Indian guru’s rape shame
Millions flocked to hear his every word but now India’s self-indulgent ‘godman’ is behind bars, convicted of rape
HE’S been dubbed India’s guru of bling, a self-styled “saint” with an army of 60 million devoted followers. He performs his music in sold-out stadiums, stars in his own movies and promotes his own line of organic food.
But for Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh (50) the good life is over. The head of the influential Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS) religious group has had a spectacular fall from grace after being convicted of rape and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
So great was the bearded spiritual leader’s political clout and social influence that it took Indian authorities 15 years to convict him of sexual crimes against two of his female followers.
The flamboyant guru, who vehemently denied the charges, arrived for sentencing recently with a 100-vehicle convoy as tens of thousands of irate devotees protested his innocence.
After a judge sentenced him to 20 years in prison his distraught followers rampaged through towns, vandalising property, setting railway stations on fire, smashing cars, setting media vans alight and clashing with security forces.
In the city of Panchkula in India’s northerly Haryana state – where most of Singh’s followers live – the violence claimed the lives of 38 people and 264 more were injured.
But for the women who suffered at the hands of the self-proclaimed “messenger of god”, the fact he was finally behind bars was justice that had been a long time coming.
SINGH’S undoing began in 2002 when a female disciple at the DSS headquarters – known as Dera – sent an anonymous letter to Atal Bihari Vajpayee, then prime minister of India, saying Singh had raped her and several other female followers.
The woman, who’d been persuaded by her parents to devote her life to the religious group, wrote that she’d been called to Singh’s residence one day.
“Maharaj (Singh) took me in his embrace and said he loved me from the core of his heart. He also said he wanted to make love to me,” she wrote. “He told me that at the time of becoming his disciple, I’d dedicated my wealth, body and soul to him and he’d accepted my offering. When I objected he said, ‘There’s no doubt that I’m God’.”
The woman said Singh raped her – and did so repeatedly during her stay at Dera – and added there were many other women and girls who met the same fate, although only one other victim offered to testify.
The victim said Singh told her no authority could take action against him.
Given the following he’s amassed in India and abroad, he had good reason to believe he was above the law.
During Singh’s controversial reign DSS, which is headquartered in the city of Sirsa in Haryana some 260km from New Delhi, grew substantially and now has nearly 50 branches.
Most of its purported 60 million devotees are in India but many live in places such as the UK and Australia.
Singh’s followers share a common invented surname, Insan (human), to signify their unity and remove the social connotations of their individual last names.
The DSS headquarters, believed to house 1 000 followers, boasts a cinema, hotel, sports stadium and schools.
To his supporters – mostly underprivileged, lower-caste men and women – Singh preaches a life lived in “reasonable restraint”, yet he lived opulently.
A journalist who visited the sprawling Dera compound says he saw unique buildings with windows shaped like human ears and high turquoise walls topped with multicoloured fruit-shaped water tanks.
“It seemed to me that he’s a guru who lives out his dreams and fantasies – movie star, rock singer, do-gooder, political influencer – through his group and his devotees,” the journalist reported.
Born in the Indian state of Rajasthan, Singh was introduced to DSS by his father and became the anointed head of the religious group when he was 23.
Rockstar Baba, as many call him, stars in garish self-produced films and is the main act in open-air concerts packed to the rafters with captive audiences.
His first music album, Highway Love Charger, sold three million copies in its first three days, and the music video for the lead single has been viewed nearly four million times on YouTube.
The guru’s social impact is on an equally large scale. He runs various charities and campaigns to promote donations of blood, eyes and cadavers. At one point he held various Guinness World Records for, among other things, the most readings of blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol taken in 24 hours.
In 2001 he established a specialised disaster relief and welfare agency which provided aid in the aftermath of cyclones and earthquakes in India.
But as much as he used his influence for good, his reputation is also mired in controversy. According to India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), two years ago Singh manipulated about 400 of his followers into taking part in mass castrations by persuading them it was the only way to personally connect with God.
And in 2010, DSS organised a mass marriage where more than 1 000 devotees “volunteered” to marry sex workers.
With more than 20 million followers in northern India alone, the guru has been able to exercise his influence widely. Over the years DSS has thrown its weight behind various political parties, exhorting its huge “vote bank” to favour certain parties in the country’s general elections.
In fact, after his victim sent out her letter pleading for justice, nothing happened for years and it was eventually the Punjab and Haryana high court that ordered an investigation.
“All governments at that time tried everything to save this criminal, selfstyled godman,” says M Narayanan, the retired CBI officer who led the probe. “Because of his vote bank, our political system had become helpless and rule of law was mocked year after year.”
BUT the law eventually caught up with Singh, prompting an investigation into his crimes.
A lawyer for the victims said 40 to 50 women had come forward with allegations of rape and the authorities would be investigating the case further.
Following his conviction, 18 teenage girls were taken from the Dera compound. They will undergo medical examinations, according to Indian authorities.
Singh will also be tried for the 2002 murders of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati and former DSS member Ranjit Singh. Chhatrapati published articles on alleged DSS crimes while Ranjit acted as his informant.
The judge at Singh’s rape trial justified the 20-year prison sentence by saying the guru deserved the maximum punishment because he’d “projected himself as a godman and taken undue advantage of his position and authority”.
“The victims put him on the pedestal of god. But he committed a breach of the gravest nature by sexually assaulting his gullible and blind followers.”
Given India’s history of gurus and spiritual leaders, the verdict sets an important precedent. Many feel it destroys the aura of invincibility surrounding cult leaders – of which India has hundreds – who take advantage of followers’ faith.
Judging by the violence unleashed by his zealous fans, the ruling has done little to tarnish Rockstar Baba’s reputation.
One devotee, Saroj Yadav, echoing the sentiments of countless of his followers, remains unshakable in her support for the rapist. “He’s more than a god to us. I believe he’ll make a comeback. His blessings are always with us.”