Ravana Gets a Cockroach for Company: Delhi to Burn 30-Foot Effigy Alongside Ravana

Delhi’s Dussehra celebrations are set to feature an unusual addition this year, a 30-foot-tall cockroach effigy that will be burned alongside Ravana, adding a contemporary social message to the traditional spectacle of good triumphing over evil.

The Shree Keshav Ram Leela Committee, which is organising the event, says the oversized insect represents dirt and unhygienic surroundings. The initiative is intended to draw attention to cleanliness at a time when campaigns such as the government’s Swachh Bharat Mission continue to emphasise sanitation, waste management and public hygiene.

Committee president Ashok Goel Devaraha said the idea reinforces the familiar message of Dussehra, the victory of good over evil, while encouraging people to maintain cleaner homes, streets and neighbourhoods. The cockroach is also being incorporated into the Ram Leela performance, where it appears as an asura, or demon, in Ravana’s army.

However, the unusual choice of effigy has sparked a debate online, with reactions ranging from amusement and appreciation to political speculation. While some users have welcomed the creative attempt to connect a traditional festival with everyday civic problems, others have interpreted the cockroach as a possible dig at the protesting Cockroach Janata Party (CJP).

The organisers, however, have denied any political motive, maintaining that the effigy is intended to symbolise filth and promote cleanliness rather than target any political group.

The episode highlights how public celebrations are increasingly becoming platforms for messages extending beyond religious tradition. While Ravana’s burning remains the central symbol of Dussehra, the additional effigy has introduced a distinctly contemporary theme, bringing sanitation, public perception and political interpretation into the festival conversation.

Whether viewed as a creative cleanliness campaign or a subject of political controversy, the giant cockroach is likely to become one of the more talked-about features of Delhi’s Dussehra celebrations.