Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh plans to celebrate Dussehra festival with the jawans of the Border Security Force (BSF) in his two-day visit to Bikaner. He is going to hold ‘Shashtra Pooja’ along the sensitive Indo-Pak border in Rajasthan’s Bikaner on October 19.
Shashtra Pooja or worship of weapons is a tradition concomitant to the celebrations of Dussehra which is celebrated to mark the victory of Lord Ram over the evil Ravana. This will be perhaps the first time a senior Government of India minister will hold ‘Shashtra Pooja’ along the vexatious Indo-Pak border. Though, the border in Rajasthan has been relatively peaceful, the Border guarding forces of the two nations routinely engage in deadly skirmishes along the Jammu and Kashmir border. Pakistani forces, on multiple occasions, have resorted to inhumanity and unspeakable brutality with our BSF jawans. Last month, Pak forces slit the throat of a BSF jawan after shooting him along the International Border in Jammu.
Last year, the home minister had celebrated Dussehra at Joshimath in Uttarakhand along the Sino-Indian border with ITBP jawans.
On his two-day visit to Rajasthan, Singh is expected to arrive in Bikaner on October 18 and spend a night on the border outpost, followed by celebrating the festival with Jawans on October 19, as per a report. He will attend a ‘Bada Khana’ (feast with the jawans) and address the security personnel.
Singh is also expected to review the situation on the border and assess the progress in various infrastructure projects. Under Rajnath Singh, ‘smart fence‘ project was initiated to seal the border along Pakistan, rendering it impregnable for the enemies. The fortification process of the border is almost complete, with the exception of some areas with difficult terrain. Once the fortification process of India-Pakistan border is finished, the same will be implemented along the Bangladesh border to curb a large number of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas from entering India illegally.