Twitter has just launched the an emoji for the festival of Diwali in India, in the form of a traditional lamp or diya used to celebrate the festival. Twitter users can add the emoji by using the hashtag #HappyDiwali while composing a Tweet.
"The #HappyDiwali emoji is a delightful, colourful way to unite Indians all over the world and celebrate the festival of lights together on Twitter,” said Rishi Jaitly, Vice President of Media, APAC and MENA, Twitter. The emoji was launched by Bollywood actors Salman Khan and Sonam Kapoor today morning. Twitter India is also inviting users to tweet Diwali photos, which will be combined in a Diwali mosaic on Thursday, 12 Nov. on the Diwali on Twitter website.
Aap Sabhi Ko Prem Wali Diwali Mubarak Ho! #HappyDiwali #PRDP— Salman Khan (@BeingSalmanKhan) November 9, 2015
This is Twitter's second India-specific emoji in a week. On 4 Nov., the Indian government’s #MakeInIndia campaign became the first non-US brand to have its own Twitter emoji in the form of a black lion on an orange background.
Ladies and gentlemen, Twitter launches the Emoji version of India's favourite lion from their global head quarters #MakeInIndia— Make in India (@makeinindia) November 4, 2015
These measures aim to make the platform more interactive. Earlier in the year, it had rolled out Indian flag emoji for the country’s independence day on Aug. 15.
The PM launches the Independence Day emoji; you can add the tricolor to your tweets by using hashtag #India https://t.co/7aKIutJ0qN— Twitter India (@TwitterIndia) August 15, 2015
During the the first-ever Pro Kabaddi League held in August, it even started the #ProKabaddi and #ThighFive emoji for fans of Kabaddi, India’s indigenous contact sport.
Join the #ProKabaddi fever and share your #ThighFive using our new Twitter emojis! pic.twitter.com/DDNtZ4hRop— ProKabaddi (@ProKabaddi) August 21, 2015