Rajnath Singh to perform Shastra Puja with soldiers in Sikkim on Sunday

Defence minister Rajnath Singh will carry out Shastra Puja – worshipping of weapons – on then event of Dussehra on Sunday with the troopers of the Indian Army.

Singh will carry out the puja with one of many native items deployed in Sikkim close to the China border. He launched into a two-day go to to West Bengal and Sikkim on Saturday.

Shastra Puja is a ritual carried out by the Hindus yearly across the time of Dussehra. Singh had carried out the puja in France final yr, on the primary Rafale fighter jet India formally obtained.

He emblazoned the plane with an Om tilak and laid flowers and a coconut as a part of the ritual. The defence minister additionally took a 35-minute sortie within the two-seater jet.

Singh is visiting Sikkim to spice up the morale of Indian troops deployed towards the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on the border. He will assessment the deployment of troops on the borders and assess their preparedness towards the PLA.

The defence minister visited the Headquarters of 33 Corps at Sukna in Darjeeling on Saturday the place he stated that the nation’s boundaries are safe as a result of its troopers.

“India always wants good relations with all its neighbouring countries, we have always made an effort for the same. But our jawans have had to sacrifice their lives from time to time to protect our borders, integrity and universality,” he stated.

“This time in Galwan, our 20 jawans of Bihar Regiment sacrificed themselves to protect our motherland…The nation and its boundaries are secure due to you,” he added.

The defence minister was accompanied by Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Mukund Naravane.

India and China are engaged in a border standoff since April-May this yr. While the Ladakh sector has been the main target of the present spherical of border tensions with China, a tense confrontation between Indian and Chinese troopers happened in north Sikkim in early May, simply days after a brawl between rival troops on the northern financial institution of Pangong Tso.

The standoff, presently in its sixth month, has taken India-China ties to a brand new low, with troops even firing warning pictures at friction factors in August-September. This was the primary occasion of pictures being fired alongside the LAC since October 1975.