Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to celebrate this year’s Diwali with personnel of the Indian Navy aboard INS Vikrant off the Goa coast.

According to official sources, the visit is intended to express gratitude and solidarity with the country’s maritime defenders, particularly in recognition of the Navy’s key role in the recently concluded Operation Sindoor—India’s decisive counterstrike to the Pahalgam terror attack.

The celebration will include interactions with sailors and officers, symbolising the Prime Minister’s continued commitment to personally honour the armed forces during significant national occasions.

Since assuming office in 2014, Prime Minister Modi has made it a tradition to spend Diwali with members of the Indian armed forces stationed at various strategic locations across the nation. His first Diwali as Prime Minister was spent at the Siachen Glacier in Ladakh, where he shared the festival with soldiers operating in some of the world’s most challenging conditions.

This gesture set the tone for a decade-long tradition of blending the festive spirit with a message of national unity and gratitude toward those safeguarding India’s frontiers.

In 2015, he visited the Dograi War Memorial in Punjab’s Amritsar to pay homage to the heroes of the 1965 Indo-Pak conflict, reaffirming India’s remembrance of historical valour.

The following year took him to Sumdo, near the India–China border in Himachal Pradesh, where he celebrated Diwali with Border Security Force and Army personnel. His 2017 celebration at the Gurez sector in Jammu and Kashmir reflected support for troops deployed in sensitive border areas amid heightened tensions.

For Diwali 2018, the Prime Minister was at Harsil in Uttarakhand, celebrating the festival with personnel of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police. The next year, he visited troops at Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir, continuing his outreach to those serving in remote high-risk zones.

In 2020, amid the nationwide Covid‑19 pandemic, he travelled to Longewala in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer, the site of a defining battle in the 1971 Indo‑Pak war, to underline the unwavering resolve of India’s defence forces even in crisis conditions.

The subsequent years saw the tradition strengthen further. In 2021, he observed Diwali with soldiers at Nowshera, and in 2022, he travelled to Kargil to commemorate the martyrs of the Kargil War.

His 2023 and 2024 celebrations took place at Lepcha in Himachal Pradesh and at Sir Creek in Gujarat, respectively—both locations highlighting India’s diverse defence environments from mountainous terrain to coastal marshlands.

This year’s plan aboard INS Vikrant continues the tradition, underscoring the Prime Minister’s message that the nation’s sense of unity and resilience is illuminated not only by its festivals but also by the courage of those who defend it.

Based On NDTV Report