closely monitored the event.

The celebrations took place within the northern city of Ayodhya where Prime Minister Narendra Modi nine months ago opened a controversial Hindu temple built on the ruins of a historic mosque following a Supreme Court decision, seen as a political win for the populist leader. The establishment of the temple dedicated to Lord Ram fulfilled a long-standing demand by millions of Hindus

On Wednesday, thousands of volunteers lit lamps, called “Diyas” along riverbanks, lanes, fronts, and roofs of homes.

“More than 30,000 volunteers, primarily college students, worked meticulously to maintain the systematic pattern of burning lamps for the prescribed time,” said Dr. Pratibha Goyal, vice-chancellor of Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Avadh University, who coordinated the massive effort.

The earthen lamps lit along 55 riverfront steps of the river Saryu

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