Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi celebrates Diwali with the security forces at CoBRA Operations Base at Karanpur in Bastar, Chhattisgarh
PIB National (English) · Published 8 November 2026 · Last updated
India marked Diwali 2026 as the first festival after declaring every district Naxal‑free, celebrating security forces’ role in ending Maoist terror.
Key points
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the CoBRA Operations Base at Karanpur, Bastar on 8 Nov 2026 to celebrate Diwali with CRPF, BSF, ITBP, SSB, IRB, state police, Bastar Fighters and women fighters.
- Modi declared that all districts across the country are now Naxal‑free, ending a decades‑long left‑wing extremism problem that once spanned 230 districts in 20 states.
- He highlighted that no CRPF personnel lost a life on duty in the past year – the first such instance in 47 years.
- The government credited “tough, often unpublicised, national security decisions” that cut Maoist funding and fake‑currency nexus, thereby choking weapon supplies.
- Modi linked the security victory to development, noting 15,000 km of roads, 9,500 mobile towers, ≈175 Eklavya schools, 50 ITIs and 50 Skill Development Centres built in former LWE areas under PM JANMAN.
- He cited the World Bank report that 50 crore Indians have escaped extreme poverty in the last twelve years, attributing this to schemes like Jan Dhan, PM Awas, Mudra, Ayushman Bharat, Swachh Bharat and Har Ghar Jal.
- The Prime Minister praised the ongoing Bastar Olympics as a symbol of transformation, saying children now play sports instead of guns.
- Modi thanked 140 crore citizens for their gratitude and urged the forces to continue serving the nation with the motto “Tera Gaurav Amar Rahe Maa, Hum Din Chaar Rahein Na Rahein”.
Background
- Left‑Wing Extremism (LWE) peaked between 2004‑2013, with more security personnel killed annually than Maoists, especially in Chhattisgarh where over 1,000 died.
- The 2010 Dantewada attacks killed 76 CRPF personnel and 44 civilians, underscoring the intensity of the insurgency.
- Since 2014, the Modi government intensified operations, reversing the casualty trend and achieving a zero‑CRPF‑death year in 2025‑26.
- Parallel to security actions, the government launched PM JANMAN and other welfare schemes, aiming to remove the socio‑economic drivers of insurgency.
- The World Bank 2026 report highlighted that 50 crore Indians have risen out of extreme poverty in the past twelve years, a figure used by the government to showcase development‑security synergy.
UPSC relevance, Prelims facts and Mains angle for this issue are in the full SWAदेSH note.
Original report: PIB National (English)