Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrated Diwali with security force personnel at Karanpur in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district on November 8, 2026, telling the jawans they are his family. He said their work keeps the country safe enough for citizens to celebrate festivals, and pointed to Bastar’s shift away from decades of Naxal violence.
What happened at Karanpur
Modi visited the security forces camp at Karanpur in Bastar on the day of Diwali, according to Patrika, which reported from the location. He spent time with jawans posted there and paid tribute to their courage and sacrifice.
Patrika’s report did not name the specific security force or unit stationed at the camp, describing the personnel only as jawans on duty in the area. No troop numbers were disclosed.
Diwali fell on a Sunday this year, November 8, 2026. Karanpur lies within Bastar district, part of the wider Bastar division in southern Chhattisgarh that has for decades been among the country’s most Naxal-affected regions.
The choice of venue is itself notable. In past years the prime minister’s Diwali visit to troops has almost always landed on an international border facing Pakistan or China. Moving the visit to an interior conflict zone this year puts Bastar, rather than a frontier post, at the center of this year’s message to the armed forces.
What Modi told the jawans
Modi told the personnel stationed at Karanpur, “You are my family,” according to Patrika’s account of the visit. He said their role in national security is what allows citizens elsewhere in the country to celebrate festivals without fear.
He also extended Diwali greetings to forces who serve in difficult conditions through the festival season, a message he has repeated at similar visits in past years.
Patrika’s report framed the remarks as part of a recurring theme in Modi’s annual Diwali visits: personnel stationed away from their families during a major festival are presented as the reason ordinary citizens elsewhere can celebrate without disruption. The report did not say whether Modi distributed sweets or gifts during the visit, a detail that has featured in some of his past Diwali stops with troops.
Why the visit centered on Bastar
Bastar has been one of India’s longest-running Naxal-affected regions. During the visit, Modi referred to changes and progress toward peace in the area, framing it as a sign that the region’s security situation has improved over time, per Patrika’s reporting.
The report did not cite specific figures, such as a reduction in incidents or a timeline, to quantify that progress. The claim stands as Modi’s own characterization during the event, not an independently verified statistic.
The broader security push in the Bastar region has continued through 2026. Security forces recovered 711 barrel grenade launcher shells hidden by Maoists near Karregutta Hills in neighbouring Bijapur district earlier this month, in a joint operation Praman reported on November 6, part of a sustained anti-Naxal campaign the government has cited in its claims of progress in the division.
A decade-long tradition
Modi has spent Diwali with security forces at a different posting every year since becoming prime minister in 2014. Patrika’s report traced the pattern across 11 major stops between 2014 and 2024: Siachen Base Camp in Ladakh (2014), the Dograi War Memorial on the Punjab border (2015), Sumdo in Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh (2016), Gurez Valley in Jammu and Kashmir (2017), Harshil in Uttarakhand (2018), Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir (2019), Longewala in Rajasthan (2020), Nowshera in Jammu and Kashmir (2021), Kargil in Ladakh (2022), Lepcha in Himachal Pradesh (2023) and Kutch in Gujarat (2024).
Nearly all of those stops were border posts or high-altitude frontier camps facing Pakistan or China. Karanpur breaks that pattern: it is the first stop on record in this series located in an interior, Naxal-affected district rather than on an international border.
Frequently asked questions
Where exactly did PM Modi spend Diwali this year?
At Karanpur, a security forces camp in Bastar district, Chhattisgarh, on November 8, 2026.
Has Modi visited security forces for Diwali before?
Yes. Patrika’s reporting traced the practice back to 2014, with visits to 11 different locations over the years, including Siachen Base Camp and, most recently, Kutch in 2024.
Which force was stationed at Karanpur?
Patrika’s report did not name a specific force or unit, describing the personnel only as jawans on duty at the camp.
No official government statement or additional outlet had corroborated the visit’s details beyond Patrika’s on-the-ground report at the time of publication.
What to watch next
Official readouts from the Prime Minister’s Office, and any statement from Chhattisgarh’s state government on security conditions in the Karanpur area, had not been issued as of publication. Continued anti-Naxal operations in Bastar division, including follow-ups to the Bijapur recovery earlier this month, remain the clearest ongoing marker of how much the security situation Modi referenced has actually changed.
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