In the age of viral trends and rapid modernisation, a harvest festival celebrated deep in the forests of Chhattisgarh is still pulling young people back to their roots — and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai wants the country to take note. On Saturday, 10 October 2026, the Chief Minister posted a warm tribute to Karma Tihar, invoking it as a living symbol of tribal identity, reverence for nature, and the enduring power of folk tradition.

Writing in Hindi, CM Sai called the festival 'janjatiya asmita, prakriti ke prati agadh aastha aur hamaari samridh lokparamparaon ka jeevant utsav' — 'a living celebration of tribal identity, deep faith in nature, and our rich folk traditions.' His particular delight, he noted, was watching the younger generation engage with their cultural heritage with full enthusiasm and affection, even amid the pressures of modern life.

What Karma Tihar means for Chhattisgarh's tribal communities

Karma Tihar — also rendered as Karma Puja — is one of the most significant festivals observed by tribal communities across Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and parts of Odisha and West Bengal. Centred on the worship of the Karma tree (Nauclea parvifolia), the festival is a prayer for prosperity, good harvest, and the well-being of siblings and kin. Young women plant branches of the Karma tree, perform rituals through the night, and immerse the branch in a river the next morning — a complete cycle of reverence, celebration, and release.

For Chhattisgarh, where tribal communities constitute a substantial share of the population, festivals like Karma Tihar are not folklore curiosities — they are living civic occasions that bind communities, reinforce ecological knowledge, and transmit values across generations.

'Vikas bhi, virasat bhi' — the BJP's dual-track promise to tribal India

CM Sai anchored his message in a phrase that has become something of a governing motto: 'Vikas bhi, virasat bhi' — 'Development too, heritage too.' He stated that his government is working with full commitment to preserve tribal culture, identity, and self-respect, and to pass this invaluable heritage on to future generations.

The phrase neatly captures a political tightrope — delivering roads, hospitals, and economic opportunity to tribal districts while simultaneously signalling that modernity will not erase the cultures it reaches. For a state like Chhattisgarh, where scheduled tribes make up roughly 30 percent of the population and where tribal rights over forests and land remain sensitive political terrain, this dual framing carries real electoral and administrative weight.

Youth and cultural continuity at the centre of the message

Perhaps the sharpest thread in CM Sai's post is his emphasis on yuva peedhi — the younger generation. The anxiety that urbanisation and digital culture will hollow out indigenous traditions is shared across many countries; Sai's observation that Chhattisgarh's youth are choosing to remain connected to their ancestral legacy is framed as both a relief and a responsibility. If the young come to the Karma tree willingly, the state's job, the CM implied, is to ensure the tree is still standing for their children.

Karma Tihar lands at a moment when the BJP-led government in Chhattisgarh — in office since the party's decisive win in the late-2023 assembly election — has made tribal welfare a visible policy priority, from forest rights to cultural preservation programmes. A festival greeting, then, is also a statement of governing intent. The real test, of course, will be measured in budgets, land records, and school curricula — not posts alone.