How did S.H. Raza claim a connection to Indian themes in his abstract art?

By incorporating Indian mandala and yantra designs

Answer: By incorporating Indian mandala and yantra designs.

While Husain largely remained a figurative artist, S.H. Raza moved in the direction of abstraction. It is not surprising then that landscape was a favourite theme for this artist. His colours ranged from bright to soft, modulated monochromes. If Husain used the figurative language of modern art to show Indian themes, Raza made a similar claim with abstraction. Some of his paintings draw from old mandala and yantra designs, and even use bindu as a symbol of oneness from Indian philosophy. Later, Gaitonde, too, pursued abstraction, while artists like K. K. Hebbar, S. Chavda, Akbar Padamsee, Tyeb Mehta and Krishen Khanna would keep moving between abstraction and figurative.