On the death anniversary of Devi Ahilyabai Holkar, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday, August 13, 2026 offered his reverence to the 18th-century Holkar queen, calling her a timeless symbol of Sanatan consciousness and an embodiment of women's power.

In his post, Chouhan described Ahilyabai as 'Lokmata' — 'mother of the people' — and said she 'led society on the path of dharma, justice and compassion by internalising Sanatan values in her life and governance.' He further drew a direct line from her legacy to the present, writing that the foundation of ideal governance she laid 'is today giving new direction to the journey of building Ek Bharat-Shreshtha Bharat.'

The queen who built a nation's sacred geography

Ahilyabai Holkar, who ruled the Holkar dynasty from Indore in the latter half of the 18th century, is remembered as one of India's most consequential pre-colonial rulers. She commissioned or restored temples across the subcontinent — including the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi — and invested in roads, rest-houses, and public infrastructure at a scale rare for her era. Her administration is widely cited as a model of welfare-oriented, dharma-guided rule.

Her legacy has carried particular resonance in Madhya Pradesh, where Chouhan served four terms as Chief Minister. Commemorations in Indore and across the state have grown in visibility over successive years, with her life held up as a precedent for women's leadership in public life.

Ahilyabai's echo in 'Ek Bharat-Shreshtha Bharat'

Chouhan's invocation of the Ek Bharat-Shreshtha Bharat scheme — launched by the Government of India in 2015 to promote national integration through cultural and people-to-people exchanges between states — is deliberate. BJP leaders have consistently used commemorations of pre-colonial rulers associated with temple-building and traditional governance to connect historical precedent with contemporary nation-building themes. Ahilyabai, who transcended regional boundaries through her works across the subcontinent, fits naturally into that framework.

For Chouhan, the tribute is also personal terrain. As a former Chief Minister of the state she once ruled and as a self-described param Shivbhakt — 'devoted Shiva devotee' — his reverence for Ahilyabai, herself a renowned devotee of Lord Shiva, carries layers of cultural and political identity that resonate deeply with his core constituency.

Ahilyabai Holkar's works, as Chouhan put it, 'will always be remembered and remain a source of inspiration' — a legacy that, three centuries on, still shapes the language of Indian governance and cultural revival.