Right now, the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh is hosting an incredibly massive 75-day Dussehra celebration. Based on official event schedules published by the Chhattisgarh Tourism Board (www.chhattisgarhtourism.in), this lengthy festival officially began with the Pat Jatra ritual on August 12, 2026. The entire event is slated to reach its formal conclusion on October 27, 2026, culminating with the emotional farewell ceremony for Maa Danteshwari.

Adding immense prestige to the current atmosphere, President Droupadi Murmu is currently undertaking a 2-day visit to the region to actively participate in these historic celebrations.

It is important to note that while this event shares the name "Dussehra," it is completely different from the traditional festivities seen across most parts of India. The nationwide narrative of Lord Ram defeating Ravana takes a backseat here. Instead, the Bastar Dussehra is wholly dedicated to showing deep reverence for Danteshwari Devi. She is the presiding deity of the entire Bastar area and serves as the revered Kuldevi (family deity) for the Bastar royal family.

Historical records and anthropological studies (such as those archived by the Anthropological Survey of India at ansi.gov.in) show that the Bastar Dussehra ranks among the oldest ongoing festivals in the entire country, boasting a rich, unbroken history that stretches back over six centuries. The tradition was originally established by the Kakatiya dynasty. Since that time, the local tribal communities have taken on the mantle of preserving and actively promoting the event. Today, the festival remains deeply intertwined with the fundamental spiritual beliefs and daily lives of the Bastar tribes.

An event defined by varied traditions

This long festival features a highly complex series of rituals. Some of the most notable ceremonies include the Pat Jatra, the Ratha Yatra, the Kachan Gadi, and the Muria (also spelled Muriya) Darbar. These are accompanied by vibrant, colorful processions and lively cultural performances that bring the streets to life. The most important royal and tribal rituals are held annually in the city of Jagdalpur. Tribals from all the surrounding villages travel great distances to gather here and immerse themselves in the festivities.

The royal family of Bastar takes charge of organizing the overall event. According to the traditional Hindu calendar, the festival always begins on Hariyali Amavasya during the holy month of Shravan. It starts with the Pat Jatra, which involves the ceremonial worship of the very first sacred piece of timber used for the festival. To make this happen, villages from all corners of the region send their local deities, chief priests, and skilled craftsmen to participate. As the days pass, the festival transitions through a strict sequence of events. These include the collaborative construction of a massive wooden chariot, grand processions navigating the streets of Jagdalpur, special late-night rituals dedicated to the goddess, and a massive, unified gathering of various village deities.

As the festival nears its end, a highly unique ceremony known as the Muria Darbar takes place. This specific event marks the practical conclusion of the 75-day period. It is always held in Jagdalpur, but only after the massive chariot processions and the primary Dussehra rituals have safely concluded.

In the past, the Muria Darbar served a highly practical administrative purpose. It provided a direct platform for representatives from various communities—most notably the Muria tribe and the Manjhi-Mukhiyas communities—to bring their local problems, grievances, and community issues straight to the King. We no longer operate under a monarchy, and the old darbar system has naturally faded in our modern democratic setup. However, the ceremony is still performed today. It remains a powerful symbol of Bastar’s traditional social hierarchy and continues to highlight the region's enduring focus on open social dialogue and broad community participation.

For hundreds of years, this festival ran without interruption. However, in recent decades, the joy and scale of the festivities were heavily suppressed by widespread Naxalite activities across the state. Entire villages situated in deeply affected districts like Sukma, Bijapur, and Narayanpur were effectively cut off from joining the celebrations due to the constant threat of Naxal violence. For many years, the very villagers whose ancestors built this festival had to live quietly in the shadow of Maoist conflict. Fortunately, things have changed dramatically. This year, the celebrations have successfully drawn a record number of tourists and outside visitors to a region that was, until very recently, severely plagued by red terror.

Why the Bastar Dussehra celebrations stand out this season

This year’s Bastar Dussehra is making history. According to regional reports from major news outlets like The Hindu (thehindu.com), the current festival features the active participation of deities brought in from approximately 50 villages located in what were formerly Naxal-controlled areas. This level of participation is entirely unprecedented in modern times. It is the very first time that communities from these previously infested zones have been able to safely travel and join the historic festival. This directly follows a monumental announcement by the central government, which officially declared the region completely free from Naxalism on March 31, 2026.

The indigenous people of this region, who felt the suffocating grip of the Naxal menace for decades, are finally experiencing normal, everyday life. They are now free to move and celebrate without the looming shadow of red terror. This newfound sense of normalcy was completely unimaginable just a few years ago. It has become a reality largely due to the Modi government’s explicitly declared mission to achieve the total extermination of Naxal terror within India's borders. The central government, working hand-in-hand with state security forces, took on the incredibly difficult task of ripping Maoist ideology out of the region by its roots. This was done in strict accordance with the government’s zero-tolerance policy regarding left-wing terrorism.

We can trace the final stages of this push back to last year’s Bastar Dussehra in Jagdalpur. During that event, Union Home Minister Amit Shah made a public address (archived on pib.gov.in) where he firmly reiterated that March 31, 2026, was the absolute, unmoving deadline to eradicate Naxalism from both the Bastar region and the broader country. At that time, he made a direct appeal to any local tribals who were still associated with the Maoist ideology, urging them to put down their arms, surrender peacefully, and reintegrate into mainstream society. To back up this appeal and encourage the renunciation of insurgency, the state government offered a massive financial incentive: they promised exactly ₹1 crore in developmental aid to every single village that officially achieved a Naxal-free status. Furthermore, a comprehensive official policy was drafted and implemented to ensure the proper social and economic rehabilitation of any Maoists who chose to surrender.

The fall of insurgency

To ensure the absolute and complete eradication of left-wing terror from the landscape, the government executed a complex, multi-pronged strategy. This approach combined highly aggressive military operations with vastly improved coordination between Central and State police forces. Simultaneously, they pushed aggressive development efforts designed to tackle the poverty and lack of infrastructure that often served as the root causes of Naxalism. The strategy was clear: while the government held out an open hand, offering Maoist cadres a legitimate chance to leave their violent past behind and live normal lives, security forces used their other hand to launch devastating offensives deep into the most secure Maoist strongholds.

This final push began in earnest in January 2024, when the government officially launched Operation Kagar. This operation was designed as an intensified, all-out effort to deal a final death blow to the Naxal menace. The scale of the deployment was massive. Under Operation Kagar, approximately 1 lakh paramilitary troops were mobilized into the left-wing terrorism-affected zones. This massive force included personnel from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), its specialized elite CoBRA units, local District Reserve Guards (DRG), and various state police departments. To ensure success, these security personnel were heavily equipped with modern, cutting-edge technology. They utilized aerial drones to gather real-time information, deployed Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems to process and gather actionable intelligence, and relied on high-resolution satellite imagery to map out hidden camps.

Operation Kagar was a resounding success. The security forces managed to neutralize remaining Maoist cadres, taking down the entirety of the surviving Maoist leadership in the process. Several high-profile targets were eliminated, fundamentally crippling the operational capacity of the Maoist organizations. Those neutralized included Nambala Keshava Rao (widely known by his alias, Basavaraju), who served as the General Secretary of the CPI (Maoist) and the head of the Central Military Commission. The forces also eliminated Madvi Hidma, a crucial Central Committee member, commander of the People’s Guerrilla Liberation Army (PGLA) Battalion 1, and the secretary of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee, along with several other key figures. This operation was not limited to one state; security forces executed these massive, strictly intelligence-driven missions across Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana, effectively sweeping the entire Naxal-infected Dandakaranya region.

To make sure the militant groups could not recover, the government actively choked the life out of the Maoist networks by launching a severe crackdown on all their financial routes. By cutting off the money that sustained their terror activities, the government starved the groups of both necessary funds and operational motivation. Government agencies conducted widespread raids and thorough probes, which ultimately led to the official seizure of assets worth crores of rupees that were previously controlled by Maoist cadres. Over these past few years, the combination of an unflinching political will and the dangerous, on-the-ground dedication of the security forces has finally yielded the exact results the country hoped for. Faced with insurmountable odds, hundreds of Maoist cadres ultimately chose to lay down their arms, while several hundred more who chose to fight were killed during the intensive operations conducted by security forces.

Rebellion to daily peace

Because of the relentless, sustained efforts put forth by both the government and the security forces, the tribal populations living in these formerly Naxal-affected areas can finally breathe freely. We are already seeing beautiful examples of this cultural revival. Just a few months ago, in August of this year, a group of local women who were formerly associated with the Maoist ideology proudly walked the runway at a tribal fashion show held in Raipur, Chhattisgarh.

During this event, which was organized to celebrate National Handloom Day, these women modeled beautiful, traditional handloom outfits. (Coverage of this inspiring event can be found via the Ministry of Textiles and local news broadcasts). This fashion show represented a massive, emotional leap forward for these women, who only a short time ago were walking through the dense, dangerous Naxal-affected forests carrying heavy weapons. The total eradication of the Maoist ideology finally handed them a genuine opportunity to rejoin mainstream society. They are now experiencing a peaceful, expressive life that they could not have possibly imagined while trapped under the shadows of Naxalism.

This positive shift is becoming clearly visible across almost every aspect of daily life for the people residing in these formerly Naxal-affected regions. For example, in April of this year, a remote and isolated village situated in the Narayanpur district successfully received active tap water connections for the very first time in its history (Source: Jal Jeevan Mission progress reports, jaljeevanmission.gov.in). For decades, this specific region was officially designated by the government as a "highly sensitive" zone due to the persistent and deadly Naxal threats in the area.

For a very long time, the prevailing Maoist ideology actively prevented any form of modern development or infrastructure from reaching these tribal villages, a tactic used to intentionally fuel local resentment against the government. However, now that the era of red terror has been brought to a close, essential development projects sponsored by both the central and state governments are finally being safely and rapidly implemented across the entire region.