Gayatri Pariwar centenary: stamp honours Mata Bhagwati Devi Sharma; Amit Shah attends

The All World Gayatri Pariwar, the spiritual movement headquartered at Shantikunj in Haridwar, is holding a three-day centenary festival at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi from 31 October to 2 November 2026. On the opening day, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla released a postage stamp prepared by India Post in memory of Mata Bhagwati Devi Sharma, the movement's co-founder, who was born in 1926. Union Home Minister Amit Shah addressed the gathering on Sunday, 1 November. More than 20,000 people attended the first day, which opened with flag hoisting and Vedic chanting led by acharyas from Shantikunj.

The Gayatri Pariwar is a mass movement built around the Gayatri mantra, Vedic rituals made open to all, and a programme of personal and social reform. Founded by Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya and Mata Bhagwati Devi Sharma, it runs from Shantikunj in Haridwar and has followers across India and abroad. Its centenary year has drawn the attention of senior national leaders, a sign of the movement's reach.

Mata Bhagwati Devi Sharma is central to this year's events. Followers revere her as "Mataji", and the movement credits her with building its organisation alongside her husband. A postage stamp is one of the formal ways the state recognises a person's contribution to public life, and its release adds official recognition to the centenary.

According to reports of his address, Amit Shah spoke of the Gayatri mantra as a path to inner transformation and said young people were benefiting from it. He linked the centenaries of the Akhand Jyoti, Mataji's birth and the founder's spiritual practice, and urged followers to carry the movement's work forward. These are statements of belief and of the movement's values; the benefits of mantra practice described by speakers are matters of faith rather than claims tested by scientific study.

The festival's three days were built around different themes, with the second day focused on universal brotherhood and the final day on the Yug Nirman pledge. For many families, the movement's yagnas, mass ceremonies and community programmes are part of everyday religious life, and events of this size are a chance to gather from across the country.

Gayatri Pariwar centenary at a glance Item | Detail Event | Shatabdi Samaroh 2026, New Delhi Dates | 31 October to 2 November 2026 Venue | Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium Stamp | Mata Bhagwati Devi Sharma, by India Post Attendance | Over 20,000 on day one

Short-term: The festival brings thousands of followers to Delhi and puts the movement's centenary in the national spotlight through the stamp and the presence of senior leaders.

Long-term: The commemorative stamp and the centenary programme help preserve the memory of the movement's founders and may draw new followers, especially young people, to its activities.

Who is affected: Followers of the Gayatri Pariwar in India and abroad, the Shantikunj organisation, philatelists, and people interested in India's modern spiritual movements.

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