Prime Minister Narendra Modi lights \'Diya\'\, leads India in fight against COVID-19



Prime Minister Narendra Modi lights 'Diya', leads India in fight against COVID-19

Miles away from the national capital, in Gujarat, the mother of Prime Minister Modi, Heeraben, also lit an earthen lamp after turning off all lights at her residence.


Prime Minister Modi lit an earthen lamp at his residence in New Delhi

(Photo: Twitter)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself lit an earthen lamp or 'Diya' after turning off all lights at his residence for nine minutes at 9 PM on Sunday, as per his earlier appeal to all Indians to switch off the lights at their residences tonight to just light a candle, 'Diya', or their cellphone's flashlight, to mark the nation's fight against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, that is spreading across the country like wildfire.

Photos of the Prime Minister lighting the lamp and leading the nation's fight against COVID-19 was shared from his official handle on the social networking site Twitter. Modi himself posted the photos with a Sanskrit 'shloka' as the caption, which when translated to English, roughly means, "Salutations to the light of the Lamp which brings auspiciousness, health, and prosperity and destroys inimical feelings; salutations to the light of the Lamp."

Miles away from the national capital, in Gujarat, the mother of Prime Minister Modi, Heeraben, also lit an earthen lamp after turning off all lights at her residence.

Several politicians, cutting across party lines, government officials, and even foreign diplomats also lit earthen lamps and candles in the balcony of their houses in the national capital, following the Prime Minister's call to everyone to switch off all lights of their residences tonight at 9 PM for nine minutes and just light candles and diyas, to mark the fight against coronavirus.

People from across the country shared the preparation for tonight's act of solidarity in the fight against COVID-19 on social media, appealing to each other to come forward and boost the morale of the nation and essential service providers amid the lockdown. Residents in housing societies across the country turned off lights at their residences and lit up candles and diyas following the call of Prime Minister Modi.

The earthen lamps, along with other puja materials were also sold near various temples. However, gatherings at the temples and other religious places too are barred. Those who did not find diyas in their localities contended with candles available at the local general stores.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday addressed the nation through a video message, in which he appealed to the citizens of India to come together to defeat the threat of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis, that is spreading like wildfire across the nation.

In a unique proposition, the Prime Minister asked every citizen to switch off all lights at their residences on April 5 at 9 PM for nine minutes and instead light a candle, a 'Diya', or their mobile's flashlights to mark India's fight against coronavirus. The purpose of this exercise, Modi said, is to bolster confidence in the heart of the citizens with a realisation of the fact that no one is alone in this crisis, they are in this with 130-crore other Indians who are collectively battling this crisis.

Friends, amidst the darkness spread by the corona pandemic, we must continuously progress towards light and hope. We must defeat the deep darkness of the crisis by spreading the glory of light in all four directions," said the Prime Minister in the video message.

"And that is why, this Sunday, on April 5, we must all together, challenge the darkness spread by the corona crisis, introducing it to the power of light. On this day, we must awaken the superpower of 130 crore Indians. We must take the super resolve of 130 crore Indians to even greater heights," Modi had said.