On October 8, 2019, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh received India’s first Rafale fighter jet at Mérignac in France. It was Vijayadashami. He performed a shastra puja, the worship of weapons. He wrote “Om” on the jet and laid flowers and a coconut on it. Two lemons were placed under its wheels.
France’s defence minister, Florence Parly, said: “It is no coincidence that this ceremony falls on Dussehra.”