Deities from 50 former Naxal-Affected villages join Bastar Dussehra in Jagdalpur for first time

Oct 23, 2026

In a historic first, deities from around 50 villages in formerly Naxal-affected areas of Chhattisgarh participated in the world-famous Bastar Dussehra celebrations in Jagdalpur. Deities from remote areas of Sukma, Bijapur and Narayanpur, including Abujhmad, joined the festival’s traditional rituals following the reported end of Naxalism on March 31, 2026. According to Patwari Satyanarayan Sethiya, around 25 deities from Abujhmad, 15 from Bijapur and eight from Sukma registered their participation for the first time. Ten villages from neighbouring Odisha also took part. The Mawli Parghav ritual witnessed the participation of 954 deities, while 461 deities participated in Bheetar Raini, highlighting the cultural and religious significance of Bastar Dussehra.