‘Har Ghar Bhagwa’: a drive to put one lakh saffron flags on homes in Nashik and Trimbakeshwar from Sunday, 25 October, ahead of the 31 October Kumbh flag-hoisting

A drive to fly one lakh saffron flags on homes across Nashik and Trimbakeshwar before the Simhastha Kumbh Mela’s flag-hoisting on 31 October begins on Sunday, 25 October, the day of Kojagiri Purnima. According to eSakal and Prahaar, the ‘Har Ghar Bhagwa’ (a saffron flag on every home) campaign is the idea of Girish Mahajan, the Kumbh Mela minister and Nashik’s guardian minister, and the job of getting the flags to households has been given to booth-level workers of the BJP and the Shiv Sena (Shinde).

The campaign at a glance

• Starts: Sunday, 25 October 2026 (Kojagiri Purnima). The reports do not say when it ends.
• Target: 1,00,000 flags in all, about 75,000 in Nashik city and 25,000 in Trimbakeshwar.
• What households are asked to do: put up a saffron flag on their home.
• Where the flags come from: besides Nashik, flags are being made in Indore, Dhule, Jalgaon and Ahilyanagar, and the first consignments have reached Nashik (Prahaar, eSakal, Free Press Journal).
• The ceremony it is tied to: Saturday, 31 October, 12.02 pm, when flags go up at the same moment at Ramkund (Ramtirth) in Nashik’s Panchavati and at Kushavarta Tirtha in Trimbakeshwar.

Who is running it?

The campaign appears once in the government record. At a review of the flag-hoisting arrangements at the Nashik Collectorate on 16 October, guardian minister Mahajan directed officials to seek help from social organisations, groups and citizens for the ‘Har Ghar Bhagwa Dhwaj’ initiative, according to a release from the state’s Directorate General of Information and Public Relations (Mahasamvad).

Details of how it will be carried out come from newspapers. eSakal, Prahaar and the Free Press Journal report that more than 2,000 booth-level workers will do the groundwork in Nashik city: 1,047 from the BJP and about 1,000 from the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction). Prahaar says they will work under the guidance of the city’s MLAs and corporators and handle flag distribution and door-to-door contact area by area.

We found no notice or order from the Kumbh Mela Authority, the district administration, the Nashik Municipal Corporation or the Trimbakeshwar municipal council on distributing the flags. The reports also do not say who will hand out the 25,000 flags in Trimbakeshwar.

What Mahajan said

“The saffron flag is a symbol of our culture and faith. Every citizen should put up a saffron flag on their home and take part in this historic occasion,” eSakal quoted Mahajan as saying. Prahaar and the Free Press Journal report him as saying the aim of the one lakh flags is to give Nashik a festive feel to welcome the Kumbh Mela.

How it links to the 31 October flag-hoisting

A Simhastha Kumbh formally opens with the raising of its flag. Mahajan said on 19 September that this year it will happen at 12.02 pm on 31 October at Ramkund and Kushavarta at the same time (eSakal). eSakal and Prahaar describe the ‘Har Ghar Bhagwa’ campaign as planned around that ceremony.

• A delegation led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis formally invited President Droupadi Murmu to the ceremony on 21 October (Mahasamvad).
• The Goda Aarti, the launch of the Kumbh Mela Authority’s website, the Kumbh anthem, a coffee-table book and a postage stamp are also lined up for the day (Mahasamvad).
• A village circuit (gram pradakshina), an evening aarti and a conch-blowing event are being planned, and officials reviewed a proposed attempt at a Guinness World Record through conch-blowing (Mahasamvad). Navbharat reports that a procession and gram parikrama are being prepared for 30 October.

What residents should know

• This is an appeal from the minister to citizens. No order making it compulsory to put up a flag has been reported.
• No official word yet on where to get a flag, whether it is free, or what size it is. Reports say booth workers will take the flags to each area.
• If you put one up on a terrace, window or balcony, tie the pole down firmly and keep it clear of overhead power lines.
• Collector Ayush Prasad has said the Trimbakeshwar temple will stay open on 31 October, but only 3,000 pass holders will be let in for darshan to control crowds (eSakal).
• Security for VIPs, parking and traffic arrangements are being planned for the ceremony (Mahasamvad). Check police and district administration advisories before travelling to Nashik or Trimbakeshwar on 30 and 31 October.

Sources: Mahasamvad (flag-hoisting review meeting, 16 October 2026); Mahasamvad (invitation to the President, 21 October 2026); eSakal (Har Ghar Bhagwa campaign); Prahaar; Free Press Journal; Navbharat (Har Ghar Bhagwa); Navbharat (flag-hoisting preparations); eSakal (flag-hoisting muhurat); eSakal (Trimbakeshwar temple on 31 October)