On the auspicious occasion of Maharshi Valmiki Jayanti, Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar attended the closing ceremony of the third Surajkund Diwali Mela on Monday, 26 October 2026 — calling on every Indian household to make swadeshi not just a purchase, but a way of life this festive season.

Khattar described the fair as a vital platform that places skilled craftsmen, artisans, and artists directly before consumers, bypassing intermediaries and putting more value in the hands of the creator. In his words, the mela has evolved into 'aatmanirbharta, mahila sashaktikaran aur samajik ekta ka virat samagam' — a grand confluence of self-reliance, women's empowerment, and social unity.

Valmiki Jayanti as the backdrop — a deliberate pairing

The choice of date was symbolic. Maharshi Valmiki — revered across India as Adi Kavi, the first poet, and author of the Sanskrit epic Ramayana — is celebrated annually on the full moon of the Hindu month of Ashwin. Anchoring a crafts mela closing ceremony to this day frames artisanship itself as a form of creative lineage, connecting contemporary makers to a civilisational tradition of expression.

Guest artists from across India and the 'Ek Bharat' thread

Khattar noted that performances and contributions by guest artists from multiple states gave the mela a distinctly national character, describing it as a living glimpse of 'Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat' — the 2015 Government of India initiative designed to strengthen national integration through cultural exchange. The programme pairs states and union territories in rotating partnerships, encouraging their communities to share language, cuisine, craft, and art. Surajkund, located in Haryana, has long been associated with large crafts fairs that draw artisans from every corner of the country, making it a natural fit for such inter-state cultural programming.

The swadeshi call: 'Har ghar swadeshi, ghar-ghar swadeshi'

The sharpest edge of Khattar's message was directed at consumers heading into the Diwali shopping season. He urged citizens to adopt two slogans as personal commitments: 'Har ghar swadeshi, ghar-ghar swadeshi' (Swadeshi in every home, swadeshi in home after home) and 'Garv se kaho, ye swadeshi hai' (Say with pride, this is swadeshi). The appeal is a direct extension of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, launched in May 2020, which has consistently used festival seasons as moments to redirect consumer spending toward local producers and artisan clusters.

The logic is straightforward: Diwali is India's single largest retail consumption event. Steering even a fraction of that spending toward local craftspeople has an outsized multiplier effect on informal-sector incomes — precisely the constituency that craft melas like Surajkund are designed to serve.

With Diwali lights going up across the country, Khattar's message lands as both a cultural reminder and an economic nudge — the handmade diya on your shelf is also someone's livelihood.