On Wednesday, October 30, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, accompanied by Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, departed for a two-day visit to Tawang.
During the visit, he will celebrate Diwali with soldiers stationed at the India-China border. Rajnath Singh is also set to inaugurate a museum dedicated to the brave Indian Army officer Major Ralengnao Bob Khathing in Tawang.
Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh will also be present on this occasion.
Under the leadership of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the nation’s top defence officials will celebrate Diwali with soldiers stationed across various parts of the country on Thursday.
This tradition was initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has celebrated Diwali with soldiers since becoming PM in 2014.
According to reports, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan will be celebrating the festival with soldiers stationed in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh Tripathi will be with naval personnel in Porbandar, Gujarat, while Indian Air Force (IAF) Chief Air Marshal AP Singh will celebrate Diwali with soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir.
As Prime Minister, Modi celebrated his first Diwali in Siachen in 2014. The following year, he visited Amritsar, Punjab in 2015.
In 2016, he was in Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh; in 2017, in Gurez Valley, Jammu and Kashmir; and in 2018, he visited Harsil in Uttarakhand. In 2019, he returned to Jammu and Kashmir, and in 2020, he celebrated Diwali in Longewala, Rajasthan.
In 2021, he was again in Jammu and Kashmir, at Naushera. He spent the next two Diwalis with soldiers in Kargil, Ladakh, and Lepcha, Himachal Pradesh.