Dussehra celebrated across country with great enthusiasm

Dussehra should also mark the burning of ideologies which are not about India’s development but about fulfilling selfish interests

MP, 25 Oct 2023, New Delhi: Dussehra also known as Vijayadashmi was celebrated on Tuesday across the country with different rituals and activities, marking the triumph of good over evil. 

Huge effigies of demon king Ravana, his son Meghnad and brother Kumbhakarna went up in flames at various grounds across the length and breadth of the country in celebrations attended by common people as well as political leaders. 

President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and several other leaders attended events across Delhi to mark Dussehra festivities. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended an event in Dwarka in the national capital and called upon people to finish off forces trying to divide the country with casteism and regionalism, saying Dussehra should also mark the burning of ideologies which are not about India’s development but about fulfilling selfish interests. 

Addressing a gathering at the event, he said the festival should not be confined to the burning of Ravana’s effigies and Lord Ram’s victory over the demon but also mark the triumph of patriotism over every evil in the country. Modi shot an arrow using a ceremonial bow, kick-starting the ‘Lanka Dahan’ celebrations. 

President Murmu attended Dussehra celebrations hosted by the Shri Dharmik Leela Committee at the ground opposite the Red Fort here. She was later handed a ceremonial bow and arrow to shoot towards the effigies, following which they were set ablaze. 

Senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi attended Dussehra celebrations at an event hosted by the Nav Shri Dharmik Leela Committee. 

Amid chants of ‘Jai Shri Ram’, Gandhi was gifted a copy of the Ramayana at the event. Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also attended Dussehra festivities hosted by different Ramlila committees. 

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh celebrated Dussehra with Army soldiers in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang, a strategically key region close to China. Dussehra signifies the victory of good over evil, Singh said after performing Shastra Puja’ (worship of weapons) at a military base. 

Dussehra also marked the end of the nine-day festivities of ‘Navratra’. In West Bengal, goddess Durga idols were immersed on Vijayadashami at various river ghats across the state. The Kolkata police made elaborate security measures at the 34 ghats along the Hooghly river in the city, a senior officer said. 

During the day, women participated in the traditional ‘Sindur Khela’ (smearing vermilion on each other’s faces) and offered sweets and prayers to the goddess before bidding her farewell for the year. 

In Kolkata, several celebrities, including film actress Rituparna Sengupta, took part in the Sindur Khela’ ritual at various community puja pandals. In Jammu and Kashmir, people thronged the Sher-e-Kashmir cricket stadium in Srinagar to celebrate Dussehra. Giant effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Meghnad were set afire at the practice ground of the cricket stadium amidst thunderous cheers from the people, officials said. Also Read - Priyanka to make big announcement in Jhunjhunu rally: Gehlot A large number of Muslims, including PDP leader Iltija Mufti, also came to witness the celebrations, they said, adding the festival was celebrated with great fervour in Jammu as well. In Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath led the traditional ‘shobha yatra’ in the city on Vijayadashmi as the head seer of the Gorakshpeeth, with people lining the streets and standing at vantage points to welcome the colourful procession. Members of Muslim and Sindhi communities were among those who greeted Adityanath at various places along the route as he stood on a decked-up ‘rath’ (chariot). In Bihar, the government made elaborate security arrangements, including deployment of drones and installation of CCTV cameras at sensitive points, to ensure peaceful celebrations of Dussehra in the state. The security was beefed up across the state after a five-year-old boy and two women were killed on Monday in a stampede at a Durga Puja pandal in Gopalganj district. In Punjab and Haryana, effigies of Ravana, Meghnad and Kumbhakarana were set on fire at scores of places. Punjab CM attended a Dussehra event at Hoshiarpur. He said it is good to see that a number of children have come to witness the festivities and it will help give them an even better understanding about “our rich culture and traditions”. https://www.millenniumpost.in/nation/dussehra-celebrated-across-country-with-great-enthusiasm-537877