Harsh Sanghavi, Gujarat’s Minister of State for Home, is among the most hardline Hindutva leaders in the state today, and a close political disciple of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Sanghavi began his political career with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and rose to become the strongman of Surat’s Majura constituency, where the BJP has maintained a firm grip under his leadership. His politics are defined by aggressive Hindu majoritarianism, public support for extra-judicial police actions, and a combative stance against Muslims, whom he regularly targets through state machinery and public speeches.

In October 2022, after nine Muslim men were publicly flogged by police for allegedly disrupting a garba event in Kheda, Sanghavi courted controversy by praising the officers responsible. His remarks, seen by rights groups as a glorification of custodial violence, prompted the Minority Coordination Committee to approach the state’s governor seeking action against the minister for violating his constitutional oath. But instead of backing down, Sanghavi doubled down in 2024.

In September 2024, after a minor stone-pelting incident during a Ganesh immersion rally in Surat, Sanghavi visited his hometown and referred to the Muslim-dominated Rander locality as “mini-Pakistan” a label first used by his mentor Amit Shah for Juhapura in 2007. Following the incident, Muslim men from the Sayyedpura area were flogged and paraded by the police. Two days later, Sanghavi told the press that the homes of 27 Muslim “masterminds” would be demolished, adding that “stone pelters do not have any human rights.” He announced a combing operation in the area, using terms and tactics that echoed Shah’s brutal crackdown on Muslims during his tenure as Gujarat Home Minister.

On December 11, 2024, at the foundation-laying ceremony of the Vishva Hindu Parishad headquarters in Ahmedabad, Sanghavi openly vowed to take strict action against so-called “love jihad,” a conspiracy theory used to criminalize interfaith relationships. The speech was made in the presence of senior VHP leaders, and came just days after the Gujarat government announced a committee to implement the Uniform Civil Code in the state. Sanghavi declared it a “historic decision,” claiming the UCC would ensure equality for all, while also insisting that it would not interfere with tribal customs, a move seen as preemptive damage control, given the state’s 15% tribal population and several disturbed zones.

By March 2025, Sanghavi was again in the headlines for attacking the Congress government in Karnataka for announcing a 4% quota for Muslims in public contracts. He accused the party of favouring one community and called the move an injustice to all others, a familiar tactic of framing any Muslim-focused welfare as anti-Hindu.

Harsh Sanghavi’s tenure as Home Minister has been marked by the systematic use of police power to punish and publicly shame Muslims, regular inflammatory remarks in the name of Hindu protection, and legislative changes aimed at tightening control over interfaith marriages and religious conversions. He has publicly admitted that he is a student of Amit Shah, and both his administrative style and his harsh brand of Hindutva politics reflect that legacy, one rooted in fear, control, and communal polarization.