On Mahashivratri, Ujjain sets new Guinness world record by lighting over 11.7 lakh oil lamps
Bhopal, Mar 2: The Madhya Pradesh Government on Tuesday set a new Guinness world record of 'largest display of oil lamps' by lighting more than 11.71 lakh lamps in Ujjain as part of the Mahashivratri celebrations.
The city thus broke the record set in Ayodhya last year, officials said.
Ujjain is home to Mahakaleshwar, one of the 12 jyotirlingas associated with Shiva.
The state government's culture department hosted a grand event called 'Shiv Jyoti Arpanam' in Ujjain, which was executed by the city administration, officials said.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was also present on the occasion.
You have not only created a record by lighting 11,71,878 lamps, but also written the history of this holy occasion in golden letters, Chouhan said in a tweet accompanied by a picture while accepting the certificate from Guinness World Records officials.
District collector Ashish Singh said Ujjain broke the record of 9.41 lakh lamps set in Ayodhya last November.
More than 11.71 lakh diyas (earthen lamps) were lit simultaneously at Ramghat, Datt Akhara, Narsingh Ghat, Guru Nanak Ghat and Sunhari Ghat.
Over 17,000 volunteers participated in the event.
The city administration took special care to ensure that the event was eco-friendly and achieved the 'zero waste' goal, officials claimed.
The eco-friendly steps taken by the administration included the use of volunteer identity cards made from recycled paper, use of paper matchboxes for lighting the lamps and candles, and that of biodegradable cutlery and plates for food and drink, they said. The earthen lamps will be later reused to make idols, pots, kulhads (tea cups) among other things. Oil bottles too will be recycled, officials added.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
