Amit Shah is an Indian politician and a key strategist of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He has served as India’s Minister of Home Affairs since 2019, making him a three-time Home Minister, and has been the country’s first Minister of Cooperation since 2021. Previously, he was the BJP President from 2014 to 2020, playing a crucial role in the party’s electoral successes.
A close aide of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shah’s political career began with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its student wing, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). Shah joine the RSS in1982 and the BJP in 1987 and rose up to become a key figure in Gujarat politics. After the 2002 Gujarat assembly elections, he became the youngest minister in then Chief Minister Modi’s cabinet, holding 12 portfolios, including the Ministry of Home. Shah represented the Gujarat Legislative Assembly from Sarkhej (1997–2012) and Naranpura (2012–2017).
In 2017, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat, and in 2019, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Gandhinagar. He took oath as a Lok Sabha member in June 2024.
Shah has been embroiled in several controversies, including accusations of involvement in extrajudicial killings during his tenure as Gujarat’s Home Minister and his alleged role in illegal surveillance. His handling of the inter-tribe conflict in Manipur, which began in 2023, has attracted criticism, with many questioning the government’s response to the escalating violence and the security situation in the region.
D.K. Singh’s central thesis is flawed. The Caste census results may reveal the preponderance of OBCs. But this is an umbrella category with real internal divisions. It’s far from homogeneous. New alliances will be built that may still include some so-called Forward Castes.