Vijayapriya Nithyananda wears her dark hair like a turban, has gold jewelry on her forehead, gold chains around her neck and wears brown and orange robes. She says she is the "permanent ambassador" representing the "United States of Kailasa," the "first sovereign state for Hindus." She is speaking at a United Nations event on economic, social and cultural rights in Geneva on February 24 this year.

There's just one catch: the "United States of Kailasa" doesn't exist. However, "representatives" of this "state" have been able to speak before the United Nations, and cities in the US and around the world have also been fooled by "Kailasa". The speech at the UN event made headlines in India and begged the question: How did this happen?

This ominous state was founded by Vijayapriya Nithyananda's leader, who shares her last name: Bhagavan Sri Nithyananda Paramashivam. He claims he can make cows and monkeys talk, heal the blind, and delay the sunrise.

He is the "Avatar of Hinduism and a Supreme Pope of Hinduism". Nithyananda "created the science of manifestation of power, yoga and temple-based universities for mankind," says Kailasa's website immodestly.

His real name is A. Rajashekaran; according to a media report, he was born on January 1, 1978. In the early 2000s, he opened an ashram near Bengaluru, according to the news site Outlook India.

It all sounds like spirituality, like piety. But Nithyananda is wanted by the police and also by Interpol for several alleged crimes.

He is accused of raping and abusing children in the Indian state of Gujarat. According to reports, an investigation by French authorities has also been launched – due to suspected fraud.

He was briefly imprisoned in 2010 on charges of rape. The trial was repeatedly delayed, and Nithyananda never appeared in court. He was later arrested and charged in another count of rape as well.

In 2019, the allegations came to a head again: one of his followers accused him of rape; two administrators of one of his temples were arrested for alleged child abuse. In the same year he fled from India and founded his "state". Amazing: His passport had long expired, the media reported.

He has not been seen in public since then.

According to the alleged state's website, "Kailasa" is "the re-edition of the ancient enlightened Hindu civilization nation being revived by expelled Hindus from around the world." A flag, constitution and national anthem can be found on this website. There should be different ministries, as well as a central bank. The website also claims "Kailasa" is the location of the largest university in the world. If you want, you can even apply for electronic citizenship.

But where exactly the "United States of Kailasa" is geographically located, there is no information about it. Nor is it known where its founder is. There were reports that he lives on an island off the coast of Ecuador. However, the government there disagreed. Nithyananda is not in Ecuador, an application for asylum has been rejected. Others suspected he was in Nepal.

Although the United Nations does not recognize the "United States of Kailasa," the fake nation's self-proclaimed ambassador spoke at a confederation event.

How was that possible?

Vivian Kwok, spokeswoman at the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, told the British BBC that these debates are public. However, the statements and documents submitted by "Kailasa" were not taken into account. They are "irrelevant" and have nothing to do with the issues being discussed.

But the speech at the United Nations is just the tip of the iceberg of the fake state's "diplomatic activities": Last year, two Conservative members of the British Hose of Lords invited a "representative" of the fictitious country to a party on the occasion of the Hindu Diwali Fixed, as the "Guardian" reported.

"Kailasa" even published an alleged greeting from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Whether it is genuine could not be checked at first; an inquiry by stern to the prime minister's office in this regard remained unanswered at the time of publication. There is no such greeting on the Prime Minister's website.

Several cities in the US have also fallen for the wrong state. 30 cities have entered into partnerships with "Kailasa", reported the US broadcaster Fox News.

One of the cities affected is Newark, New Jersey. As the newspaper "New York Post" reported, in January this year the city invited "delegates" from "Kailasa" and signed a partnership agreement.

Shortly thereafter, however, Newark realized who they were dealing with. City officials said the agreement lasted only six days and was then declared "groundless and void." "This is an oversight that shouldn't happen again," City Councilman Luis Quintana told CBS. The city had made a fool of itself. Critics accused city officials that the embarrassment could have been avoided with a simple internet search.

But it's not just Newark: in fact, the fictional state's website features several purported documents proving ties with several US cities. These include Concord in North Carolina, Buena Park in California and Delaware in Ohio.

"Most likely he (Nithyananda) wants to raise his profile in the United States to recruit people," cult expert Rick Alan Ross told the NY Post.

And not only cities are among them, but also US congressmen, as the newspaper further reported. Norma Torres, a California congresswoman, recognized "Kailasa" and her self-proclaimed leader.

Speaking through her spokesman, she told the Post: "The certificate (for special recognition from Congress) was presented to a local church by a former employee. Upon learning of the very serious and credible allegations against its leader, our office the certificate will be recalled immediately."

According to Intelligencer magazine, Nithyananda's supporters take advantage of the fact that most cities and government agencies are fairly liberal when it comes to issuing so-called proclamations, for example for public holidays or memorial days.

In 2021, for example, the mayor of Fall River, Massachusetts, signed a proclamation establishing a "Kailasa Day" on January 3, 2022 -- with much of the text of the letter authored by the "Kailasa" supporters themselves, Intelligencer writes. further. "In most cases, the requests are met," said a spokeswoman for the local mayor's office. These documents are not binding. In fact, anyone can apply for a proclamation on Fall River's website.

The "UN ambassador" Vijayapriya Nithyananda defended himself against allegations in a video on Twitter. "Kailasa" and its "representatives" have not cheated anyone, and "Kailasa" is not fictitious either.

"Our town twinning aims to promote humanitarian aid and global peace through better understanding of other cultures. Organizations representing Kailasa have formed partnerships with major cities around the world."

One hopes that the "independent western press" will not fall for "false narratives about our traitors".

And the "supreme pope of Hinduism", Nithyananda himself, does not want to know anything about guilt. The allegations of rape are "absolutely false" and he is a victim of persecution, according to one of his tweets. US courts acquitted him and the police stopped their investigations. As evidence, Nithyananda attaches several links - but they all lead to non-working websites, some of which belong to the homepage of "Kailasa".

Although proceedings are ongoing against him and the police are looking for him: Nithyananda considers himself untouchable. In a video that made the rounds on social media in late 2019, he said: "No stupid court can prosecute me for revealing the truth."

As long as the authorities don't know where he is and as long as he has many followers around the world who give him money, it's likely to stay that way, says Dr. Robert Bunker, director of research and analysis at security consultancy C/O Futures, LLC.

"Since cult leaders tend to suck off the wealth of their followers, they amass large war chests, which they use to invest in real estate and businesses, and also to bribe officials in less developed countries," he told Daily Beast magazine.

"I have no doubt that front companies will be used, travel documents will be forged and safe houses will be set up to protect him."

Weitere Quellen: "The Hindustan Times", "Deccan Herald", "Times of India", "India Times", "Outlook India", NDTV, "India Today", india.com, "Republic", "The News Minute", "The Week", "The Indian Express", "The Siasat Daily", "National Herald", "The Telegraph", "The Herald News"