The Union Ministry of Culture sanctioned Rs 63 lakh for the “Sanatan Rashtra Shankhnad Mahotsav” held at Bharat Mandapam in the national capital in December 2025, according to a Right to Information (RTI) response accessed by The Quint.
The three-day event, organised by Sanatan Sanstha from December 13 to 15 at the Pragati Maidan venue, featured speeches calling for India to be declared a “Hindu Rashtra” and included remarks calling for remove of the Muslims.
In its RTI reply, the Ministry of Culture confirmed it had provided financial assistance of Rs 63 lakh to Sanatan Sanstha, Sanatan Ashram, Ramnathi village, Ponda, Goa, for organising the event in New Delhi. The ministry said the grant was sanctioned under programmes commemorating 150 years of the national song “Vande Mataram”, and added that a detailed expenditure break-up was not available with it.
The funding has triggered questions after videos circulated online showing speakers making controversial statements.
Among them was Suresh Chavhanke, editor-in-chief of Sudarshan TV, who claimed that “25% Muslims in India presently are infiltrators” and called for the implementation of a nationwide citizens’ register to “remove them from India”. He also spoke about imposing a cap on the Muslim population.
BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay was reported as urging Hindus to actively pursue religious conversions, suggesting that if “every Hindu converts one person”, a larger objective could be achieved. Rahul Dewan of the Hindu Fund called for what he described as an “offensive strategy” to establish a “constitutional Hindu Rashtra”.
Aditya Menon, who broke the story at The Quint, questioned the use of public funds for the programme, stating that the concern was not the size of the grant but why taxpayer money was supporting an event where calls were allegedly made for the “cleansing” of a community and for restructuring India as a Hindu nation.