‘Kailasa’ To UN: What Fugitive ‘Godman’ Nithyananda Has Been Up To Since Fleeing India

Nithyananda hit headlines last week after a representative from his 'United States Of Kailasa’ made it to a United Nations event.

Self-styled godman Nithyananda fled India in 2019 after being accused of rape and kidnapping. He headed a religious organisation, called Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam, which he had founded, and ran a number of ashrams across the country. With police on his trail, he fled India. News surfaced the next year that Nithyananda had bought an Island off the coast of Ecuador, where he claimed to have established a country, which he called the 'United States of Kailasa (USK)'. While he has since kept making news due to his remarks, the fugitive ‘godman’ hit headlines last week after a representative from ‘Kailasa’ made it to a United Nations event.

Nithyananda And The Criminal Cases Against Him   

In November 2019, the Gujarat Police booked Nithyananda after a couple from Tamil Nadu moved the Gujarat High Court, alleging that their children were being held in illegal confinement at his Ahmedabad ashram. Nithyananda, who hailed from Tamil Nadu, was booked on charges of kidnapping and wrongful confinement of children “to make them collect donations from followers”, according to a 2019 report in The Indian Express. He was also accused of abducting and confining a 19-year-old woman. The two minors and the women were allegedly tortured too.  

This was, however, not his first brush with police and law.

In 2010, there were reports of a viral video in which Nithyananda was purportedly seen engaging in sexual acts with a woman. In his defence, the ‘godman’ had said he was just “practising the Shavasana”. He had also claimed that he was impotent.

Nithyananda was arrested from the Solan district of Himachal Pradesh on April 21, 2010, only to be let off on bail the same year. However, he was in the dock again when a US-based woman, who claimed to have been Nithyananda’s disciple between 2004 and 2009, alleged that she had been abused for five years. Besides rape, Nithyananda also faced charges of indulging in unnatural sex. 

There were also reports of the death of a young woman, Sangeetha Arjunan from Tamil Nadu, in Nithyananda’s ashram. Her family alleged that she had been tortured.

In 2019, Nithyananda found the police on his trail again after the Tamil Nadu couple mentioned above lodged their complaint. He fled shortly after two of his disciples were arrested in connection with the case.

Nithyananda, The Fugitive, And His ‘Kailasa’

Around a year after the self-styled godman fled India, reports surfaced that he had founded a new country, ‘United States of Kailasa’, on an island of Ecuador in South America. It was reported that Nithyananda called ‘Kailasa’ the “world’s greatest and purest Hindu nation”, and claimed to be the representative of "two billion Hindus".

A BBC report had, however, quoted the Ecuadorian government as saying at the time that Nithyananda was not in that country.

The website of 'Kailasa' says it is a movement ''founded and spearheaded by members of the Hindu Adi Shaivite minority community from Canada, the United States, and other countries”.

It also says the ‘country’ was “created for and offers a safe haven to all the world's practicing, aspiring or persecuted Hindus, irrespective of race, gender, sect, caste, or creed” for them to “peacefully live and express their spirituality, arts, and culture free from denigration, interference and violence''.

Is ‘Kailasa’ Real?

Nithyananda and his followers are active on social media where they keep posting updates on ‘Kailasa’, but the world does not seem to know yet where this ‘country’ is actually located.

While no visuals of the country have ever been shared on social media, ‘Kailasa’ keeps claiming the ‘recognition’ it gets from different countries.

A Twitter handle for USK Thursday even called for applications for e-visa for e-citizenship. ‘Kailasa’ claims to have its own flag, constitution, economic system, and passport.

To be called a country, any territory must have a government, a permanent population, and the ability to foster relationships with other nations, according to the Montevideo Convention of 1933, which “established the standard definition of a state under international law” as per Britannica. 

Nithyananda appeared to send the representatives of 'Kailasa' to the UN to gain recognition, but the UN has said submissions made by Vijayapriya Nithyananda will not be considered in the final outcome drafts.

What Happened At The UN?

At a general discussion on Sustainable Development hosted by the Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (CESCR) on February 24, two people claimed to be from the ‘United States of Kailasa (USK)’.

Vijayapriya Nithyananda, USK's representative to the UN, was introduced by a woman wearing a turban, a forehead ornament, and necklaces. During her address, Vijayapriya Nithyananda stated that the United States of Kailasa was Nithyananda's first sovereign state for Hindus. She said that the United States of Kailasa was Nithyananda's first sovereign state for Hindus.

The UN, however, has not yet recognised ‘Kailasa’. Responding to questions about rape-accused Nithyananda's delegation attending public meetings, the UN said that the inputs made by the 'self-proclaimed' figure's organisation will not be considered.

"General discussions are open to anyone who wants to join in person or provide written remarks. A general discussion is intended to allow independent experts from the respective Committees to answer questions and hear the perspectives of various stakeholders prior to the drafting of a General Comment, which is a guide to assist States parties in fulfilling their obligations on specific issues or themes," the UN stated in an official response to a media publication.