Pune Book Festival Sets Guinness World Record for ‘Largest Display of Posters,’ Honours Tribal Leader
PUNE: The city of Pune has secured a new global distinction, setting a Guinness World Record for the “largest display of posters” at the Pune Book Festival organised at Fergusson College grounds.
The record was confirmed on Saturday by Guinness World Records adjudicator Swapnil Dangrikar, who announced that “India has now surpassed the US to claim the record for the longest display of posters.”
The record-breaking effort, which took place on December 12, successfully displayed 1,678 posters featuring words from various tribal languages. This count significantly surpassed the previous record of 1,365 posters set in the US in February 2025.
A Tribute to Birsa Munda and Tribal Culture
The achievement was not merely for scale but carried profound cultural significance. Organisers stated that the massive display was a direct tribute to the life and work of tribal leader and freedom fighter Bhagwan Birsa Munda.
“A dedicated Birsa Munda gallery has been set up to honour his contribution to tribal society and India’s freedom movement. The Guinness World Record was created as part of this initiative by showcasing posters containing tribal vocabulary,” said Rajesh Pande, Convenor of the Pune Book Festival.
१३ वा गिनीज विश्व विक्रम
— Rajesh Pande (@PandeRajeshBJP) December 12, 2025
पुण्याचा मान, महोत्सवाचा सन्मान! 🏆📚
पुणे पुस्तक महोत्सवाची दमदार सुरुवात! 🚩📖
भगवान बिरसा मुंडा यांच्या १५० व्या जयंतीनिमित्त आदिवासी समाजातील लोप पावत चाललेल्या बोली भाषा, रानभाज्या, लोकजीवन आणि संस्कृती यांचे १६७८ पोस्टर्स या अनोख्या प्रदर्शनाची… pic.twitter.com/oPO8ygf0c1
The certificate for the world record officially credits the achievement to the Pune Book Festival, Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University (YCMOU), and the RISE Foundation.
Social activist and Padma Shri awardee Girish Prabhune further highlighted the importance of the initiative, stating that documenting and preserving “dying dialects” is crucial. He suggested that documenting tribal languages in the Devanagari script could help disseminate the wealth of knowledge embedded in them.
The Pune Book Festival, organised by the National Book Trust (NBT), is running from December 13 to 21, offering Puneites a feast of literature and culture, now officially stamped with a world record.
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