After nearly two decades, Basant celebrations returned to Lahore, drawing large crowds, packed rooftops, and widespread activity across the city. However, the revival also triggered a wave of negative reactions from Indian netizens.

Social media was flooded with clips of kites battling in the sky, music blaring from rooftops, and people enjoying themselves in bright yellow clothes, marking what many called the long-awaited revival of Lahore’s cultural identity.

However, the celebrations also ignited heated debates online, particularly among Indian Hindutva extremists, many of whom accused Pakistan of "claiming" or "renaming" a Hindu festival.

"So Pakistanis renamed Makar Sankranti as Basant, shifted it to a different date, and now celebrate it just to fly kites… Just wow," one user wrote.

Another commented, "Now Pakistan is stealing Indian Hindu festival Vasant Panchami and calling it their own."

One post read, "It’s our Hindu festival… and we celebrate it every year,’ while another user claimed, ‘Seeing clips of Basant from Pak, it seems like Pakis have memed it into a real thing somehow."

Some users also argued that kite flying was originally an Indian practice and not exclusive to Punjab, with one writing that Pakistan had only ‘revived’ something that had always continued in India.

Another comment suggested that Pakistanis were trying to claim the festival as part of "Punjabi Sufi culture" and were opposing attempts to label it as a Hindu calendar event.

One user said that trying to "gatekeep" the tradition made no sense, calling it "the soul of Punjab from Lahore to Amritsar."

Another post said Hindu festivals were enjoyable and encouraged people to keep celebrating, while others pointed out that different regions have their own versions and ways of observing the spring festival.

Basant, once one of Lahore’s most iconic cultural events, was effectively banned in 2007 after a series of fatal accidents linked to metal and chemical-coated kite strings. The restrictions remained in place for years despite repeated calls from citizens, traders, and cultural groups to revive the festival under regulated conditions.

In December 2025, the Punjab government finally announced the return of Basant as a three-day event from February 6 to 8, 2026, bringing the festival back to the city after nearly two decades. The revival was framed as both a cultural celebration and a regulated, safer version of the traditional festivities.