A city that has been counting its Deepotsavs like milestones reached its tenth on Saturday, 7 November 2026, as Ayodhya Dham lit up for what the Uttar Pradesh government has billed a grand commemorative celebration of Lord Ram's homecoming and coronation. The Chief Minister's Office of Uttar Pradesh extended a formal welcome to Vice President of India C.P. Radhakrishnan, who attended the ceremony as the guest of honour, with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath greeting him on behalf of the state government and Ram devotees across the country.

The CMO's post, in Hindi, read: 'Deepotsav ke 10ve sanskaran ke avsar par... Bharat ke manniya Uprashtrapati Shri C.P. Radhakrishnan ji ka... hriday se swagat evam abhinandan!' — 'On the occasion of the 10th edition of Deepotsav... a heartfelt welcome and felicitation to the Hon'ble Vice President of India, Shri C.P. Radhakrishnan, who graced the grand ceremony organised at Shri Ayodhya Dham to keep alive the memories of Lord Ram's arrival and coronation.'

A Decade of Deepotsav: How Ayodhya Built a Festival From Scratch

The first Deepotsav was held in 2017, the year Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took office, as a state-backed effort to revive and formalise the cultural traditions rooted in the Ramayana. What began as a symbolic gesture of reclaiming Ayodhya's religious identity has, over nine successive editions, grown into one of India's most-watched annual festivals of lights. Each year has layered on spectacle, scale, and infrastructure — the ghats along the Saryu river, the lanes around the Ram Mandir site, and the city's pilgrimage corridors have all seen parallel upgrades timed to the event.

The tenth edition carries the hashtag #Deepotsav1Dasak — marking one full decade — a milestone the state government has clearly chosen to mark with constitutional weight, bringing in the Vice President as the centrepiece dignitary.

VP Radhakrishnan's Presence and What It Signals

The participation of Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan elevates this year's Deepotsav beyond a state cultural event into a national-level observance. His attendance signals the Union government's continued alignment with Ayodhya's positioning as a premier pilgrimage and heritage destination. For the Yogi administration, hosting a constitutional head at a festival it founded is both a validation of the event's decade-long journey and a statement of Ayodhya's growing stature on India's cultural map.

The Uttar Pradesh government has consistently used Deepotsav as a platform to project Ayodhya's transformation — from a town of historical and religious significance to a fully developed pilgrimage economy with modern infrastructure. The tenth edition, with the Vice President in attendance, is the clearest expression yet of that ambition reaching the national stage.

Ten editions in, Deepotsav is no longer just a festival — it is a policy statement, an annual proof of concept, and now, with a decade behind it, a tradition in its own right. The question for 2027 is simply: how much bigger can Ayodhya's light burn?