Union Culture and Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Friday, 29 May 2026 highlighted a grand Maha Aarti performed by women at the historic Raghunath Temple in Jammu, calling it a remarkable confluence of Sanatan culture, women's empowerment, and national pride.

Context

Shekhawat shared a video of the event on X, describing it as an 'adabhut sangam' (extraordinary confluence) of 'Sanatan Sanskriti, Nari Shakti aur Rashtrbhakti' — Sanatan culture, the power of women, and patriotism. He noted that when 'Matrishakti' (the force of motherhood and womanhood) steps forward, the nation and its culture grow stronger. The Maha Aarti was performed by women devotees at the Raghunath Temple, one of Jammu's most venerated religious sites dedicated to Lord Rama.

The minister framed the event as a 'powerful message to the entire country,' underscoring the BJP-led government's consistent effort to project women's visible participation in religious and cultural life as an expression of national strength.

Policy Backdrop

The Raghunath Temple in Jammu is a central landmark of Sanatan religious practice in the Jammu region and a key node in the government's pilgrimage tourism strategy. The PRASAD scheme, launched in 2014-15, has directed infrastructure investment to pilgrimage sites across the country, including temples in Jammu and Kashmir.

Following the reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019, the Ministry of Culture has actively supported heritage documentation and religious tourism initiatives in the region. These efforts are aimed at boosting domestic pilgrimage footfall and integrating Jammu's temple circuit into the national cultural tourism map.

Stakeholders and Impact

The event directly involves women devotees and local temple committees in Jammu, who are increasingly positioned as active participants — not merely observers — in large-scale religious ceremonies. This framing aligns with a broader pattern seen across BJP-governed states, where temple-based programmes are used to highlight women's agency within traditional cultural frameworks.

For the heritage tourism sector in Jammu, ministerial attention of this kind typically precedes or accompanies announcements under schemes such as PRASAD or Swadesh Darshan, which fund visitor amenities, connectivity, and site beautification at pilgrimage destinations.

What's Next

Observers will watch for the next round of project sanctions under the PRASAD or Swadesh Darshan schemes for Jammu-region temples, as well as any state-level cultural calendar announcements for 2026-27. Shekhawat's post adds to a string of Culture Ministry communications spotlighting Jammu and Kashmir as a priority destination for religious and cultural tourism, a trend that has intensified since the union territory's reorganisation. The convergence of women-led religious events with national integration messaging is likely to remain a recurring theme in the ministry's public outreach.