51吃瓜

Riots break out in India’s Haryana state following the conviction of a self-styled “godman,”听Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, for raping his followers.听

The northern Indian state of Haryana has been on standby since August 25 following the conviction of a self-styled 鈥済odman,鈥� , the 50-year-old leader of , to 20 years in prison for raping two of his followers. After his conviction, , leaving at least 30 people dead and over 200 injured, and millions lost in damage to public property.

India has hundreds of such 鈥済odmen鈥� and 鈥済odwomen鈥� who claim millions of followers. Surprisingly, the number of them being convicted of rape is also increasing. Singh, the 鈥溾�� and 鈥渕essenger of god,鈥� isn’t the only one . Asuram Sirumalani, more popularly known as Asaram Bapu, who is a preacher based out of Gujarat, was arrested in 2013 on rape charges. His son, also a religious leader, was jailed for the same crime. Mehndi Kasim, another 鈥済odman,鈥� was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2016 for raping seven girls under the pretext that he could 鈥渃ure鈥� them from having disabled children after 鈥渢reating鈥� their brothers for mental illness.

What is shocking is that even after their convictions, many of their adherents still believe in these 鈥済urus鈥� and are willing to resort to violence for them. The Haryana state government allowed over 100,000 people to congregate before the conviction, fully aware that violence was brewing. What followed included houses being looted by Dera Sacha Sauda followers, government offices set on fire, trains and buses burned, media offices attacked. Cities such as of fury.

People who venerate Singh believe he has the power to and other incurable diseases. His charities span the length of the city of Sirsa, and he is believed to have taken hundreds of abandoned children and given them shelter at his ashram. Assets of Dera Sacha Sauda were at Rs2.4 billion ($37.5 million) in 2015. The fear of the religious leader is such that he was given special treatment on his way to court and after. The judge who delivered his sentence had to be into Rohtak, Haryana, in a helicopter.

Singh also has films to his credit. The to protest the release of his film, but his followers remained unshaken in their determination to see the guru on the big screen. When comedian joked about the godman’s sense of style, he was arrested and sentenced to 14 days in custody for outraging religious feelings of Singh鈥檚 followers, and later made to apologize on national television.

The problem lies not in the fact that there were riots in Haryana, but rather that the social fabric of India encourages blind faith in these self-professed “godmen” who abuse their power to steal, deceive and rape. India is submerged in poverty, and gurus like Singh, who provide like clinics, schools and ashrams, are seen as alternatives to the government that many believe has done little for them. Dera Sacha Sauda’s social services wing is credited with organizing awareness and in the state of Punjab that has been mired in a for the last decade. They also open medical camps and organize religious sermons. While these initiatives did contribute to social services, they also gave more power to Dera Sacha Sauda鈥檚 leader, who then misused it. Religion, coupled with social benefits, proves a dangerous combination.

Singh is also reported to have of the brother of one of the girls he raped, and she claims to have been threatened by him. Now in her 40s, she bravely upheld her statement, prompting his conviction. Singh is also believed to have ordered the , a journalist who exposed other rape cases involving the guru 15 years ago. Yet his ardent supporters refuse to acknowledge his crimes, pointing to his good deeds as a reason to keep believing in him.

The Manohar Lal Khattar-led government of Haryana shouldn’t be free from blame either. Khattar, a member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), did little to stop the violence and is believed to have been with Singh. This isn’t the first time that the Haryana government failed to do its job. In February 2016, members of the , who constitute nearly 30% of Haryana’s population, went on a violent rampage after their demand for inclusion in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category was turned down by the court. It is believed several women were at highway junctions connecting Punjab, Haryana and Delhi.

The Khattar government did nothing then and it did nothing now. Responding to the demanding his resignation, he claimed the size of the mob and the presence of anti-social elements had led to lapses in security. Only after the first day of violence following Singh鈥檚 conviction were 听before the verdict was due to be announced on August 28. Compensation was promised from the Dera Sacha Sauda for those whose property was damaged, but what about the lives lost in the rampage?

It is time to take stock of India’s complex social situation and accept that the state machinery is not enough to control such outbursts of public unrest. More social schemes on the ground are needed to uplift the poor. More people need to expose fake 鈥済odmen鈥� and gurus who use the ambit of religion to commit heinous crimes like rape. And, above everything, the government needs to understand that the repeated rioting and damage to property will play an adverse role in the 2019 election, when people will decide on who will lead them. Khattar’s government, at least, does not make the cut.

The views expressed in this article are the author鈥檚 own and do not necessarily reflect 51吃瓜鈥檚 editorial policy.

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