Prime Minister Narendra Modi will celebrate Diwali with security personnel in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar on Sunday, marking his first visit to the state for the festival and his 13th consecutive Diwali celebration with the country’s armed forces. The visit comes as the region moves from being identified with Maoist insurgency to a wider government focus on security, administration and development.
Modi announced the visit on social media, saying he was heading to Bastar to celebrate with security forces and salute their sacrifices, service and devotion. He also described the area as one where Naxalism had once held sway and where development was now flourishing.
The precise location of the programme has not been officially disclosed. The Prime Minister is expected to interact with security personnel deployed in Bastar, a region that has remained at the centre of decades-long anti-Maoist operations.
The operations have involved the Central Reserve Police Force, CoBRA, the District Reserve Guard and other security units. According to the report, these forces have played a key role in dismantling insurgent strongholds across the region. Their deployment has been linked to the expansion of government presence in areas that were previously dominated by Maoist activity.
The visit is significant for the way Bastar’s recent transition is being presented by the Union government. The region was once regarded as the epicentre of India’s Maoist movement. The government now attributes its changing security environment to intensified operations, mass surrenders and a broader administrative presence.
The Centre declared India effectively free of Left-Wing Extremism on March 31 this year. That declaration followed the security operations and government expansion cited in the report. The shift has placed renewed attention on how areas affected by prolonged insurgency are incorporated into regular systems of public administration and development.
Bastar’s security transformation also carries a direct institutional dimension. Security forces have operated alongside civilian authorities in a region where state access was historically constrained by violence and insurgent control. The report does not provide details of new projects, budgets or administrative milestones linked to the Prime Minister’s visit, but it places the event within the larger transition from counter-insurgency operations towards normalised government presence.
Modi has celebrated Diwali with security personnel every year since becoming Prime Minister in 2014. Last year, he joined naval personnel aboard INS Vikrant off Goa, while in 2024 he celebrated the festival with troops in Gujarat’s Kutch region.
The Bastar programme therefore combines a ceremonial engagement with a public acknowledgement of the security personnel deployed in one of India’s most affected insurgency zones. The next confirmed development is the Prime Minister’s interaction with security personnel during his visit on Sunday.
