Members of fugitive self-styled godman Nithyananda's fictional country, Kailasa, were deported from Bolivia for allegedly attempting to seize land belonging to indigenous communities.
As quoted by New York Times, in a statement issued on March 25, officials in Bolivia said they had arrested 20 people associated with "Kailasa". These 20 people signed 1,000-year leases with indigenous groups in the country for vast tracts of the Amazon.
However, the agreements by Kailasa members were declared void and they were deported to their home countries, including India, the United States, Sweden and China.
“Bolivia does not maintain diplomatic relations with the alleged nation ‘United States of Kailasa,’” Bolivia’s ministry of foreign affairs told the New York Times.
According to the NYT report, the Bolivian foreign affairs ministry officially declared their non-recognition of Kailasa. “Bolivia does not maintain diplomatic relations with the alleged nation United States of Kailasa,” the statement said.
What is ‘United States of Kailasa’?
"Kailasa" representatives have defined their “country” as the first sovereign state for Hindus. It was founded by Nithyananda.
According to News18, it is spearheaded by members of the Hindu Adi Shaivite minority community and provides a “safe haven” to all the world’s practicing, aspiring or persecuted Hindus, irrespective of race, gender, sect, caste, or creed, as per Kailasa’s website.
The website further states that there are 100 million Adi Shaivite Hindus and two billion practising Hindus. Languages spoken in the country are English, Sanskrit and Tamil and the religion professed is the Sanatana Hindu Dharma. The country is dedicated to the restoration of an “authentic” Hindu culture and civilisation after “years of oppression and subjugation”, stated.
Kailasa claims it wants to revive the temple-based lifestyle, universal free healthcare, free education for all, vegetarianism, gender equality, and fight against global warming.
What was the land deal?
According to the NTY report, Kailasa followers had arrived in Bolivia on tourist visas. They even managed a photo with the country’s president Luis Arce. Investigation by Bolivian newspaper El Deber revealed for the first time that attempts were made by Nityananda's followers to secure extensive land leases from indigenous groups, including the Baure community.
Pedro Guasico, a leader of one of the indigenous groups called the Baure, told NYT that their contact with ‘Kailasa’ representatives began in 2024 after they offered help with forest fires. They negotiated for land “three times the size of New Delhi”, to which the Baure agreed for a 25-year deal that would fetch them close to $200,000 annually, the report said.
However, when Kailasa representatives presented an English version of the contract, it was modified to extend over 1,000 years and included rights to airspace and natural resource extraction.
Despite these alterations, Guasico said his group proceeded with signing. "We made the mistake of listening to them," he said.
Who is Nithyananda?
Nithyananda, a self-styled godman, has given himself the title of "supreme pontiff" (SPH), a term not recognised in Hinduism. His followers, however, refer to him as "the SPH".
He fled India in 2019 and is wanted for multiple charges, including rape and sexual assault. In 2010, Nithyananda was arrested in Himachal Pradesh after being on the run since a video of him with actress Ranjitha surfaced on TV. In 2019, an FIR was filed against him in Gujarat for allegedly kidnapping and wrongfully confining children to collect donations for his Ahmedabad ashram.
His preachings are loosely based on those of Osho Rajneesh.
In 2023, representatives of “Kailasa” had attended a United Nations meeting and demanded protection for him.
Nithyananda is known for his quotable quotes. "I am going to be active, healthy for at least the next 150 years. The Hindu enemies and Hindu traitors wasted a lot of my time and I don't go and attack them or react to them... I just decided to live longer," he had said.
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