The American city of Newark, New Jersey was duped by fugitive Nithyananda’s Hindu nation of Kailasa over the course of five days in January, after the city’s mayor, Ras Baraka, sent an invitation to join a "sister city" partnership with the allegedly-fictional nation.
Several reports claim that the Kailasa delegation accepted an invitation, extended by Baraka, and attended the pact-signing event in Newark a few days later.
At the ceremony, Baraka told a Kailasa delegate:
“I pray that our relationship helps us to understand cultural, social and political development and improves the lives of everybody in both places.”
However, the mayor was unaware that he and the Newark city council was deceived by the imaginary nation and eventually had to own up to their massive faux pas.
The Newark city hall acknowledged that it had been scammed by the notorious fugitive but what’s important to note is that the agreement to become a “sister city” with a fictional country run by a rape-accused, self-proclaimed god-man, lasted six days before officials dissolved it for being “baseless and void.”
Subsequently, a city spokesperson called the incident “regrettable” and added, “the city of Newark remains committed to partnering with people from diverse cultures in order to enrich each other with connectivity, support and mutual respect."
However, Shakee Merritt, a resident of Newark, correctly pointed out his surprise at the fact that “no one in City Hall, not one person, did a Google search."
"...maybe we need a transformation of City Hall ’cause not one person said, let me go and Google and figure out this was a fake city," Merritt told CBS news.
Kailasa was also in the news back in December 2022, when a representative of the fugitive godman attended a glamourous Diwali party at the British House of Lords, after she was invited by two senior MPs of the ruling Conservative Party.
Mahant Ma Nithya Atmadayananda, or Atmadayananda, a representative of Nityananda’s organisation – Kailasa UK – was invited to the event by Tory MP Bob Blackman and Lord Rami Ranger.
The event was organised by the Hindu Forum of Britain in the House of Lords’ Cholmondeley Room and saw the distribution of a commemorative brochure to attendees, which included a full page advertisement promoting Kailasa United Kingdom.
Nithyananda, Kailasa's Response
Following a media uproar around the incident, the Nithyanada's official Facebook page, titled 'KAILASA's SPH JGM Nithyananda Paramashivam,' released answers to several press enquires and made some interesting claims.
When asked what Kailasa exactly is, an organisation, soverign state or some other entity, the "Press Office of the Holy See of Hinduism" replied:
"We are a revival of the ancient enlightened Hindu civilizational nation, operating through a group of NGOs in multiple countries across the world. It was established much in the spirit of a country like the Sovereign Order of Malta, a borderless service oriented nation."
When questioned regarding the accusation of rape against the self-proclaimed god-man, the press secretary was quick to quip that the case os "absolutely false."
The press office claimed that several "prominent human rights advocates have given independent reports and legal opinions attesting this."
Moreover, the office claimed that world renowned Queen’s Council Geoffrey Robertson, said:
"It arises more generally from the demonisation of their leader and guru by the media and state government officials as a result of false sexual abuse charges first levelled against him in 2010 and pursued in a manner that amounts to an abuse of process.”
“For the reasons explained above, I consider that the leader of the ASMT and his followers have suffered and most likely are still suffering, persecution on the grounds of religious belief...," Robertson allegedly added, according to the press office's response.
The Quint has not independently verified Geoffrey Robertson's statement yet.
Who Is 'Swami' Nithyananda? What's Kailasa's Deal?
Nithyananda, or as his followers say, Swami Nithyananda Paramashivam, claims to be a godman, but has been long-branded to be the leader of a cult. The list of alleged crimes by the 44-year-old includes cases of rape, cheating, criminal conspiracy, and kidnapping.
Parents have accused him of brainwashing their children, while the children who visited his ashram alleged that they were confined, tortured, and forced into labour.
In 2010, a US citizen and disciple of Nithyananda accused him of raping her in India and the US repeatedly over the course of five years. Moreover, he is also wanted by the police in Gujarat and Karnataka for kidnapping children and keeping them captive in his Ahmedabad ashram to collect donations from their parents.
But the evasive “Supreme Pontiff of Hinduism” has avoided convictions and trials for years now. While some claim that he left for Ecuador and then Haiti after fleeing India in 2019, others say that he resides in his own "country" – Kailasa.
A legal representative of Nithyananda in the UK, as reported by The Telegraph, denied all the allegations against the self-proclaimed spiritual leader and added that the "persecution against him was a result of Hinduphobia on the part of conservative and fundamentalist figures in India.”
They also added that Nithyananda has received a sizable chunk of charity, which he has used to establish “many temples, schools, and monasteries.”
Nithyananda’s popularity in India doesn’t seem to be deterred from the outstanding list of charges against him. His Facebook page alone boasts over 1.1 million followers.
Moreover, both him and his followers use their massive social media presence to make several extravagant claims about his supernatural abilities, which includes the ability to delay sunrise, see through walls, make cows talk, and cure children of blindness.
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