New Delhi: Amid the controversy over the Dev Bhoomi Cultural Festival held in Uttarakhand’s Badrinath under Indian Army’s Operation Sadbhavana earlier this month, the Chamoli administration has distanced itself from the event, issuing a notice to the Army.
This comes after Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami attended the second day of the festival as chief guest.
The two-day event has drawn criticism from priests, religious figures and politicians—including BJP veteran Murali Manohar Joshi—who have objected to the nature of performances and use of loud music in the vicinity of the Badrinath dham. The backlash erupted after a video, with added music, was circulated on social media, showing a performer singing and dancing under stage lights, with sections of the crowd joining in.
Critics have since compared the festival to a “DJ event”, with some remarking that it had a “rave party-like atmosphere”. However, there was no DJ at the event and the singers were local performers, army sources said.
After the row erupted, however, the local administration deleted its own posts about the festival on X. The notice issued to the Army asks why such an event was organised in the Badrinath Dham area “without prior permission”.
Chamoli District Magistrate Gaurav Kumar said Saturday that the Indian Army had organised the cultural programme under the ‘Vibrant Village’ scheme in Bamni and Mana villages on 19-20 September.
“At the Army’s request, the district administration set up stalls to publicise Central and State government schemes during the event. Neither the district administration nor the state government played any role in determining the cultural programmes or handling the associated payments,” he said. “All these activities were carried out by the Indian Army… Furthermore, a ban has been imposed on any such future events there; for any programmes that align with the cultural and religious traditions of the shrine, obtaining prior permission from the SDM has been made mandatory.”
However, the Chief Minister’s Office had said in social media posts last week that the cultural Festival was organised under the joint aegis of the Indian Army and Chamoli District Administration at the tourist arrival plaza of Sri Badrinath Dham.
बदरीनाथ, चमोली में भारतीय सेना एवं जिला प्रशासन चमोली के संयुक्त तत्वावधान में ऑपरेशन सद्भावना के तहत देवभूमि कल्चरल फेस्टिवल में उपस्थित देवतुल्य जनता को संबोधित करने के साथ मातृशक्ति द्वारा लगाए गए विभिन्न स्टॉलों का निरीक्षण किया।
इस दौरान भारतीय सेना द्वारा लगाई गई सैन्य… pic.twitter.com/WhTSfQ951z
— Pushkar Singh Dhami (@pushkardhami) September 20, 2026
“Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami participated as the chief guest in the festival organised on the theme ‘Our Heritage, Our Future’. On this occasion, the Chief Minister gave away prizes to the winners and runners-up participants of various cultural competitions,” the statement read.
The festival saw participation by women’s self-help groups, with exhibition stalls of handicrafts, traditional delicacies and other items.
Sources said that the objections were linked to loud speakers at the music event. They explained that the civil administration always collaborates with the Army for any event to be attended by civilians and political dignitaries. However, this does not mean that the civil administration is aware of every single event and is part of it, they added.
Not the first such programme
While the district administration has now washed its hands of the event attended by CM Dhami, sources in the know said it was not the first time such a programme had been held. A similar cultural festival was held last year, too.
On 20 September, Chamoli district administration had also issued a statement after the CM’s visit to the festival, saying, “The Chief Minister congratulated the Indian Army, District Administration Chamoli and all the organisers for the successful organisation of Devbhoomi Cultural Festival-2026.”
The statement did, however, begin with a clear line that the two-day event was organised by the Indian Army. The musical event in question was held on 19 September.
Talking about the chain of events, the sources said that the Devbhoomi Cultural festival is one of the many border area initiatives undertaken by the Central Command.
This is part of the larger design of normalising the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China and strengthening India’s claims through a multi-faceted action plan, which includes enhancement of border tourism, conduct of border area events, employment generation, and reverse migration, among other objectives.
Sources said that this was the second year of this festival, and was titled ‘Celebrations of Roots and Rhythm under the skies of India’s First Village Mana’. A similar programme was held in 2025.
This annual event is a collaboration between Indian Army and the state government, the sources said, adding that stalls and exhibits were set up by local administration also.
The event was conducted at the Cultural and Heritage site near Mana village, approximately 2 km away from the Badrinath temple premises. It was held in the designated space that included an amphitheatre.
The attendance of the Governor and Chief Minister of Uttarakhand had been cleared by the Defence Ministry on 15 September itself, showing that this was a pre-planned event.
Sources further said that all relevant clearances and permissions from civil administration were obtained prior to the event.
“The official District Tourism Development Officer communication specifically invited local media personnel for the September 19-20, 2026 Devbhoomi Cultural Festival at Mana, while the CM also participated in the festival on 20 September and addressed the gathering from the same stage,” a source said.
The singer seen in the viral video is Priyanka Meher, a popular contemporary folk singer from the state known for modernising Garhwali and Kumaoni regional music, sources added. Last year, another band had performed bhajans at the venue.
Prior planning, officer designated by local administration
Sources further said that contrary to the district administration’s claims that they were not aware, multiple meetings had been held by the Army and civil administration in the run-up to the event. They added that the cost had been divided between the two.
The local administration had nominated the Chief Development Officer as Nodal Officer for Devbhoomi Cultural Festival on 8 September, and a multi-department review meeting was undertaken on 10 September involving various stakeholders besides the Army itself.
The cultural festival was organised with a focus on the economy of forward areas, women empowerment and cultural heritage in consonance with the Vibrant Village programme initiative of the central government.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
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