Nithyananda forms ‘Hindu nation’ close to Ecuador

Bengaluru: Even as the Gujarat police is looking for self-styled godman, Swami Nithyananda, in an alleged case of kidnapping and wrongful confinement of children to make them collect donations from followers to run his ashram, a website has popped up suggesting that he has founded his own country and designed its flag, constitution and emblem.

While police continue to look for him, reports have emerged that he has created a Hindu nation, Kailaasa, with its own flag and political setup, on an island near Ecuador.

According to the website of Kailaasa (www.Kailaasa.Org), it is “a nation without borders created by dispossessed Hindus from around the world who lost the right to practice Hinduism authentically in their own countries”.

“Kailaasa was created with the determination to not just preserve and protect Sanatana Hindu Dharma and share it with the entire world, but also to share the story of persecution that is yet unknown to the world,” it said.

The country has its own triangular flag with an emblem of Paramashiva and Nandi and is called the ‘Rishabha Dhvaja’. English, Sanskrit and Tamil are its main languages.

The government of the new country has various departments like homeland security, defence, treasury, commerce, housing, human services and education.

Top police sources have said that he may have taken a convoluted land route to avoid passport checks to get to Nepal from where he may have flown out to his new safe haven in South America. Clearly looking for a way out, Nithyananda whose Indian passport had expired in 2018, was trying to get Australian citizenship. But Australian authorities reportedly sought clearance from local police in Bidadi, where his ashram is located. The local Ramnagara police are said to have responded in detail about the allegations, charges and the cases pending against him in court and asked them not to consider his request. Then Superintendent of Police in Ramnagara, Ramesh Banoth, had not renewed his passport for various reasons, sources said. Ramnagara SP Anoop Shetty was not available for comment.   

The self-styled godman rose into prominence by making wild claims about his spiritual powers. He was back in the limelight after he was booked in the criminal case in connection with his Ahmedabad ashram.

Reportedly, a team of Gujarat police searched an ashram in Bidadi last week to trace him.

However, the local police have no idea about it. “We don’t know whether they came. We would have learnt about the Gujarat police team coming here had they approached us,” the officer said.