Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Dec 3: Controversial ‘godman’ Nithyananda, who has fled India to save himself from being arrested in a rape case has reportedly purchased an island in Ecuador in central Latin America and has started calling it an independent, new nation, as reported in News 18.
Nithyananda who has named his new nation as ‘Kailaasa’, has launched a website. He describes ‘Kailaasa’ as the greatest Hindu nation on earth. The nation also has its own passport and Nithyananda has already released a sample of it online.
According to the website of Kailaasa, the movement was founded in the US, spearheaded by members of the Hindu Adi Shaivite minority community. Kailaasa claims to provide “a safe haven to all the world’s practicing, aspiring or persecuted Hindus, irrespective of race, gender, sect, caste, or creed, where they can peacefully live and express their spirituality, arts, and culture free from denigration, interference and violence.”
Kailaasa has a flag, its own passport, and apparently a cabinet and claims it stands for universal free healthcare, free education, free food, and revival of temple based lifestyle. It also supports causes such as gender equality, fight against global warming, universal access to holistic education and healthcare, vegetarianism and more. The languages of the ‘country’ are given as English, Sanskrit and Tamil.
Nithyananda is now inviting people to become citizens of his "nation" and is also seeking donation to run it.
Nithyananda, whose real name is Rajashekharan, is a native of Tamil Nadu. He became prominent after founding an ashram near Bengaluru in early 2000s. In 2010, a video of Nithyananda in a compromising position with an actress went viral. He was later charged with rape and arrested.
Nithyananda reportedly fled India in late 2018 after jumping bail. His passport expired in September 2018. The local police had turned down his request for a renewal.
After a sex scandal and alleged abuse of girls at his ashram near Ahmedabad became public last month, the Gujarat Police informed court that Nithyananda is no longer in India.