Dhan Singh Rawat is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Minister of Health, Education and Cooperatives in Uttarakhand. He is known for pushing a Hindutva agenda in schools and restaurants in the state.

In December 2021, Rawat participated in a “Dharma Sansad” (Hindu Religious Parliament) organized by prominent right-wing groups where there were calls for violence against Muslims. He also has close ties with Prabodhanand Giri, a Hindu supremacist known for delivering anti-Muslim hate speeches where he exhorts Hindus to take up arms and commit genocide against Muslims.

In May 2022, Rawat announced that Uttarakhand education board’s syllabus would be revised to include Hindu scriptures, during a time when there has been a push to keep other religions out of schools.

“We will be including Vedas, the [Bhagavad] Gita, Ramayana and history of Uttarakhand in the syllabus after taking suggestions from the public and consulting the academicians,” Rawat said, adding that “The aim of introducing these texts in the curriculum is to acquaint school students with their culture and traditional Indian knowledge.”

In October 2024, Rawat supported “Thook Jihad,” a conspiracy theory propagated by Hindutva groups and leaders, that Muslims spit into food they sell. He was part of a delegation asking restaurants and meat sellers to display whether the meat they sold was “jhatka” or “halal” (Islamic way of cutting meat). Rawat further announced that anybody indulging in spitting and other unhygienic activities would be fined.

Rawat’s social media pages display his participation in social service programs in his state.