Rajnath Singh to Celebrate Diwali with Troops at Nathu La, Sherathang War Memorial in Sikkim

New Delhi, November 7, 2026: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is spending Diwali 2026 with personnel of the Indian Armed Forces deployed in forward areas, including along the India-China border in Sikkim, continuing a long-running practice of senior defence leadership celebrating major festivals with troops serving in difficult operational conditions.

On Saturday, November 7, the eve of Diwali, Singh is scheduled to interact with Indian Army personnel at Bagdogra Airfield in Darjeeling and at Sukna near Siliguri in West Bengal. Sukna is an important military station linked to the Trishakti Corps (33 Corps). Upon arrival at Bagdogra Airport, he was received by West Bengal Minister Shankar Ghosh and Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Ashutosh Dixit.

On Sunday, November 8, Diwali day, the Defence Minister will visit the Sherathang War Memorial in East Sikkim, near the Nathu La pass on the India-China border. He will pay tribute to soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice in service of the nation and meet defence personnel deployed in the region.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Singh said: “On the eve of Diwali today, I shall be in Darjeeling to interact with our brave Defence Forces personnel at Bagdogra airfield and Sukna (Siliguri). Tomorrow, 08th November, I shall be visiting Sherathang War Memorial in Sikkim to pay my tributes to India’s brave-hearts who laid down their lives while serving the nation. I shall also be interacting with the defence personnel deployed in the region.”

The Sherathang War Memorial, also called the Watershed Martyr’s Memorial, commemorates Indian Army personnel who died while guarding the Indo-China frontier in Sikkim, including those killed in the 1967 Nathu La and Cho La clashes. The memorial is a reminder of the sacrifices made in one of the most strategically sensitive stretches of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Singh has made it a tradition to celebrate major festivals with frontline troops. He usually marks Vijayadashami, or Dussehra, with personnel at key military stations, although he could not do so this year because of an official visit abroad. In 2025, he observed Dussehra with troops at the Bhuj Military Station in Gujarat, where he took part in a traditional “Bada Khana” and Shastra Puja and also witnessed a multi-agency exercise near the India-Pakistan border. In 2024, he celebrated Diwali with soldiers at the 4 Corps Headquarters in Tezpur, Assam, and Holi with personnel at the Leh Military Station in Ladakh.

The visit to the Nathu La sector comes at a time when India and China are making efforts to maintain peace and stability along the LAC. In September 2026, the Indian and Chinese armies held their first Corps Commander-level meeting in the Eastern Sector, expanding the military dialogue mechanism beyond the Western, or Ladakh, sector. Indo-Tibetan Border Police chief Shatrujeet Kapur recently said face-offs between Indian and Chinese forces had continued at multiple locations along the LAC since July, including in Arunachal Pradesh. Separately, cross-border trade through the Nathu La pass resumed in August 2026 after being suspended for more than six years.

Singh’s Diwali engagement with troops is intended to lift morale and signal the country’s recognition of the service rendered by personnel stationed far from home in harsh high-altitude conditions.