The guru’s patronage

Finally, the Guru has been sentenced to 20 years in prison on charges of raping two of his devotees. Earlier, when the Haryana Court (in India) convicted him of the crimes, riots broke out across the state. Over three dozen people were killed and the rioters torched state property, vehicles and trains. What is it that made this Indian actor-guru so fascinating for people?

Well, the story starts in Dera Sacha Sauda – a religious-cum-spiritual outfit that was established in 1948 by an earlier guru called Mastana Balochistani. He was born in 1890 in Kalat, Balochistan and died in 1960 in Delhi at the age of 70. He was a Kshatriya Hindu and his real name was Khema Mal. But a Sikh spiritual leader, Baba Sawan Singh, changed his name to Shah Mastana Balochistani. On the instructions of the same Baba Sawan Singh, Mastana Balochistani came to Haryana and set up Dera Sacha Sauda. 

Haryana was separated from East Punjab in 1966 and became a state with a capital at Chandigarh. Now, the population of Haryana is around 25 million. Dera is kind of an ashram where devotees come for spiritual guidance.

After the death of Mastana Balochistan in 1960, Satnam Singh, another guru, was its leader for 30 years till 1990. That’s when this new and young Guru Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh assumed charge. He has been at the helm for 27 years now. This sect claims to have 46 ashrams across India with branches in Canada, the UAE, Australia the US and the UK.

The guru claims to have devotees in tens of millions. When he became the head of the group, he was only 23 and he now is 50. An interesting point is that his youthful image has played an important role among the young people and boosted in his popularity. To impress the younger lot, he has become an actor, director, musician and a singer. By using modern media, he kept attracting his devotees and, with increasing number of followers, his political influence also spread beyond Haryana and into Delhi. Then political parties vied with each other to curry favour with him. He openly asked his followers to vote for this or that party.

Initially, this drama guru supported the Congress. But in 2014, he changed tack and asked his followers to vote for the BJP. With his help, the BJP formed a government in Haryana for the first time. Like other semi-religious or spiritual outfits in other countries, his sect also started doing welfare work. Such welfare activities help similar organisations hide their true colours. Gurmeet Singh kept launching one cleaning campaign after another. Subsequently, free medical camps were established and received praise. 

Be it a typhoon in Odisha (formerly Orissa) or an earthquake in Gujarat, his volunteers launch relief activities. In this manner, such organisations can conceal their true motives. Even if people notice some hanky-panky, they prefer to overlook it. Then, this ‘godman’ started off as a singer and has, in the past five years, released as many albums that have sold in millions. For example, his Highway Love Charger became an instant hit.

He has not missed the film world as well and began his cinema appearances. Capitalising on the Uri attack in India in 2016, he appeared in an anti-Pakistan song.

Through some of his nasty habits, he annoyed the Sikh community too. In one of the advertisements, he tried to resemble the 10th and last guru of Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh. When Sikh elders protested, he tendered an apology in 2007. In 2002, one of his devotees accused him of rape and wrote an anonymous letter to then PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The PM ordered an inquiry. The guru has also been threatening journalists who wrote investigative reports about him and his sect.

Finally, on August 25 this year, the volcano erupted when a court in Haryana convicted him of raping his devotees and sentenced him to a 20-year jail term. Thousands of people protested the decision. The court has also ordered that his properties be confiscated to pay for the damage done during the riots. The BJP government was severely criticised for its inability to prepare for the troubles in Haryana. Almost everyone knew that if he was found guilty by the court, his devotees would go on a rampage.

But the BJP government did not initially want to annoy the guru and his followers. The BJP is indebted to him for his support during the elections. Almost all other parties have tried to please the guru in the past and even now few were vocal against him and his coterie. Why are people so easily duped by religious charlatans? Perhaps it is a socio-economic issue as well as a failure of social cohesion and the educational system. People get tired of political corruption and see that governments are reluctant to help them economically.

People also come under social pressure and the syllabus taught at educational institutes does not give them enough understanding to see through the ruses these charlatans employ. Being an officially secular country, India’s syllabus projects all religions and denominations in a positive light which encourages people to look for spiritual satisfaction in various religious groups and cults. The government hardly does anything against these cults. As a result, we can find faith-healers of all colours and shades selling their own mantras all over the country. The social context is far too enabling for them to stage such dramas.

The writer holds a PhD from the University of Birmingham, UK and works in Islamabad.

Email: Mnazir1964@yahoo.co.uk