Dussehra / Vijayadashami Crackers 2026

Vijayadashami is a major Hindu festival marking the tenth day of the waxing moon (Wikipedia), and it sits at the close of two different festival tracks at once: it's celebrated at the end of Navaratri and at the end of Durga Puja (Wikipedia). In North India the day is dominated by Ramlila performances culminating in the burning of towering Ravana effigies, often alongside effigies of his brother Kumbhakarna and son Meghnad, at a public maidan, with fireworks packed into the structures themselves. In Bengal the same day is Vijaya Dashami, the immersion day that closes Durga Puja rather than a Ravana burning at all. In parts of South India, Dussehra centres on Ayudha Puja, the ritual worship of tools, vehicles and weapons, a much quieter household observance than the North's public bonfire. The date falls in Ashvin, the seventh month of the Hindu lunisolar calendar, in the Gregorian months of September and October (Wikipedia); check the 2026 calendar for the exact day rather than assuming it repeats a fixed Gregorian date.

The maidan setting doesn't exempt anyone from the standard order. If anything, organisers of a public Ravana Dahan are the ones most likely to already hold the state's clearance, but your own personal crackers still answer to the same notification. Bursting hours are set by the state, check the 2026 notification from your city police or state pollution control board for the exact window. Unsure which of your picks qualify as green? Read the green crackers guide first.

Whatever the state adds, two nationwide orders come first. Supreme Court, 23 Oct 2018 (WP(C) 728/2015): permitted manufacture/sale of green crackers, banned barium-salt and joined crackers, limited Diwali bursting to a ~2-hour window (commonly 8–10 PM). NGT, 9 Nov & 1 Dec 2020 (O.A. 249/2020): ban on firecrackers in poor-air-quality regions including the NCR. Our green crackers guide explains what the CSIR-NEERI formulations change.