Delhi Ramlila to burn 30-foot cockroach effigy beside Ravan on Dussehra

A Ramlila committee in Delhi's Pitampura plans to burn a 30-foot effigy of a cockroach alongside the effigies of Ravan, Kumbhkaran and Meghnad on Vijayadashami, Tuesday, October 20, 2026. The Shri Keshav Ramlila Committee, whose ground is near Netaji Subhash Place, announced this week that the giant insect would stand for "filth and dirt", and linked the move to the Swachh Bharat and Swachh Delhi cleanliness campaigns. Committee president Ashok Goel, who is also the BJP MLA from Model Town, told a news agency the decision was not driven by politics, even though it comes in the middle of protests in the capital by a group calling itself the Cockroach Janata Party. He said the effigy would reinforce the festival's message of the victory of good over evil while promoting cleanliness, and that the committee has in the past added effigies representing problems such as terrorism and Naxalism.

The burning of Ravan's effigy on Vijayadashami is one of the most familiar rituals of north Indian festival life. It closes the Ramlila, the folk retelling of the Ramayana staged over the days of Navratri, and marks the triumph of Ram over Ravan, and more broadly of good over evil. The towering figures of Ravan and his brother Kumbhkaran and son Meghnad are built by artisans and set alight before large crowds.

Over the years, many local committees have used this ritual to speak to their own times. Effigies representing social evils have been added beside Ravan to carry a message about present-day problems. Goel placed the cockroach in that line, saying the committee has done the same before with terrorism and Naxalism. In his words, as reported, the committee's aim is to remove filth from homes, from immediate surroundings and from society at large.

This year's choice has drawn extra attention because of its timing. The Cockroach Janata Party has been at the centre of protests in Delhi this month, and its founder was arrested after police detained about 150 people over a "Lehra Do Tiranga" march. The organisers say their effigy is about hygiene and civic cleanliness, not about any group. Whatever view people take, the episode shows how a long-standing ritual stays alive by absorbing the concerns and arguments of the day.

Short-term: The Pitampura Ramlila is likely to draw larger crowds and wider attention on Dussehra night. Police and civic arrangements for Ramlila grounds across Delhi will be tested as celebrations peak on October 20.

Long-term: The episode adds to a long debate over how far festival rituals should carry topical or political messages, and it may encourage other committees to add issue-based effigies in coming years.

Who is affected: Ramlila committees, artisans who make effigies, residents and visitors in north-west Delhi, the Cockroach Janata Party and its supporters, and everyone who celebrates Dussehra in the capital.

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