Modi Celebrates Diwali With CoBRA Troops in Bastar and Says Every District Is Free of Naxalism

Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrated Diwali with security personnel in Bastar, Chhattisgarh, on Sunday, November 8, 2026. At the CoBRA operations base at Karanpur, he told the forces this was the first Diwali after what he called the complete elimination of Naxalism, with every district now free of it.

It was the 13th year in a row Modi has spent Diwali with defence or security forces. Before leaving, he posted on X that he was heading to an area where Naxalism once held sway, to salute the personnel. The Press Information Bureau confirmed the visit.

At the CoBRA base in Karanpur

CoBRA is the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action, a unit of the Central Reserve Police Force, the CRPF. The Karanpur base served as a training centre and launchpad for counter Naxal operations in Bastar and Abujhmad, once major strongholds of the Maoist insurgency.

At the camp, Modi paid tribute to fallen CRPF heroes at the memorial, and security forces danced to traditional tribal songs around him during the festivities. He told the personnel that every soldier is part of his family.

"This is the first Diwali since the nation achieved victory in the decades-long struggle against Naxalism and Maoist terror," Modi said. "This is the first Diwali where every single district in the country is free from Naxalism."

The figures Modi cited in his speech

Modi said that for the first time in 47 years, not a single CRPF jawan lost his life while on duty during the past year. The Indian Express, Hindustan Times and India Today carried the same figure. Every figure in this section is a claim Modi made in the address.

Modi said more than 230 districts in nearly 20 states were once affected, and life there stopped after dark. He said the country had seen as many as 2,000 Naxal attacks in a single year. He recalled the 2010 Dantewada attacks, in which 76 CRPF personnel were killed and 44 civilians lost their lives in another incident, and said more than 1,000 security personnel had been killed in Chhattisgarh over the years.

A warning about ideological Naxals

Modi warned that armed Naxalism had been eliminated from the jungles but ideological Naxals, which he called dimaagi Naxals, still operated from cities, political parties and organisations. He said they were trying to turn people against the Constitution and democracy, and called for them to be identified.

"The Naxals have been eliminated from jungles, but ideological Naxals are still trying to incite people," he said.

Modi accused governments from 2004 to 2013 of treating Naxalism as an incurable disease and tying the hands of security forces. He said his government gave the forces freedom to decide on the ground after 2014.

The road to the Bastar visit

The visit follows a declaration by the Centre on March 31, 2026 that the country had been freed from Naxalism, after several senior Maoist leaders were killed and hundreds of cadres surrendered.

In 2025, Modi spent Diwali with naval personnel aboard INS Vikrant off Goa. On the Hindustan Times list of his visits from 2014 to 2025, Bastar is the first in the country interior, rather than on a border, the Line of Control, a mountain post or a warship.