Amit Shah pays tribute to Amma, Kerala's spiritual icon
Synopsis
Union Home Minister Amit Shah paid a bilingual tribute to Mata Amritanandamayi on 26 September 2026, honouring the Kollam-born spiritual leader's life of humanitarian service and her role in alleviating suffering for millions across India and beyond.
Key Takeaways
Union Home Minister Amit Shah posted a tribute to Mata Amritanandamayi on 26 September 2026 .
Shah wrote in both English and Malayalam, calling Amma a force who removed 'deprivation, suffering and despondency' from crores of lives.
Mata Amritanandamayi was born in 1953 in a village in Kollam district, Kerala .
She founded the Mata Amritanandamayi Math , running hospitals, schools, and disaster-relief programmes internationally.
The tribute reflects the BJP's broader engagement with revered spiritual figures from southern India.
From a poor village in Kollam's coastal hinterland to the hearts of millions worldwide — Union Home Minister Amit Shah marked the occasion with a heartfelt tribute to Mata Amritanandamayi, the spiritual leader known simply as Amma, on Saturday, 26 September 2026, calling her a beacon who lifted crores out of deprivation and despair.
Shah wrote in both English and Malayalam: 'Born in an extremely poor village in Kollam, Amma alleviated deprivation, suffering and despondency from the lives of crores of people and paved the path to emancipation for innumerable beings.' The bilingual choice — unusual for a national BJP leader — was a deliberate nod to Kerala's linguistic pride and Amma's deep roots in the state.
From Kollam's shores to a global humanitarian movement
Born in 1953 in a modest fishing village in Kollam district, Kerala, Mata Amritanandamayi grew up amid acute poverty before emerging as one of India's most recognised spiritual figures. She founded the Mata Amritanandamayi Math, an organisation that now runs hospitals, schools, orphanages, and disaster-relief programmes across multiple countries. Her humanitarian footprint spans everything from post-tsunami reconstruction in Tamil Nadu to free housing schemes for the rural poor — a record that makes Shah's framing of her as a force against 'deprivation, suffering and despondency' more than rhetorical.BJP's outreach to Kerala's spiritual landscape
Senior BJP leaders have increasingly engaged with prominent spiritual personalities from southern India — a region where the party has historically struggled electorally but where figures like Amma command enormous cross-community reverence. A public tribute from the Home Minister carries weight beyond the devotional: it signals respect for Kerala's cultural fabric and positions the party within a broader constituency that transcends caste and creed. Amma's global following — her Amritapuri ashram draws visitors from over a hundred countries — amplifies the reach of any association with her name. The tribute lands as a reminder that India's political class, whatever its ideological colour, recognises the soft power embedded in the country's living spiritual traditions. Amma is not just a saint — she is an institution. And Shah's words, delivered in the language of her home state, acknowledge that plainly.Point of View
Shah aligns the BJP with a narrative of grassroots seva (service) that resonates across ideological lines. The Malayalam-language inclusion, rare for a Delhi-based Union minister's social media post, signals a deliberate effort to speak to Kerala on its own cultural terms. Whether such gestures translate into political capital in the state will be a longer test, but the soft-power logic is unambiguous.
NationPress
26 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Mata Amritanandamayi, also known as Amma?
Mata Amritanandamayi, popularly called Amma, is a Kerala-born spiritual leader born in 1953 in Kollam district. She is the founder of the Mata Amritanandamayi Math, known for large-scale humanitarian work including hospitals, schools, and disaster relief across India and abroad.
Why did Amit Shah pay tribute to Amma?
Union Home Minister Amit Shah posted a tribute on 26 September 2026 honouring Mata Amritanandamayi's life of spiritual and humanitarian service, calling her a figure who alleviated deprivation and suffering for crores of people.
Where was Mata Amritanandamayi born?
Mata Amritanandamayi was born in 1953 in a village in Kollam district, Kerala.
What is the Mata Amritanandamayi Math?
The Mata Amritanandamayi Math is a charitable and spiritual organisation founded by Amma. It operates hospitals, educational institutions, orphanages, and disaster-relief programmes in India and multiple countries worldwide.
Why did Amit Shah write the tribute in Malayalam?
Shah posted his tribute in both English and Malayalam, a bilingual choice that signals respect for Kerala's linguistic identity and Amma's deep roots in the state — an approach notably deliberate for a national BJP leader.
