Nithyananda and the United States of Kailasa, explained

Following prosecution for alleged rape, Nithyananda fled India in 2019 and has since claimed to have established a sovereign nation called 'The United States of Kailasa'

It would be inadequate to term Nithyananda just a 'self-proclaimed godman', for he is so much more: an alleged rapist, an abductor, and an escape artist, at least as far as the law is concerned. Accused of rape in 2010 by a US national, Nithyananda fled India in November of 2019 and has since claimed to have established a sovereign nation called “The United States of Kailasa” or the “USK”, the geographical location of which no one knows.

However, that hasn’t stopped Nithyananda or his followers from making tall claims: the website for the USK claims to represent “the Hindu Diaspora that lives in more than 150+ Countries”, proclaims to exercise a “right to sovereign self-determination” and follow “a time-tested model of Hindu governance and Hindu administration”. What’s more, it declares Nithyananda, referred to in full as “the Supreme Pontiff of Hinduism (SPH) Jagat Guru Mahasannidhanam (JGM) His Divine Holiness (HDH) Bhagavan Sri Nithyananda Paramashivam”, the rightful “Emperor of 19 Ancient Hindu kingdoms”.

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Nithyananda and his followers claim to be the victims of “persecution (for) over a decade including over 70 assassination attempts, over 250 sexual assaults, lawfare of 120 false cases, massive hate propaganda in electronic media of over 17,000 hours and print media of over 25,000 articles”. The effort to produce Nithyananda before the law is framed by his followers as an attack on Hinduism itself. This co-opting of faith, while not unique phenomena, is certainly unique with regard to its contradiction of common knowledge: Nithyananda’s followers claim to be present-day victims of a supposed “Hindu Holocaust” - explained as “the continuing ethnocide and genocide of over 80 million Hindus worldwide since 7 centuries”.

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The cult has also apparently established a “Nithyanandapedia” as “an effort to capture all the Hindu knowledge and expressions shared by The Supreme Pontiff of Hinduism”.

Further obvious is the cult’s desire for legitimacy and international recognition. The website states that “The United States of America recognizes the United States of KAILASA and signs a bilateral agreement”. It cites a sister-city agreement with the US city of Newark as proof. However, just today, the administration in Newark rescinded the said agreement and cited “deceptive circumstances surrounding the fictional country” in terming the incident as “regrettable”. The website also claims that American cities, including Issaquah (Washington), Texarkana (Texas), Roseville (California), Winchester (Virginia), Seaside (California), have recognised the USK. In perhaps the most shocking of these legitimacy-seeking stunts, the cult claims that former President of India “Dr Abdul Kalam recognised The SPH” citing the existence of a picture where Kalam is seen interacting with Nithyananda.

Just last month, Vijayapriya Nithyananda (who claimed to be "the permanent ambassador of the United States of Kailasa") was seen in Geneva - where she spoke at an event discussing ‘Equal and inclusive representation of women in decision-making systems’.