A few hundred men paraded on motorcycles through the streets of Sangareddy, in the southern Indian state of Telangana, on May 29, 2026. They were supporters of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, or RSS, the foremost organisation within the Hindu nationalist movement and the ideological backbone of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – the Hindu nationalist party of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Wearing saffron scarves around their necks, they rode down the roads waving their signature double-pennant flags, also saffron – the colour of the BJP.
A video shows members of the Hindu nationalist group celebrating the unveiling of a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Sangareddy on May 29, 2026. The footage was posted on X on May 31, 2026. Source: X/VLKAS_PR0NAM0
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Since 2022, hundreds of statues of King Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj – some of them towering up to 27 metres – have emerged across several towns and cities, including in Telangana and Ladakh, a northern Indian state bordering Pakistan and China. These statues are sometimes erected in secret by nationalist groups, at times with the complicity of local authorities and elected officials and in some instances, with the assistance of the military.
