New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will celebrate Diwali with the security officials posted in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar — a region historically affected by Maoism — highlighting how the situation in the area has transformed and development has gained momentum.
The Prime Minister said that he will salute the security personnel for their sacrifices and selfless service.
Taking to X, PM Modi said, “Heading to Bastar to celebrate Diwali with our brave security forces. This is an area where Naxalism once held sway, and now, development is flourishing.”
“I am going to salute our brave security personnel for their sacrifices, selfless service and unwavering devotion to the nation,” he added.
Every year, for over a decade, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has transformed his Diwali celebration into a national ritual, choosing to celebrate the festival of lights with the nation’s armed forces at its most challenging frontiers, plains or mountains.
In 2025, the Prime Minister celebrated Diwali aboard the indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, positioned off the Goa-Karwar coast, marking his first time celebrating the festival of lights specifically with the Indian Navy.
Notably, he had commissioned the country’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, at Cochin Shipyard Limited September 2, 2022.
His first Diwali as Prime Minister in 2014 set a high bar, celebrated with troops at the Siachen Glacier, the world’s highest battlefield. The following years saw him traverse the nation’s most sensitive border areas, with the Punjab border in 2015, the high-altitude post of Sumdoh near the China border in Himachal Pradesh in 2016, and the difficult terrain of the Gurez sector in North Kashmir in 2017.
He has also celebrated Diwali with the Defence forces in Harsil in Uttarakhand (2018), Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir (2019), the legendary desert post of Longewala in Rajasthan (2020), Nowshera in Jammu and Kashmir (2021), Kargil in Ladakh (2022), Lepcha in Himachal Pradesh (2023), and Sir Creek in Gujarat (2024).
