Chandrashekhar Tiwari, president of the Sanskriti Bachao Manch in Madhya Pradesh, has spent the last year building his identity as a militant Hindutva foot soldier, using temples, markets, and even court premises to vilify Muslims, stoke Islamophobia, and push a violent idea of Hindu supremacy. He has led repeated campaigns to isolate, shame, and economically boycott Muslims, often in the name of protecting Hindu culture and women.

On October 29, 2024, Tiwari’s group launched a campaign in Bhopal’s markets targeting Muslim shopkeepers. Placards were put up on Hindu-owned shops marked with “I am Sanatani,” urging Hindus to buy “only from those who will celebrate Diwali with the money.” Posters featured Hindu religious symbols like ‘Om,’ ‘Swastik,’ and ‘Shri,’ and campaigners warned locals not to let their money go into “wrong hands.” In videos circulated from Bhopal’s New Market, Tiwari declared that customers should ensure their money doesn’t end up funding “love jihad.” This was part of a sustained campaign to paint Muslim traders as threats to Hindu society.

In February 2025, members of his outfit assaulted a Muslim man at the Bhopal District Court, accusing him of “love jihad” while he and his Hindu partner were present for marriage verification. The attack, carried out in broad daylight, was meant to send a message: that interfaith unions would not be tolerated.

On April 30, 2025, in the wake of a terror attack in Pahalgam, Tiwari escalated his calls for collective punishment. From the Khatu Shyam Temple in Bhopal, where he had already started a fortnightly workshop against “love jihad,” he told Hindu traders to remove Muslim employees from their shops. He openly justified the call by comparing it to the targeting of Hindus in Kashmir. “We will also have to boycott them,” he said, adding that Hindu girls working alongside Muslim men were being trapped. He dismissed a citywide bandh called by the Chamber of Commerce as ineffective, arguing that real impact would only come if Muslim workers were fired.

Tiwari has consistently turned Hindu festivals and tragedies into platforms to incite communal hatred. In November 2024, his outfit revived the “Sanatani” campaign again during Diwali season, spreading hate in the name of religion and commerce. He positioned Hindus and Muslims in direct opposition, treating economic activity as a form of religious allegiance.