New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday evening graced the Dussehra celebrations organised by the Dwarka Shri Ramleela Society in Sector 10, Dwarka, and led the Ravan Dahan ritual, taking part with a bow and arrow as a brief play based on the story of Ram and Ravan was staged at the event, according to reports from the venue carrying photographs from the President's Secretariat. The celebrations featured a 221-foot Ravana effigy, among the tallest in Delhi-NCR this year, The Hindu and ANI reported.

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, who attended the celebration with the President as chief guest, extended Vijayadashami greetings and said the festival is not merely a celebration of Lord Ram's victory over Ravana but a symbol of the triumph of truth, righteousness, justice and good conduct over evil, unrighteousness, injustice and arrogance, ANI reported. "For centuries, the festival has inspired people with the message that truth always triumphs over falsehood and righteousness over unrighteousness," she said, according to a release cited by ANI.

In her Vijayadashami message to citizens in India and abroad, President Murmu said the festival symbolises the victory of Lord Ram over Ravana and of Dharma and justice over Adharma and injustice, and called on people to uphold the noble ideals of India's cultural traditions and contribute towards building an inclusive society and a Viksit Bharat, ANI reported. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also attended Dussehra celebrations elsewhere in Delhi on Tuesday, at the Utsav Ground in IP Extension.

Sources: ANI; The Hindu; President's Secretariat photographs via NewsPoint.