Amit Shah's Kollam Visit: SHE-Mart Launch, Amma's Birthday and a Black Flag Protest
Kollam was at the centre of national attention on September 26-27, 2026, as Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited the district for the launch of the SHE-Mart cooperative retail initiative and Mata Amritanandamayi's 73rd birthday celebrations at Amritapuri. His presence drew both official programmes and political opposition in the form of a black flag protest by Youth Congress workers, while the Enforcement Directorate separately conducted raids on a local jewellery firm in connection with an alleged bank loan fraud.
🤝 Amit Shah Launches SHE-Mart Cooperative Retail in Kollam
Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah launched the 'Vanitham SHE-Mart' shops and 'Jana' brand products under the National Cooperative Exports Federation (NCCF) in Kollam on September 26, addressing a gathering at the Pavithram Convention Centre. The SHE-Mart initiative is designed to directly link women's self-help groups and rural women entrepreneurs to consumers, cutting out intermediaries in the agricultural and artisanal supply chain. Shah announced that more than 300 SHE-Mart outlets would be established across Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, supported by more than 2,500 NCCF retail outlets. Institutions including NAFED, Kendriya Bhandar and Amul are set to assist in expanding the women-led enterprises the scheme supports. Shah noted that Kerala's cooperative ecosystem — comprising more than 23,000 cooperative societies and rooted in a tradition dating to the pre-Independence era — made the state a natural home for the initiative. He reported that the national target of creating three crore 'Lakhpati Didis' had been achieved ahead of schedule, with the new goal set at six crore by 2029. He also cited data showing women's labour force participation rising from about 23 percent in 2017-18 to approximately 40 percent nationally, framing SHE-Mart as part of a longer trajectory of women's economic empowerment through the cooperative sector. [1]
🏢 ED Raids Arafa Gold Over Alleged Rs 19.56 Crore Bank Fraud
The Enforcement Directorate conducted searches at the premises of Arafa Gold and Diamond and the residences of its owner and partners in Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram on Friday, September 26, in connection with an alleged bank loan fraud, according to the Deccan Herald. The ED registered the money laundering case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, following a CBI probe first initiated in August 2025. Officials said the company originally availed a loan of over Rs 17.5 crore from UCO Bank in 2022, intended for gold manufacturing and related business purposes. The company subsequently allegedly pledged properties as collateral and committed fraud in connection with those properties, resulting in a total liability of nearly Rs 19.56 crore for the bank. Three locations were searched in the operation — one in Kollam and two in Thiruvananthapuram. ED officials noted that several of the firm's jewellery shops were now defunct, adding to the picture of financial distress at the company. There was no immediate response from the firm's representatives. The case underlines continued regulatory scrutiny of the gold trade in Kerala, a state with one of the country's highest per capita gold consumption rates and a large number of jewellery businesses. [4]
🗳️ Youth Congress Workers Wave Black Flags at Amit Shah's Convoy
The political atmosphere in Kollam sharpened when Youth Congress workers lined the route of Amit Shah's convoy and waved black flags as it passed, according to ThePrint. The protest was a pointed expression of opposition to Shah's presence in the district in his capacity as a Union minister. The BJP responded by demanding an inquiry into what it characterised as a security lapse, with party voices quoted by the Organiser calling for a formal probe. The BJP's framing of the protest as a security failure rather than a political act reflects a strategic choice to challenge the protest's legitimacy by raising procedural concerns, rather than engaging with its substance. Youth Congress demonstrations of this kind — black flag gestures directed at senior government figures — are a familiar part of Kerala's political theatre and typically signal broader opposition party dissatisfaction with a minister's visit or policies. In Kollam, with Shah simultaneously attending a government programme and a religious celebration associated with a revered spiritual figure, the protest was politically calibrated to register disapproval without directly antagonising the religious event's large and devoted audience. [10]
🪔 Vice President Radhakrishnan Attends Vishwa Seva Dinam at Amritapuri
Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan participated in the Vishwa Seva Dinam celebrations at Mata Amritanandamayi Math in Amritapuri, Kollam, on the occasion of Mata Amritanandamayi Devi's 73rd birthday. During the event, the Vice President launched several humanitarian initiatives of the Math. In his address, Radhakrishnan described Amma as 'a miracle' whose life embodied 'a message of love, compassion and selfless service.' He reflected on the imperative of combining technological advancement with human compassion, and invoked the government's Viksit Bharat vision as one in which 'no one is left behind.' Union Home Minister Amit Shah also attended the birthday celebrations, as separately reported by DD News, underscoring the event's prominence on the national political calendar: it drew both the Vice President and a senior cabinet minister to Kollam within the same day. Mata Amritanandamayi's Amritapuri ashram is one of the most prominent spiritual destinations in Kerala and maintains extensive global outreach through its humanitarian and educational institutions. The 73rd birthday celebration — observed as Vishwa Seva Dinam, or World Service Day — attracted devotees and public figures from across the country, giving the occasion both a spiritual and civic character. [6]
Sources: [1] uniindia.com · [4] Deccan Herald · [10] ThePrint · [6] DD India