Dubious Babas of India

Photo Credits: Edit main

On July 10, two assailants shot Kripal Singh, a key witness in the Asaram Bapu rape case, in Bareilly. Singh died of injuries on July 14. He was an employee at a transport firm owned by a man in Jodhpur, whose daughter was allegedly raped by Bapu at an ashram. This is the third killing of a witness in the case against the self-styled Godman from Gujarat.

Asaram had a huge following till allegations of rape, black magic and murder could no longer be brushed under the carpet. There was a frustrating display of slackness, bureaucratic red tape and cat-and-mouse chase that Asaram and his son indulged in to evade arrest. The Jodhpur police seemed to be sitting on information, perhaps buckling under the wave of sympathy and support from disciples and politicians; it was literally shamed by the media into taking the Godman behind bars in September 2013. He also got into the news for wrong reasons, much before he was accused of rape. During the public outrage against the Delhi rape case of December 2012, Asaram made a statement to the effect that Nirbhaya was to blame for not reaching out to her attackers as “brothers” and “begged before them to stop.” There were also violent protests in Ahmedabad in 2008 after mutilated bodies of two young boys staying at his ashram near Sabarmati were found. People alleged suspicious black magic activities seemed to be rife in the ashram and alleged that the boys could have been killed for human sacrifice.

Another character worth discussing is Gurmeet Ram Rahim, the head of the politically connected Dera Saccha Sauda socio-spiritual organisation. The release of his film MSG -The Messenger ran into controversy in February 2015 after members of the censor board claimed they had rejected approvals for the film release and it was still pushed on because of political pressure. A disciple also accused Ram Rahim of castrating his followers, by brainwashing them into believing that castration was the only way to get closer to God. While all this was being heatedly debated on prime time news, #LoveChargerBaba began trending on Twitter. It was interesting to note that while the MSG ban was being debated on prime time news, the advertisement breaks were replete with promotional trailers of the film that showed the #LoveChargerBaba rocking fans with nasal music and saving the world with ridiculous bike stunts.

The list of dubious babas is endless. Twitter was also trending with Nithyananda jokes when a video of the Godman in a romp with a South Indian actress was released. He was arrested for charges of raping his female followers. Do these babas exemplify the hypocrisy of our closed society; where sex for pleasure is a taboo, but anything goes when it comes to spirituality? That’s a highly debatable question, but worth a stray thought. Why do we selectively support some accused rapists and selectively call for the hanging of others?

The 'Love, Sex and Dhoka' of the baba business is sufficiently established. Also sufficiently established is the astounding amounts of money, gold and silver, mind tricks and bizzare spiritual remedies that these Godmen prescribe. An astoundingly large part of rural India would still rather go to a quack to cure snake bites or depression. Indeed, we are only too willing to believe – desperately - and to find quick solutions to life-threatening situations like the inability to conceive a male heir. Indeed, Baba Ramdev was also in controversy recently because one of his many medicinal products was a ‘Putra Jeevak Beej’ roughly translated as a Male Life Seed, a medicine to ensure that only chubby baby boys – and not girls - were born to desperate families. Asaram has in the past claimed to cured monthly menstrual problems with vedic mantras. This could be in part because of a pathetic set-up of accessible medical infrastructure. The quack business thrives on ignorance and many believers are also unwittingly sucked into this vicious cycle because of lack of other rational avenues of help and relief.

While the dubious misgivings that go on under the name of prayers and preaching are hard to deny, few speak up loud and clear, and consistently. Those who do, do so at the risk of their lives. Narendra Dabholkar, who founded the Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS) to fight widespread superstitions in India, was shot dead in August 2013. Dabholkar repeated received threats from ultra-conservative right-wing outfits to stop his propaganda against Hindu beliefs. His point-blank shooting, while on a morning walk, was linked to such a group.

Today, brainwashed fan following is again putting several other lives to risk when it comes to protecting these dubious babas behind bars. Coming back to the Asaram case, several lives have already been at risk. Akhil Gupta, the godman’s cook and a main witness in the Gujarat rape case, was shot dead in January. Seven other witnesses have been attacked.

Arvind Bajpai, Principal of Sawaswati Shishu Inter College in Shahjahanpur, who had appeared in court in December 2014 to depose as a witness the Jodhpur rape case against Asaram, is fearing for life after Kripal’s Singh’s killing. Bajpai had issued a transfer certificate to the alleged victim. She was declared a minor on the basis of this transfer certificate. So, Bajpai’s word holds a lot of weight when it comes to deciding the quantum of punishment if Asaram is convicted. (In wake of this case proceeding, Asaram was required to take a potency test. He cleared it, 73 though he may be at the time.) Bajpai claims that his requests for police protection have been consistently denied. Now, with the murder of Kripal Singh, Asaram’s murky case is again in limelight and as a knee-jerk reaction, Bajpai has been given security.

But, we need to answer the larger question of the unabashed threatening and killing of crucial witnesses connected to the case and its shameful reflection on our judicial and police system. Subramanian Swamy, BJP leader and lawyer, said in a television interview that none of the attacks or the murders could be linked to Asaram directly, and so, his trial shouldn’t be affected. When top leaders come out in support of questionable characters, where is the hope? Long live the dubious babas of India.