Everyone's own 'Ravana': From Gyanesh Kumar to cockroaches and drugs - the unusual effigies burnt across India on Dussehra

'Fight together against enemies of nation': PM Modi calls for unity at Delhi Dussehra celebrations

New Delhi: This Dussehra, the flames ignited a message far beyond myth. Organisers across India turned the traditional burning of Ravana's effigy into a platform for modern outrage. Standing beside the traditional representations of Ravana, Meghnad and Kumbhkaran were new and striking targets, including effigies of politicians, drug addiction, fake medicines and pressing societal evils meant to grab public attention.

In Delhi, the Youth Congress portrayed Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar as Ravana and burnt his effigy. According to news agency PTI, party workers also staged a street play titled 'Vote Chori Ki Raasleela' during the event. The protest took place as Opposition parties accused the Election Commission of irregularities in voter rolls and criticised its functioning.

Cockroach effigy joins Ravana

At Pitampura in northwest Delhi, the annual Ramlila organised by the Shri Keshav Ramlila Committee featured a 30-foot-tall cockroach effigy along with those of Ravana, Meghnad and Kumbhkaran. The committee said that the cockroach represented filth.

The unusual choice led to a response from the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), whose founder, Abhijeet Deepke, thanked the organisers for giving the group publicity free of cost. Ratna Singh, the pressure group's legal head, described the episode as a 'tamasha'.

The cockroach effigy added a new element to the celebrations, where organisers often use traditional ritual to represent issues they believe deserve public attention.

'Aaj Ka Ravana' targets fake medicines

At West Delhi's Paschim Vihar, the Indraprastha Ramlila Committee followed its tradition of using an additional effigy to highlight social problems. This year, the fourth effigy was named 'Aaj Ka Ravana', along with the traditional images of the demon king and his brothers, Kumbhkaran and Meghnad.

Committee President Sandeep Bindu said the effigy represented alleged manipulation of generic medicine prices and the illegal trade in counterfeit drugs. He said that medicine prices had become difficult for ordinary people to afford, while fake medicines posed a serious risk to patients.

Lucknow effigy targets 'dimaghi naxalvaad'

Lucknow's Ramlila ground featured a massive 75-foot Ravana built around a theme, targeting "anti-national", "anti-Sanatan" and "Dimaghi Naxal".

The choice of theme gave the traditional burning a political and ideological message. The terms were used by the organisers to describe the alleged forces they wanted to see defeated through the symbolism of the Dussehra ritual.

Amit Shah torches drug menace in Punjab

Union Home Minister Amit Shah attended a Dussehra effigy-burning event at Daresi Ground in Ludhiana during his visit to Punjab. The effigy there represented 'chitta', a term commonly used in Punjab for certain illicit drugs, including heroin.

Drug abuse has featured prominently in Punjab's political debate, with the state due to hold assembly elections next year. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has made the issue part of its political pitch in the state.

Shah promised that a BJP government in the state would eliminate the drug problem if the party came to power.

Indore's murder case effigies

In Indore, an organisation named 'Paurush' attempted to burn effigies bearing the photographs of Muskan Rastogi and Sahil Shukla, who were recently sentenced to death for the murder of Saurabh Rajput.

The police intervened and asked the organisers to remove the photographs. The images were taken off the effigy before it was burnt.

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