On the first Diwali that Bastar is being described as naxal-free, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stood at the COBRA Operations Base in Karanpur, Bastar, and paid solemn homage to the security personnel who gave their lives fighting Left Wing Extremism — a moment Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai marked with a heartfelt tribute of his own on Sunday, 8 November 2026.

CM Sai wrote that the Prime Minister 'offered floral tribute to the immortal martyrs who sacrificed everything in the fight against Naxalism' at the COBRA base in Karanpur, Bastar. He called the gesture 'rashtra ki kritagyata aur samman ka bhaavpurna pratik' — a deeply felt symbol of the nation's gratitude and respect for the supreme sacrifice of these brave soldiers.

What the COBRA Base at Karanpur Represents

The Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (COBRA) is a specialised unit of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), deployed specifically for counter-insurgency operations in the dense forests of the Red Corridor. Karanpur, inside Bastar division, sits at the heart of a region that has for decades been one of India's most contested internal-security theatres. For a sitting Prime Minister to visit an active operational base and personally honour its fallen is a pointed, deliberate act — it places the weight of the nation's highest office squarely behind the men and women who fought this war on the ground.

Bastar's First 'Naxal-Free' Diwali

CM Sai's post carries a phrase that stops you: 'Naxalmukta Bastar ki pehli Diwali' — the first Diwali of a naxal-free Bastar. For decades, the festival of lights was often observed under threat across much of this division. The claim of a naxal-free Bastar marks a significant political and security milestone being asserted by the state government, whatever the operational realities still unfolding on the ground.

Successive central governments have pursued counter-LWE operations in Chhattisgarh since the early 2000s, with intensity ratcheting up considerably after 2014. The dual-track strategy — kinetic pressure through forces like COBRA, paired with infrastructure and development drives — has been the defining framework of India's response to Left Wing Extremism in the region.

A Nation's Debt Acknowledged

Public tributes by senior leaders to those killed in anti-naxal operations are well-established practice, but the symbolism of this visit carries extra weight given the festival context. Diwali — the triumph of light over darkness — lends the tribute a resonance that no calendar-picked ceremony could manufacture. The families of the martyrs, the security forces still deployed in Bastar's forests, and the region's residents all share in a moment the state government is framing as a turning point.

The road from the first counter-LWE surge to this tribute at a COBRA base ran through decades of sacrifice. India is marking that journey, one lamp at a time.