Diwali gone wrong: Why factory workers threw their festive gifts away

A video from Ganaur in Sonipat, Haryana, has gone viral after showing factory workers throwing their Diwali gifts—boxes of Soan Papdi—outside their company’s gate. What seemed at first like a festive gesture turned into an unusual act of protest that has since divided the internet.

According to the Hindustan Times, the incident took place in an industrial area where employees had been promised a Diwali bonus. However, when the festival approached, they were instead handed small boxes of sweets. Feeling deceived and undervalued, the workers reportedly gathered at the factory entrance and tossed their unopened gifts onto the ground in frustration.

In the footage, several workers can be seen standing near the gate, holding identical yellow boxes before flinging them away one after another. Soon, piles of Soan Papdi filled the area outside the company premises — a quiet but visible sign of anger.

Reactions online have been sharply split. Some viewers condemned the act as disrespectful, arguing that food should never be wasted. One user commented that “a gift of any kind is an act of goodwill” and that the sweets could have been given to the poor instead. Others defended the workers, saying the issue was not about the sweet but about a broken promise. “They’re not upset with Soan Papdi,” one post read. “They’re upset they were denied the bonus they were promised.”

Some also pointed to a wider frustration among industrial workers who often face delayed payments and low increments. For them, a Diwali bonus is not a luxury but an expected acknowledgment of a year’s hard work.

Soan Papdi, the light and flaky sweet now central to the controversy, has long been a Diwali staple across India. In recent years, it has also become a social media symbol — often joked about as the “most regifted sweet” of the season. But in Sonipat, it became something else entirely: a symbol of resentment.

The viral video has prompted discussion on how small workplace gestures can backfire when they replace genuine appreciation. As one commenter observed, “A box of sweets can’t cover for a broken word.”

Moneycontrol reported that the authenticity of the video could not be independently verified, but its message has already hit home — a reminder that respect, not ritual, defines true celebration.