When India's first tribal President walks into a festival that has pulsed for over seven centuries, it sends a message that no policy document can. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Friday, 23 October 2026, paid a heartfelt tribute to President Draupadi Murmu's enduring affection for Bastar, crediting her participation in Bastar Pandum 2026 and her personal invitation to festival winners at Rashtrapati Bhavan as a moment of profound pride for the region's tribal communities.

Posting on X, CM Sai wrote — 'माननीय राष्ट्रपति श्रीमती द्रौपदी मुर्मु जी का बस्तर के प्रति विशेष लगाव रहा है' ('Honourable President Smt. Draupadi Murmu has always had a special affection for Bastar') — and noted that her presence at Bastar Pandum boosted the community's enthusiasm, while the Rashtrapati Bhavan invitation to winners elevated a local triumph into a national honour.

President Murmu and why Bastar matters to her

Draupadi Murmu, who took office in July 2022 as India's 15th President and the first from a Scheduled Tribe — specifically the Santhal community of Odisha — has made tribal cultural visibility a consistent thread of her public engagements. Her presence at Bastar Pandum is not ceremonial coincidence; it is a continuation of that personal and political commitment. For Bastar's predominantly tribal population, a Head of State who shares indigenous roots lending her presence to their celebration carries weight that transcends protocol.

Bastar Pandum and the Muria Darbar — what makes the festival singular

Bastar Dussehra is unlike any other Dussehra in India. Stretching across 75 days, it does not follow the northern Ramayana narrative — it is a living assertion of the region's own cosmology, royal traditions, and tribal democracy. At its heart sits the Muriya Darbar, a traditional assembly where community elders, tribal leaders, and the local royal family converge for rituals and the resolution of community matters. The hashtag #मुरिया_दरबार in CM Sai's post anchors the tribute squarely in this ceremonial core.

Chhattisgarh's state government has promoted Bastar Dussehra through its tourism and cultural departments since the early 2000s, but a sitting President attending and then hosting winners at Rashtrapati Bhavan gives the festival a national platform it has rarely commanded.

Why the Rashtrapati Bhavan invitation matters

An invitation to Rashtrapati Bhavan is not merely symbolic — it is the republic's highest gesture of recognition. By calling Bastar Pandum's winners to New Delhi, President Murmu converts regional artistic and cultural achievement into a national credential. For tribal artists, performers, and community representatives from one of India's most conflict-scarred districts, that journey from the forests of southern Chhattisgarh to the forecourt of the President's house is a powerful signal: the state sees you, the nation honours you.

CM Sai's post closes with the word 'गौरव' — pride — and that pride has a precise address: the recognition that Bastar's rich tribal traditions now carry an audience at the highest constitutional office in the land.