PoliticsArmed forces
Modi heads to Bastar to spend Diwali with security forces, a tradition since 2014
The Prime Minister announced on Diwali morning that he is going to the once Naxal-hit region to thank the jawans for their sacrifice.
Key points
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he is heading to Bastar to celebrate Diwali with the security forces.
- He said the region where Naxalites once spread terror is now seeing development in bloom.
- The tradition began at Siachen in 2014; last year he marked Diwali aboard INS Vikrant.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Diwali morning that he is heading to Bastar in Chhattisgarh to celebrate the festival with the country’s security forces, continuing a tradition he began in 2014.
“I am going to Bastar on the sacred occasion of Diwali,” he wrote on X in Hindi. “Where Naxalites spread terror until yesterday, development is in bloom today.” He said he was going to pay tribute to the brave jawans, their sacrifice, austerity and dedication.
The announcement came a few hours after he wished the nation a happy Diwali. The exact venue within Bastar, the units he will meet and the time of the programme had not been announced when this report was filed.
A tradition since 2014
Modi has spent Diwali with troops every year since he became Prime Minister. He began at the Siachen Base Camp in 2014 and has since been to the Punjab border near Amritsar, Sumdoh in Himachal Pradesh, Gurez, Harsil, Rajouri, Longewala, Nowshera, Kargil and Lepcha. In 2024 he was at Sir Creek in Kutch, and last year he spent the festival aboard INS Vikrant off the Goa-Karwar coast.
In a video message on Saturday he said spending Diwali among the country’s jawans had become his regular routine every year, and described the festival as “a reflection of our resolve against darkness”.
Why Bastar
This year’s choice carries a message of its own. Bastar was for decades the heart of the Maoist insurgency, and the Centre has made ending Naxalism a stated priority under Home Minister Amit Shah. The CRPF has reported 12 consecutive months without an operational fatality, the last on October 30, 2025. Modi called the record “a ZERO that speaks volumes”.
CRPF Director General GP Singh credited new equipment, better training, planning and faster evacuation of the injured, and said the force remained committed to keeping the country peaceful and safe.
Further details of the visit will follow as the programme begins.