On the sacred occasion of Maharishi Valmiki Parkash Purab, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann travelled to Gandhi Basti, Dhuri in Sangrur district on Sunday, 26 October 2026, to pay obeisance to the revered sage and personally flag off a grand Shobha Yatra — a procession celebrating the ancient author of the Ramayana whose teachings on equality and justice resonate across generations.

Mann's message at Gandhi Basti

Standing before the Valmiki community at Dhuri, Mann invoked the Ramayana's timeless moral architecture, pledging that his government would walk 'the path of truth, righteousness, equality and justice' charted by the sage. He described Punjab as 'the sacred land of Guru Sahiban, saints and peers' — a place where, in his words, 'the seeds of hatred could never flourish.' The framing was deliberate: humanity, dignity, and brotherhood as non-negotiable pillars of governance.

Valmiki Parkash Purab and its significance in Punjab

Maharishi Valmiki, the ancient sage traditionally credited with composing the Ramayana, is venerated by millions — particularly by Valmiki communities across north India and Punjab's working-class neighbourhoods. His birth anniversary, Parkash Purab (literally, 'festival of illumination'), is marked every year with Shobha Yatras, kirtan programmes, and community feasts. In Punjab, where the Valmiki community constitutes a significant and historically marginalised social group, the day carries both spiritual and political weight.

Punjab's elected leaders across party lines have long participated in Parkash Purab observances — a pattern of cultural engagement that signals solidarity with communities whose voices have often been heard more loudly in festivals than in policy rooms. Mann's direct presence in Dhuri, rather than a symbolic message from Chandigarh, underscores the AAP government's street-level outreach strategy.

The AAP government's social harmony pitch

Bhagwant Mann has led Punjab since March 2022 as the Aam Aadmi Party's chief ministerial face. His administration has repeatedly leaned into the state's composite spiritual identity — Sikh gurus, Sufi saints, and sages like Valmiki — as a rhetorical anchor for governance. Sunday's event fits that arc cleanly: a sitting chief minister at a community procession, quoting scripture, and translating ancient values into a present-day political promise.

The Shobha Yatra at Gandhi Basti will have wound through Dhuri's streets as a public demonstration of that promise. Whether it translates into lasting policy attention for the Valmiki community — on housing, employment, or social dignity — is the question the day's imagery alone cannot answer.