THE Indian Council for Cultural Relations will organise the fifth International Ramayana Festival here between September 17-19 as part of the Indian government's exercise to project the cultural aspect of India's soft power.
Indian Home Minister Amit Shah will inaugurate the festival, which will see participation of groups from eight countries, including Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, ICCR president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe told reporters on Friday (13).
After the national capital, the festival will be held in Lucknow between September 20-22 and in Pune on September 21.
The groups will also visit Ayodhya, the holy town where Lord Ram is believed to have been born.
Asked if they will also visit the Ram temple at the disputed site, the exact place where Hindus believe Ram was born, Sahasrabuddhe said it is "natural".
There will be, however, no performance in the town.
He said cultural dimension is an important aspect of soft power and the Union government since 2015 has projected it strongly.
Groups from Trinidad & Tobago, Mauritius and Fiji will also participate in the festival, Sahasrabuddhe, a Rajya Sabha MP and the vice president of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, said.
In the festival, which is generally organised before Navaratra, artists showcase cultural interpretations of the epic.
"It is a culturally significant event as it provides a chance to witness different versions of an epic that has been traditionally transmitted by each country in its own way," an ICCR statement said.
The first festival in 2015 was inaugurated by prime minister Narendra Modi.
Security personnel inspect the site in the aftermath of an attack as food stall chairs lie empty in Pahalgam, about 90 kilometres (55 miles) from Srinagar on April 23, 2025. Indian security forces in Kashmir carried out a major manhunt on April 23, a day after gunmen opened fire on tourists killing 26 people in the region's deadliest attack on civilians since 2000. Getty Images
Tourists visit Betaab Valley in Pahalgam, about 112 km south of Srinagar on June 26, 2025.Getty Images
Pilgrims gather at the Baltal Base Camp near Domel, en route to the sacred Amarnath cave in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India, on July 29, 2025. The annual Amarnath Yatra, which began on July 3, proceeds under heightened security following a deadly terror attack in Pahalgam that claimed the lives of 25 tourists and a local pony handler. Security forces have been deployed in large numbers across the pilgrimage route, with checkpoints, surveillance, and restrictions in place to safeguard the thousands of devotees undertaking the arduous journey. The Amarnath Yatra is one of the most important Hindu pilgrimages, drawing worshippers from across India to the high-altitude Himalayan shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva. Despite the threat of violence and challenging terrain, pilgrims continue their spiritual trek, determined to complete the sacred journey under the shadow of grief and resilience.Getty Images
