Kashmir Impulse Desk
Srinagar, Nov 8
Diwali was celebrated across Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, with religious ceremonies, illuminated public spaces and community gatherings marking the festival.
In Srinagar, Lal Chowk emerged as a focal point of celebrations, with the Ghanta Ghar decorated with lights, earthen lamps and flowers. Residents, devotees and tourists gathered around the clock tower as priests performed special prayers.
Members of the Muslim community also joined the celebrations, exchanging greetings and sweets with Hindu neighbours and friends.
Special Lakshmi and Ganesh pujas were held at temples across the Valley, which witnessed a steady flow of devotees throughout the day.
Markets in Srinagar remained busy in the days leading up to the festival, with people purchasing sweets, decorative lights, candles, flowers and other festive items. Sweet shops and commercial establishments reported increased activity.
The festival also brought business to local potters, who had prepared traditional earthen lamps ahead of Diwali.
“It is one of the busiest times of the year for us. We start making diyas well before Diwali, and people still prefer clay lamps because they carry tradition with them,” said Arif Ahmad, a potter from Nishat.
Tourists visiting Kashmir also took part in the celebrations, with several gathering at Ghanta Ghar to watch the festivities and take photographs.
Students from Jammu and other parts of the country studying in Srinagar also joined the celebrations.
Similar festivities were reported from Ramban, Doda and Kishtwar districts, where temples were decorated and special religious ceremonies held.
Markets in these districts witnessed increased activity, with shops selling sweets, dry fruits, garments, jewellery and decorative items attracting customers.
Residents illuminated their homes with earthen lamps and electric lights, while children exchanged sweets and greetings.
A local shopkeeper, Subash Sharma, said Diwali was being celebrated with increasing enthusiasm in the town.
Pandit Sham Lal Sharma said the festivities traditionally begin with Dhanteras, when people purchase valuables and offer prayers for wealth and prosperity.
Meanwhile, Army personnel deployed along the Line of Control in north Kashmir celebrated Diwali with residents of border villages, sharing sweets and organising community events.
Troops of the Rustam Battalion, under the Pir Panjal Brigade and Dagger Division, organised a Diwali Mela at Nambla village in Uri sector of Baramulla district on Saturday.
Around 568 people from villages near the Line of Control attended the event, which included sports competitions, cultural programmes, music, games, festive stalls and lucky draws.
Traditional lamps were lit during the gathering, which was attended by people from different religious and social backgrounds. Brigadier Ashish Kaushal also attended the event.
The Army said the programme was aimed at strengthening ties with residents of remote border villages in Baramulla, Kupwara and Bandipora districts.
These areas face difficult terrain, harsh weather and limited connectivity, while troops remain deployed to maintain security along the border.
The Army has also conducted community outreach activities, including medical camps, sports events and educational programmes, in these settlements.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, celebrating Diwali with security personnel in Bastar, Chhattisgarh, said armed Naxalism had been eliminated from the country but warned that what he described as ideological support for the movement remained a challenge.
Addressing security personnel, Modi said the country had won its decades-long battle against Naxalite-Maoist violence but needed to remain alert against individuals he called “dimagi Naxals”.
He alleged that such elements had entered political parties and other organisations and were working against constitutional and democratic institutions.
“This is the first Diwali when the country has won the decades-long battle against Naxalite-Maoist terror,” he said, adding that every district in the country was now free from Naxalism.
Modi credited security personnel for the improvement in the security situation and said he had visited Bastar on behalf of the country’s 1.4 billion people to acknowledge their sacrifices.
He said more than 230 districts across nearly 20 states had previously been affected by Naxalism.
Recalling the scale of violence, he referred to the 2010 Dantewada attack in which 76 Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed and another incident that year in which 44 civilians lost their lives.
He said more than 1,000 security personnel had been killed in Chhattisgarh during the decades-long campaign against Naxalism.
Modi said the government’s approach since 2014 had combined security operations with efforts to weaken the financial and logistical networks of the movement.
He said security forces had been given greater operational freedom and cited action against counterfeit currency and supply networks as measures that had weakened Naxalite capabilities.
The prime minister said the campaign was also intended to prevent young people from joining armed groups.
Linking security operations with development, he said more than 15,000 km of roads had been built in Naxal-affected areas and over 9,500 mobile towers installed.
He also cited the establishment of nearly 150 Eklavya Model Residential Schools, around 50 Industrial Training Institutes and about 50 skill development centres.
Thousands of post offices, bank branches and ATMs had also been opened in affected areas, he said.
Modi said initiatives such as the Bastar Olympics were encouraging young people to take part in sports rather than violence.
He also cited a World Bank report, saying 500 million people had moved out of extreme poverty in India over the past 12 years.
The prime minister celebrated Diwali with personnel of the CoBRA force at its operations base in Karanpur and distributed sweets among them. He also acknowledged the contribution of the CRPF, CoBRA, Border Security Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Sashastra Seema Bal, state police and special forces.
Separately, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi recalled her family’s Diwali traditions, including Kashmiri food and sweet rice, in a video shared on social media.
In the video, recorded with her daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and granddaughter Miraya Vadra, Sonia recalled celebrations at 1 Safdarjung Road, the former residence of Indira Gandhi.
She said the family traditionally lit earthen lamps around the garden, pond, veranda, rooftop and pathways, beginning near an idol of Lord Ganesh.
She also recalled buying firecrackers from Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi with her family.
Sonia said she particularly enjoyed sparklers and remembered the clear skies and pleasant weather associated with Diwali celebrations in earlier years.
