Rajnath Singh at Sherathang: soldiers are the brightest lights of Diwali

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh spent Diwali on Sunday with soldiers of the Trishakti Corps deployed in the forward areas of Sikkim, telling the troops at Sherathang near the China border that they are “the brightest lights of Diwali”.

“Like a lamp which dispels darkness without seeking attention, soldiers perform their duties silently, ensuring that citizens can celebrate festivals with peace and security,” he said, according to a Defence Ministry statement released at 3:08 pm IST.

He was accompanied by the Chief of the Army Staff, General Dhiraj Seth, the head of the Eastern Command, Lt Gen VMB Krishnan, and the commander of 33 Corps, Lt Gen Man Raj Singh Mann, along with other senior Army officers.

What he told the troops

Singh said the dedication and vigilance of soldiers at the borders give the entire nation a sense of security. He praised their professionalism, morale and commitment to guarding the border in difficult high-altitude conditions, and asked them to keep protecting the country with the same spirit.

He spoke of the soldiers who serve far from their families and put duty ahead of their own festivals. Many of the troops at Sherathang will spend Diwali, Govardhan Puja and Bhai Dooj away from home.

The minister then turned to discipline. No matter how advanced technology becomes, he said, it is of little use if a soldier lacks discipline and courage. It is a point he also made on Saturday in north Bengal, where he spoke of drones, anti-drone systems and modern warfare but said equipment counts for little without brave soldiers.

He also told the troops that their conduct, uniform, language and restraint shape how local communities see the Army. He asked them to keep building the trust and goodwill between the Army and the people of Sherathang and the villages around it, a frontier area where the Army and civilians live side by side.

Tribute at Sherathang and Baba Harbhajan Singh Memorial

Singh laid a wreath at the Sherathang War Memorial, which honours soldiers who gave their lives guarding this stretch of the border, including those who fell in the 1967 clashes with China at Nathu La and Cho La.

He said such memorials do more than recall past events and sacrifices: they shape collective memory and awaken national pride. The soldiers honoured there, he noted, came from Nagaland, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Assam, and laid down their lives for the people irrespective of region, language or community. That spirit of unity and service, he said, is the soul of India, where every citizen sees fellow Indians as one family.

He also visited the Baba Harbhajan Singh Memorial, which honours a soldier whose memory holds a special place in the military and civilian traditions of the region. The shrine near Nathu La is visited by soldiers and travellers alike.

Singh linked the visit to the National War Memorial in New Delhi, which the government set up to honour soldiers killed in service. “Approximately 26,000 names of the fallen heroes have been inscribed in golden letters at the National War Memorial,” he said. Seeing a name there, he added, fills the soldier’s family, relatives and home village with pride, and such memorials inspire present and future generations.

How we got here

This is the second day of the Defence Minister’s Diwali programme with the forces on the eastern frontier. On Saturday he met Air Force personnel at Bagdogra and Army troops at Sukna near Siliguri, the headquarters of 33 Corps, where he reviewed infrastructure being built near the Line of Actual Control. There he called morale “the greatest weapon” and spoke of the growth of defence manufacturing over the past decade.

He reached Sherathang in East Sikkim on Sunday morning. Sherathang lies on the road to Nathu La, the pass on the India-China border at about 14,140 feet that is also a route for border trade and for the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage.

The Sikkim visit fell on the same day that Prime Minister Narendra Modi marked Diwali with security forces at a CoBRA camp in Bastar, Chhattisgarh, a tradition he began at Siachen in 2014. Spending the festival with troops at the borders has become a fixture for the country’s political leadership.

Why it matters

The Trishakti Corps holds the line in Sikkim and north Bengal, including the approaches to the narrow Siliguri Corridor that links the northeastern states to the rest of India. Visits by the Defence Minister and the Army Chief together, on a festival day, are meant to signal attention to the troops posted in one of the most sensitive sectors of the China border.

Singh’s message to the soldiers, that discipline matters as much as new equipment and that the Army must keep the goodwill of border villages, also reflects how the government describes its approach to the frontier: better roads and infrastructure near the Line of Actual Control, paired with closer ties with the people who live there.

What happens next

The Defence Ministry has not announced further stops on the minister’s programme after Sikkim. The festival week continues with Govardhan Puja and Bhai Dooj, and other ministers marked the day with the forces too: Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal spent Diwali with BSF personnel in Bikaner. We will update this report if the ministry releases more from the visit.