Modi spends Diwali with CoBRA troops in Bastar, says no CRPF jawan died on duty in a year

He called 2026 a special Diwali, one that comes after 40 to 50 years. He gave three reasons: the country has won the long fight against Maoist violence, every district is free of Naxalism, and crores of citizens have overcome the fear it created. He credited the forces by name: the CRPF, CoBRA, the BSF, the ITBP, the SSB, the India Reserve Battalions, state police and special units such as the Bastar Fighters, and women fighters.

He then recalled how bad things had been. At one time, he said, more than 230 districts in about 20 states were affected, and the country saw as many as 2,000 Naxal attacks in a year. He cited 2010, when 76 CRPF personnel were killed in an encounter in Dantewada, and said that more than 1,000 personnel were killed in Chhattisgarh alone over the decades. Between 2004 and 2013, he said, more security personnel died each year than Naxals were killed. The Home Ministry's published series, which counted 126 affected districts in 2014, appears to rest on a different year or definition, so the two district figures should not be set side by side.

The numbers behind the claim

The claim that drew most attention was about the CRPF. Mr Modi said that for the first time in 47 years, not one CRPF member had lost their life on duty in the past year. On 3 November the Prime Minister's Office had already carried his post marking the force's record of zero casualties in 12 consecutive months, which it said was the first such run in 47 years. Neither the speech nor that release gives figures for state police or other forces, so the claim should be read as covering the CRPF alone.

He credited policy, not only courage. Funding networks of Naxal groups and separatists were hit hard, he said, and a fake-currency network was broken, which choked supply lines, arms and recruitment. Forces were given freedom to take operational decisions, and support for left-wing extremism from within the system was stopped. He also pointed to development in the affected belt, and gave round figures.

He added that the PM-JANMAN scheme had brought water, electricity and roads to thousands of remote villages for the first time, and that surrendered Naxals had been offered rehabilitation. As a sign of change, he said Bastar now holds its own Olympics, where children try sport instead of guns. These are the Prime Minister's figures; the speech text does not say which year each count is taken from.

He also tied the security story to a wider claim on poverty. Citing a World Bank report he said had come out shortly before Diwali, he said 50 crore people had moved out of extreme poverty in 12 years. This article has not checked that figure against the World Bank's own publication, and the Bank's earlier India poverty updates have used different lines and survey methods.

The warning that followed the celebration

Mr Modi did not end on the celebration. The Naxals are finished in the forests, he said, but the danger has not passed. In his words, "Dimagi Naxals", or Naxals of the mind, now hold sway over several organisations and incite people against the Constitution and democracy, and have infiltrated many political parties and groups as well. He asked the forces and citizens to identify and defeat them. He did not name any organisation or party in the text published by his office.

That echoes his Ekta Nagar remarks of 31 October, when he used the phrase "Dimagi Naxals" after saying Naxalism had been eliminated. It also sits alongside the Home Ministry's more cautious position, set out in its 29 July note: no district is categorised as affected, yet 33 incidents and 11 deaths were recorded in 2026 up to that date.

He closed by saying the day's achievements are a launch pad, not a pause. He listed goals he said the country would reach, from ending poverty to a drug-free India, a developed India and a self-reliant India, and he told the personnel that their sacrifice would form the foundation of that building. The speech ended with the Vande Mataram slogan, repeated several times.

For readers, the useful points are narrow. The CRPF record is specific, official and recent. The district and attack counts from the past are the Prime Minister's own recollection. The development numbers are round figures from a speech, and the warning about ideological opponents is a statement of intent rather than a policy with a date or a budget attached.