MUMBAI, Feb 18 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said ISKCON was playing a significant role in carrying the flag of Sanatan Dharma across the world while serving mankind through relief operations during natural calamities, and social welfare initiatives.
Addressing devotees at the ISKCON temple in Mayapur in West Bengal’s Nadia district during celebrations marking the 152nd birth anniversary of Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, Shah said he had come to the spiritual centre not in his official capacity but as a devotee of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
“Brothers and sisters, you respectfully referred to me as India’s home minister, but I have not come here in that capacity. I have come here as a devoted follower of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu,” Shah said, adding that he had long wished to visit Mayapur but circumstances had delayed the trip.
The Union minister said the global spread of the ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) movement was the result of the life work of Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur and A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, and credited the organisation with taking spiritual teachings to people across countries and cultures.
Shah said he had witnessed ISKCON’s influence across India during his travels as the BJP president and Union minister, noting that copies of the Bhagavad Gita published by the organisation were accessible to people across age groups and professions.
He lauded ISKCON’s contribution in spreading the message of the Bhagavad Gita across the world.
“Whether schoolchildren, college youth, homemakers or young professionals, ISKCON has inspired people to follow the teachings of the Gita,” he said, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi often gifts the Gita to visiting world leaders as its message promotes universal welfare.
“I firmly believe that by 2047, we will build a Viksit Bharat (Developed India) and successfully carry the message of Sanatan Dharma to the world,” Shah added.
Highlighting ISKCON’s humanitarian outreach, Shah said the organisation’s role extended far beyond devotional activities, with its food distribution camps often among the first in disaster-hit areas. He also cited its work in establishing hospitals and schools, ecological initiatives and engaging youth through Indian festivals.
The home minister’s brief visit to Mayapur was described by party sources as devotional in nature, with no political events included in his itinerary.
He also paid tribute to Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada and Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada, saying, “These two great personalities not only carried forward the Bhakti movement initiated by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, but also connected it with modernity and paved the way for the spiritual upliftment of youth and people across the world.”
In remarks seen as reaching out to the Matuas, an influential community in parts of southern Bengal, Shah lauded their contribution to social reform and welfare traditions.
“The Matua Samaj has always carried forward the spirit of social welfare. Harichand Thakur and Guruchand Thakur worked to bring large sections of society together through this spiritual tradition and social welfare,” he said.
The BJP’s rise in West Bengal since 2019 has been closely linked to its consolidation of Matua support, largely based on its promise to grant citizenship under the CAA. In both the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and the 2021 assembly elections, the party made deep inroads into Matua-dominated belts, dislodging the TMC from several strongholds.
Assembly-wise results of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections underline this reliance. In the Matua-dominated Bongaon parliamentary constituency, the BJP led in six of seven assembly segments, with the TMC ahead in one. A similar pattern played out in Ranaghat, another seat where Matuas hold influence.
Across West Bengal, the Matua vote is considered decisive in at least 50 assembly constituencies, including 30 reserved seats in Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas. Any erosion of this base could significantly alter the electoral arithmetic in 2026. (PTI)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
