Visiting India offers brilliant experiences for travelers of all backgrounds, nationalities and faiths. The number of public holidays in India can be an ordeal keeping up with, mainly because of the huge number of faiths, cultures and the number of holy days in the religions of Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism and Christianity. Be sure that when you obtain your India visa and are planning to depart from the UK that you try and arrive on a day that is not a public holiday.

A lot of the public holidays are dependant on the region along with the religion of the person, as not all public holidays may apply to all areas. For example, Eid, Ramadan and other Muslim public holidays are more observed in Islamic regions such as the state of Andrah Pradesh, or in the Islamic quarters of certain cities. The same applies for various Hindu festivals such as Janmashati. Note that the VFS offices where you apply for your India visa in London are closed for Indian and British public holidays. Therefore before making your India visa application and making a confirmed travel arrangements, be sure to contact the India visa office of us at rapid visas for information regarding this.

There are certain public holidays in India which are universally observed and people across the country take off, with most shops and services either closed or with restrictive services. Some of these include India Republic day, Mahashivrati, Mahavir Jayanthi, Independence Day, Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday, Janmashtmi, Christmas and Boxing day. It is also important to note that besides these days, the VFS India visa office is also closed for other days.

In order for you to plan your India holiday before getting your India visa we have listed the public holidays in India for the year 2009 and 2010.

Public Holidays for 2009

26 Jan is India Republic Day; the 23 Feb is Mahashivratri
9 Mar Milad-Un-Nabi (Birth of the Prophet)
7 Apr Mahavir Jayanthi
10 Apr Good Friday
13 Apr Easter Monday
9 May Buddha Purnima
14 Aug Janmashtami
15 Aug Independence Day
20-21 Sep Id ul Fitr (End of Ramadan)
28 Sep Dussehra (Vijaya Dashami)
2 Oct Mahatma Gandhi’s Birthday
17 Oct Deepavali or Diwali (Festival of Lights)
2 Nov Guru Nanak’s Birthday
27-28 Nov Idu’l Zuha/Bakrid (Feast of the Sacrifice)
18 Dec Muharram (Islamic New Year)
25 Dec Christmas Day
26 Dec Boxing Day

For more information on when the best time to obtain your India visa and when the public holidays are in India, you can contact us at rapid visas or the high commission of India.