PM Narendra Modi arrives in Nowshera to celebrate Diwali with soldiers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been celebrating Diwali with Indian soldiers ever since he took the office of the Prime Minister in 2014.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (November 4) arrived in Nowshera, Jammu to celebrate Diwali with soldiers maintaining the past tradition. The Nowshera sector, along the Line of Control (LoC), is situated in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district.

PM Modi has been celebrating Diwali with Indian soldiers ever since he took the office of the Prime Minister in 2014. The Prime Minister had arrived in Delhi on Tuesday after concluding his 5-day trip to Rome and UK for attending the COP26 Climate Summit.

The Prime Minister, however, extended his greetings to people on the occasion of Diwali and wished that the auspicious festival of light brings "happiness, prosperity and good fortune."

"Greetings to the countrymen on the auspicious occasion of Diwali. I wish that this festival of lights brings happiness, prosperity and good fortune in your life. Wishing everyone a very Happy Diwali," the Prime Minister tweeted. 

Last year, PM Modi while celebrating Diwali with soldiers at Longewala in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan had said that as long as the Indian soldiers are present, this country`s Diwali celebrations would continue in full swing and be luminescent.

In 2019, the Prime Minister had celebrated Diwali with soldiers in the Rajouri district along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir. He had called soldiers as his family and lauded them for guarding the borders even during festivals. He had exchanged Diwali greetings with the Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel at Pathankot Air Force Station.

In 2018, Prime Minister Modi had celebrated Diwali with jawans of the Indian Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), at Harsil in Uttarakhand. Following that he had offered prayers at the Kedarnath shrine. 

In 2017, the Prime Minister celebrated the festival of light with army soldiers and Border Security Force (BSF) personnel in the Gurez Valley of Jammu and Kashmir`s Bandipora District. 

In 2016, the PM went to Himachal Pradesh to celebrate the festival with Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel at an outpost. He visited the Punjab border to celebrate Diwali with soldiers in 2015. 

In 2014, Prime Minister Modi spent Diwali in Siachen with soldiers. Notably, PM Modi has been visiting soldiers on Diwali, ever since he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. 

Diwali is observed on the 15th day of Kartik, the holiest month in the Hindu lunar calendar, and it is believed that on this day Lord Rama returned from a 14-year-long exile during which he fought and won a battle against the demon king Ravan.

People celebrate the festival by decorating their houses, exchanging gifts, and offering prayers in order to commemorate the "victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance."

(With Agency Inputs)