His fall was as dramatic as his rise. Self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh who counts film stars, cricketers and politicians among his supporters was a far cry from his rock star, narcissistic self, pleading mercy and breaking down when he was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for raping two of his women followers over a decade ago.
A hero akin to god to his followers, the Dera Sacha Sauda chief who proclaims himself as ‘saint' is finally paying the price for his crimes, even though it can be argued that it is too little too late. For one, it has been over 15 years since the CBI first registered a case of rape and criminal intimidation against him. Meanwhile, the ‘baba' has been living a life of extravagance and grandeur at his Sirsa-based dera.
For another, it is time we ask ‘why is India so devoted to its contemporary gurus'? Is it the notion of equality (our systems are tainted with discrimination) or a shot at an egalitarian society? Or perhaps, it is the fact that faced with economic and social uncertainty - lack of job prospects, changes in family structures - they turn to gurus who seem to have quick answers to their problems.
These are questions that need introspection. In the short term, however, the authorities must now look at the other charges against him - from conspiracy to commit murder to allegedly persuading 400 of his followers to undergo castration supposedly to bring them ‘closer' to God in 2015, while at the same time expediting all such cases pending against other godmen in the courts of India.
A hero akin to god to his followers, the Dera Sacha Sauda chief who proclaims himself as ‘saint' is finally paying the price for his crimes, even though it can be argued that it is too little too late. For one, it has been over 15 years since the CBI first registered a case of rape and criminal intimidation against him. Meanwhile, the ‘baba' has been living a life of extravagance and grandeur at his Sirsa-based dera.
For another, it is time we ask ‘why is India so devoted to its contemporary gurus'? Is it the notion of equality (our systems are tainted with discrimination) or a shot at an egalitarian society? Or perhaps, it is the fact that faced with economic and social uncertainty - lack of job prospects, changes in family structures - they turn to gurus who seem to have quick answers to their problems.
These are questions that need introspection. In the short term, however, the authorities must now look at the other charges against him - from conspiracy to commit murder to allegedly persuading 400 of his followers to undergo castration supposedly to bring them ‘closer' to God in 2015, while at the same time expediting all such cases pending against other godmen in the courts of India.
