From Shimla to Parliament Hill in Ottawa — Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu joined a celebration of the Kullu Dussehra festival in Canada virtually on Sunday, 18 October 2026, as the Himachali Pravasi Global Association (HPGA) brought the world-famous festival to the Canadian capital's most iconic address.

Sukhu addressed the gathering in Hindi, congratulating the HPGA and all Himachalis for mounting the event. 'हिमाचल की संस्कृति और परंपराएँ हमारी पहचान हैं' ('The culture and traditions of Himachal are our identity'), he said, framing the overseas celebration as living proof of India's cherished 'unity in diversity' legacy carried across generations.

Nati, Jhamakda, and Ramlila light up Ottawa

The event was hosted by Marie-France Lalonde, Member of Parliament for Orléans, one of Ottawa's most diverse federal constituencies. Performances of the traditional Himachali folk dance Nati, the Jhamakda, and segments of Ramlila coloured the evening — carrying the mountain valley's folk culture thousands of kilometres from the Kullu valley to a Parliament Hill audience. It is precisely these unrehearsed cultural exports that make diaspora-organised festivals more than nostalgia: they become a soft-power calling card.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also extended his wishes on the occasion of Kullu Dussehra, a gesture Sukhu cited in his address as a mark of the warmth between the two countries' peoples.

Why Kullu Dussehra stands apart

Kullu Dussehra is no ordinary regional fair. Celebrated in the Kullu valley of Himachal Pradesh every year, it draws hundreds of thousands of pilgrims and tourists when deities from across the valley converge in grand processions — a tradition that makes it internationally recognised and listed among India's most distinctive festival spectacles. Where most of India marks Dussehra on Vijayadashami with the burning of Ravana's effigy, Kullu's celebration begins precisely on that day and runs for seven more, giving it a singular cultural footprint.

Sukhu reminded the Ottawa audience of this symbolism. Dussehra, he said, is the triumph of good over evil and an inspiration to walk the path of truth and justice — and to stand on the right side in every circumstance.

HPGA's Ottawa moment and the diaspora bridge

The HPGA board members present at the event — Bhagya Chandra, Arun Chauhan, Vivek Nazar, Sanjeev Thakur, Ashu Kalia, and Poonam Guleria — represent the associational muscle that keeps regional Indian identities alive abroad. Indian state governments have increasingly partnered with such diaspora bodies, recognising that a Nati performed in Ottawa carries as much cultural-diplomacy weight as a formal bilateral meeting.

For CM Sukhu, a virtual address to an event at Parliament Hill is also a signal to Himachal's overseas community that the state government sees them not as a distant constituency but as ambassadors of a living culture. The Kullu Dussehra stage at Ottawa may be temporary — but the bridge it reinforces is not.