At Parade Ground, Dehradun, on Tuesday, 20 October 2026, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami stood before a packed Dussehra Mahotsav audience organised by the Bannu Biradari and turned a festival stage into a policy pulpit — weaving together the mythology of Ram's victory over Ravana with a pointed government agenda on land encroachment, law and order, education, and jobs.

From Ravana's effigy to a governance manifesto

Dhami told the gathering that Vijayadashami (the festival of victory of good over evil) is 'not merely the burning of Ravana's effigy, but an occasion for introspection and self-purification.' He drew the classic moral: however powerful arrogance and unrighteousness may grow, truth and righteousness ultimately prevail. That framing, drawn from the Ram–Ravana arc, quickly pivoted to the present. The Chief Minister invoked the concept of Ram Rajya — a governance ideal rooted in justice, equality and public welfare — and declared that his government is working, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's guidance, toward making Uttarakhand the country's finest state.

The move is textbook BJP political communication: sacred narrative provides the moral scaffolding; policy announcements fill the structure beneath it. It has been deployed at state festivals before, but the specificity of Dhami's claims on this occasion gave the address added weight.

Over 13,000 acres reclaimed, anti-riot law enforced

The most concrete claims came on law and order. Dhami stated that a wide-scale campaign to free government land from encroachment has recovered more than 13,000 acres of state land. He added that a strict anti-riot law has been enacted to recover compensation from those who damage public and private property during riots. Action is also being taken, he said, against individuals who mislead or defraud people in the name of religion and faith.

Together, the measures signal a governance posture that pairs cultural pride with a firm enforcement message — a combination that resonates strongly in Uttarakhand, a Himalayan state where pilgrimage tourism and land rights are perennial flashpoints.

Education overhaul and a jobs agenda for Uttarakhand's youth

Dhami called quality, modern, and science-based education for every child a necessity, not an aspiration. His government's priority, he said, is to build knowledge, innovation, and logical thinking in children so they are ready for future challenges. On the economy, he stressed that expanding investment, entrepreneurship, and employment is essential for the state's economic progress, with local traders, entrepreneurs, and MSMEs singled out as vital contributors.

The Chief Minister appealed to residents to mark Vijayadashami by committing to the ideals of truth, righteousness, dignity and duty in their own lives — and to collectively build an Uttarakhand where every person receives justice, youth find opportunity, women live in safety, and development reaches the last person in society.

Bannu Biradari's Mahotsav and who shared the stage

The Dussehra Mahotsav was hosted by the Bannu Biradari, a community organisation with roots in the partition-era migration from Bannu (now in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa). Cabinet Minister Khajan Das, office-bearers and members of the Bannu Biradari, representatives of the organising committee, and a large number of local residents were present at Parade Ground.

In a state whose identity is inseparable from pilgrimage, mountains, and cultural memory, the annual Dussehra Mahotsav is one of Dehradun's most visible public gatherings — a natural stage for a Chief Minister to consolidate both cultural credibility and governance narrative heading into the next legislative session.