Why India’s godmen thrive despite scandals, crimes
How Guru power works
The Godman business works because it has the patronage of those in power. Prime Ministers, senior IAS officers, judges andcorporate heads lean on spiritual gurus for both philosophical solace and daily decision-making. Chitra Ramakrishna, former National Stock Exchange (NSE) CEO, publicly acknowledged she was professionally guided by a Himalayan Yogi ‘Sironmani’ for over 20 years.
The flipside is the government also fears the ‘mass’ gurus for the clout they wield. Sample the case of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, preacher, songwriter and movie producer. As head of the Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS), a messianic body of Dalit devotees drawn from Punjab, Haryana and other northern states, Gurmeet has openly exhorted his supporters cast their political vote on his direction.
Currently serving a 20-year sentence formurder and rape, he holds the record for the number of paroles he has been given. After his 9th parole in January this year, the Punjab & Haryana High Court had to step in to stop the malpractice. Despite his incarceration, Ram Rahim’s financial clout is legend, and estimated at Rs 1,453 crore.
Beyond the dark business practices, many of these Godmen are serial sexual predators and must be halted. There is no shortage of teeth like the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 that defines ‘rape’. But will the government use them?
Then there is the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954 which prohibits advertisements of drugs and remedies that claim to have magical properties, and makes them a cognizable offence.
Maharashtra has its own Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice, and Black Magic Act, 2013, which should be extended to the rest of the country. The act criminalizes practices related to black magic, human sacrifices, and use of magic remedies which exploit people’s superstitions. It was lobbied and drafted by well-known rationalist, Narendra Dabholkar; but the irony is he fell to a messianic right-wing assassin’s bullet in 2013.