At Lalbagh Maidan, Jagdalpur, on 23 October 2026, the oldest and most distinctive tribal festival in India pulled in its highest-ranking guest yet — President Droupadi Murmu, the first tribal woman to hold India's highest constitutional office, presided as chief guest at the grand Abhinandan Bhoj, the ceremonial welcome banquet of Bastar Dussehra 2026. Alongside her sat Governor Ramen Deka and Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, lending the occasion a rare confluence of constitutional dignity and local tribal pride.

The Mânzhi-Chalki, Members and Memberins at the table

The Abhinandan Bhoj was no ordinary state dinner. Seated at the feast were the Mânzhi-Chalki — the traditional village headmen and functionaries who form the living backbone of Bastar's tribal governance — along with Members and Memberins, the male and female community representatives whose roles in the Dussehra rituals stretch back centuries. Their presence at the same table as the President is itself a statement: that the custodians of tribal tradition are honoured guests, not ceremonial props.

Why Bastar Dussehra stands apart from every other Dussehra in India

Bastar Dussehra is not a retelling of Rama's victory over Ravana. It is a 75-day festival — the longest in India — centred on the worship of Goddess Danteshwari, the presiding deity of the Bastar region, and it is governed entirely by tribal custom and the consent of the local Gond and Halba communities. The rituals — from the 'Rath Parikrama' chariot procession to the 'Jogi Bithai' — have no parallel anywhere in the country. Jagdalpur, the administrative headquarters of Bastar district in Chhattisgarh, transforms into the festival's living stage.

President Murmu's presence: recognition written in attendance

President Murmu, herself from the Santali tribal community of Odisha, attending Bastar Dussehra as chief guest carries an unmistakable symbolic weight. Indian state governments have routinely sought the participation of constitutional heads in regional tribal festivals — but having the President, who embodies India's constitutional commitment to its Scheduled Tribe communities, centre-stage in Bastar sends a signal that travels well beyond the maidan. It sits squarely within the national push for Jan Jatiya Gaurav — tribal pride — that both the Centre and the Chhattisgarh government have amplified since CM Vishnu Deo Sai took office in December 2023, making him the state's first tribal Chief Minister.

The Chief Minister's Office of Chhattisgarh shared images of the banquet on X, tagging the Rashtrapati Bhavan account and carrying the hashtags #BastarDussehra, #TribalPride, #JanJatiyaGaurav, and #ViksitChhattisgarh — the state government's development branding — underlining how tradition and governance aspiration are being woven into a single narrative.

When India's first tribal President breaks bread with Bastar's traditional headmen on the maidan in Jagdalpur, the message is clear: this heritage is not folklore to be archived — it is a living tradition the Indian state is choosing to stand behind.