Off-season Diwali: Candles, diyas & flash lights illumine million Indian houses at the call of PM Modi

April 5: Responding to the call of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, the nation joined hands for a for a nine-minute candlelight vigil at 9 PM on April 5 as a means “to dispel the darkness spread by the coronavirus pandemic.” All lights inside residences were switched off and people went on to the balcony and near their gates to light candles and earthern lamps (diyas). Many were seen to wave flash lights from their mobile phones. It was indeed a feast for the eyes with dazzling lights everywhere. All the 3 districts of Barak Valley too joined the nation in this appeal made by the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for a nine-minute candlelight vigil. The light will make the darkness spread by coronavirus pandemic fade away as 1.3 billion countrymen fight the virus together. He said we have to inspire hope for the poor who are the most severely affected by the lockdown.

The Prime Minister cautioned that we have to light up lamps and dispel the darkness only within our homes and not by stepping outside. Social distancing is the only effective tool to counter the spread of the virus.

Though the opposition parties like Congress and the left vehemently criticised this move of PM Modi, but the nation seemed to be on a mood of displaying a sense of unity and nationalism at this hour of crisis. Mr. Modi made it very clear that the coronavirus threat could only be combated with the full cooperation of people, and that the collective strength was what would take the country out of what he termed “darkness that engulfs us” in the form of coronavirus.

Mr. Modi acknowledged that being under lockdown could be a lonely experience full of anxiety and assured people that “we, none of us, are alone” and that the “collective will of 1.3 billion people of India was with us in this time of crisis.”

The applause offered by 1.3 billion people during Janata curfew to the frontline warriors inspired other nations to do the same for their healthcare workers, police, and others who are fighting the virus and keeping the essential supplies working.

In his earlier exhortation to applaud essential services workers during the Janata Curfew of March 22 saw instances of mass gatherings in some parts of the country, Mr. Modi made it a point to say that nobody should repeat it. “Either stay at your doors, on your balcony etc, but please do not cross the ‘Laxman Rekha’ of your home,” he said.