Swami Pradipta Nandaji Maharaj (Kartik Maharaj) at the Beldanga Bharat Sevashram Sangha, in Murshidabad district of West Bengal, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. Kartik Maharaj’s name has been announced for the Padma Shri award.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Swami Pradiptananda alias Kartik Maharaj who has been selected for Padma Shri award by Ministry of Home Affairs for 2025 has thanked West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for criticising him.
“Certainly Didi [Mamata Banerjee] has showered her blessings on me. She is the one who has advertised my name and later the Prime Minister also spoke about me,” the monk associated with Bharat Sevashram Sangha told journalists on Sunday.
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Kartick Maharaj, who is in charge of Beldanga Ashram of Bharat Sevashram Sangha hit headlines during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls when Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee targeted a section of monks accusing them of directly working against Trinamool Congress and supporting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“There is a Maharaj in Berhampore, I have been hearing about him for a long time. Kartik Maharaj says he will not allow any Trinamool agent in the poll booth. I do not consider him a saint because he is directly involved in politics and is ruining the country,” Ms. Banerjee had said in 2024. Soon after the Trinamool Congress chairperson targeted the monk, Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticised West Bengal’s ruling party for criticising monks of prominent religious organisations like Bharat Sevashram Sangha and Ramakrishna Mission.
The monk, considered close to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies, has been in news since 2024. Recently, he was seen at several public events sharing dais with Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari and highlighting the attack on Hindus in Bangladesh. Kartick Maharaj also led monks to the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission where he submitted memorandums to the officials of the Deputy High Commission.
Not only the Chief Minister, but several other leaders of the Trinamool Congress have targeted Kartick Maharaj calling him a divisive figure. The monk operates his ashram at Beldanga in Murshidabad, a district with about 70% Muslim population.
Political observers see that honour to Kartik Maharaj as a political move, giving credence to his ideology which emphasises that “Hindus are threatened in West Bengal”.
Full list of Padma Awards 2025
While Kartick Maharaj has been chosen in the area of ‘spirituality’, singer Arijit Singh, who hails from Murshidabad has been awarded Padma Shri in the field of Art. Along with lending voice to a number of Bollywood numbers, Arijit Singh has recently also sung a protest song at “Aar Kobe (If not now, when?)” during protests against the rape and murder of a doctor at R. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital.
Others who have been included in the Padma Shri awards list include Gokul Chandra Das, Tejendra Narayan, and Mamata Shankar in the field of Art, Nagendra Nath Roy in the field of Literature and Education, Pawan Goenka and Sajjan Bhajanka in the area of Trade and Industry and Vinayak Lohani in the field of social work.
Published – January 27, 2025 03:15 am IST