Rekha Gupta, Murmu watch 221-ft Ravana burn in Dwarka

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta marked Vijayadashami at the Dwarka Sector 10 Ramlila Ground on Tuesday evening, where President Droupadi Murmu watched a 221-foot Ravana effigy go up in flames. "Truth always triumphs over falsehood," Gupta said, describing Dussehra as a reminder that good wins over evil in every age, ANI reported.

Across the city, Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed the Ravana Dahan at the DDA Utsav Ground in IP Extension, where he called Vijayadashami a symbol of the end of tyranny and terror.

Key points

• Where: Dwarka Sector 10 Ramlila Ground (Dwarka Shri Ramlila Society) and the DDA Utsav Ground, IP Extension (Shri Ramlila Committee Indraprastha).
• Who: President Droupadi Murmu, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and CM Rekha Gupta at Dwarka; PM Narendra Modi at IP Extension.
• Dwarka's Ravana effigy stood 221 feet tall, up from 211 feet last year.
• Rekha Gupta's message: follow Lord Ram's ideals to fight corruption, drug abuse, crime, discrimination and violence against women.
• PM Modi's message: Vijayadashami marks the end of tyranny and terror, and Ramlila keeps Lord Ram's ideals alive.

What Rekha Gupta said at Dwarka

Gupta said Vijayadashami is about more than Lord Ram's victory over Ravana. It is a symbol that good finally wins over evil, she said, and a call to live by Ram's ideals, ANI and The News Mill reported.

She made three main points:

• The fight goes on: Ravana was defeated, but the evils he stands for are still present in society, she said.
• The evils she named: Corruption, drug and substance abuse, crime, discrimination and violence against women.
• The answer: People must adopt Lord Ram's values of truth, duty and respect in their own lives, and work together for the country's progress.

"Truth always triumphs over falsehood," she said, a line also carried in the official release.

Delhi's Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu gave a similar message in his Vijayadashami greetings, calling the festival a victory of truth over falsehood, ThePrint reported.

Dwarka's 221-foot Ravana

The Dwarka Shri Ramlila Society's effigy has become one of the biggest attractions of Delhi's Dussehra.

The organisers have said they believe it could be the tallest Ravana effigy in the world, though there is no official record to confirm that. Last year's 211-foot figure at the same ground was widely described as the tallest in India.

President Murmu and Union Home Minister Amit Shah both attended the Dwarka event, India TV and Oneindia reported.

PM Modi at IP Extension: "end of tyranny and terror"

Prime Minister Modi joined the Vijayadashami celebrations organised by the Shri Ramlila Committee Indraprastha at the DDA Utsav Ground in IP Extension, Patparganj, in East Delhi, IANS and India TV reported.

After the Ravana Dahan, he spoke about the meaning of the festival:

• Victory of truth: Vijayadashami marks the victory of truth over falsehood, he said, and the end of tyranny and terror, according to IANS and Free Press Journal.
• Ramlila's role: He said Ramlila performances keep Lord Ram's teachings and ideals alive for each new generation.
• Ramrajya: ETV Bharat reported that he described Ramrajya as a system of governance free from discrimination.

He began his speech by offering his salutations to Lord Ram, Mother Janaki and Lord Hanuman, Free Press Journal reported.

Why the leaders' messages matter

Dussehra speeches by national and state leaders are usually short and festive, but they often carry a wider message.

This year the two themes were clear. Modi linked the festival to standing up against "tyranny and terror", a phrase that matches the government's strong public line on terrorism. Rekha Gupta, Delhi's chief minister since February 2025, turned the festival into a call to fight everyday problems in the city: drugs, crime and the safety of women.

For many Delhi families, though, the evening was about something simpler: watching a giant effigy burn with their children, and the end of ten nights of Ramlila.

Ramlila and Vijayadashami: the tradition behind the night

Vijayadashami means "the tenth day of victory". In north India it marks the day Lord Ram defeated the demon king Ravana, after a battle told in the Ramayana. The ten nights before it are the season of Ramlila, the staged retelling of Ram's life, from his exile to the war in Lanka.

In Delhi, hundreds of local committees put on a Ramlila every year, from small neighbourhood stages to the big grounds at Dwarka, IP Extension and the Red Fort area. On the last evening, effigies of Ravana, his brother Kumbhakarna and his son Meghnad are filled with firecrackers and set alight, usually by an arrow of fire, as the crowd cheers.

UNESCO listed the Ramlila tradition as part of the world's intangible cultural heritage in 2008, recognising it as a living tradition passed down through communities rather than a single performance.

In eastern India, the same day ends Durga Puja and celebrates the goddess Durga's victory over the demon Mahishasura. Different stories, but the same idea: good wins over evil in the end.

Dussehra date: why it was 20 October in Delhi

In most of north India, including Delhi, Dussehra was celebrated on Tuesday, 20 October 2026, at the end of Sharad Navratri. In West Bengal and in Mysuru, Vijayadashami falls on Wednesday, 21 October, because the dashami (tenth lunar day) runs from the afternoon of the 20th to the afternoon of the 21st, and regional almanacs follow it differently.

We explained the dates, the muhurat and eight places to see the festival in our Dussehra 2026 guide.

If you went to a Ravan Dahan tonight

Large Ravana Dahan events in Delhi draw very big crowds, and leaving the ground can take a long time.

• Use the Metro: Delhi Police and the Delhi Metro usually issue traffic and crowd advisories for major Ramlila grounds. Check official social media accounts before you travel.
• Keep children close: Agree on a meeting point in case you get separated.
• Fireworks: Stay behind the barricades, and keep a safe distance from the effigy until it has fully burned.
• Air quality: Delhi's air usually gets worse in late October, and smoke from effigies and fireworks adds to it. People with asthma or other breathing problems, and young children, are safer watching from further back or for a shorter time.

As the effigies came down across Delhi, the message from the stage was the same one Ramlila has carried for generations: Ravana falls every year, and every year the work of standing up for what is right begins again.