A representative of fugitive godman Nithyananda’s self-proclaimed nation, ‘United States of Kailasa’, is creating buzz after photos and videos of her at a United Nations committee went viral.
Clad in saffron, wearing a turban and heavy jewellery, and sporting a large tattoo of the godman, Vijayapriya Nithyananda represented ‘Kailasa’ as its “permanent ambassador” at a UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) on February 24.
At the committee she demanded protection for the rape-accused godman, who she called the “supreme pontiff of Hinduism”.
Who is Vijayapriya Nithyananda?
While there is little information about the ‘diplomat’ of ‘Kailasa’, as per Nithyananda’s official Twitter account, Vijayapriya is the ‘permanent ambassador’ of the ‘United States of Kailasa’ in the United Nations.
However, as per reports, she lives in the US in Washington DC and studied Microbiology from Canada’s University of Manitoba in 2014. At college, she claims to have been on the dean’s honour list for “outstanding academic performance”. She has also reportedly received international undergraduate student scholarship in 2013 and 2014.
Her Linkedin profile states that she is fluent in English, French, Creole and Pidgins, according to her Linkedin profile.
At the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), she said that her guru Nithayananda was being ‘persecuted’ by India.
She also said that Kailasa is the first sovereign state for Hindus, established by, Nithyanand Paramashivam, who is “reviving the enlightened Hindu civilisation and its 10,000 indigenous Hindu traditions, including the Adi Shaivite indigenous agricultural tribes for which the supreme pontiff of Hinduism is also the leader”.
Vijayapriya later issued a clarification on Twitter and said that the United States of Kailasa holds India in high regard. “I would like to clarify that I stated that the SPH Bhagavan Nithyananda Paramashivam is persecuted in his birthplace by certain anti-Hindu elements…The United States of KAILASA holds India in high regard and respects India as its Gurupeedam,” she said.
‘Won’t Consider Inputs’, Says UN
The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) is the body of 18 independent experts that monitors implementation of the United Nations treaty called International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
The panel meets twice a year. During its meeting, usually one day is devoted to a general discussion of a particular right or of a particular aspect of the covenant.
“The United States of Kailasa” representatives spoke at the 19th meeting at the 73rd session of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, held in Geneva, Switzerland.
The UN does not recognise ‘Kailasa’ as a country and the international agency said that these comments were made when the floor was opened to the public.
In an official response to India Today, the UN said Kailasa participated in discussions as an NGO.
“Their written submission to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) will not be published as it is irrelevant to the topic of the general discussion,” the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva said.
Who is Nithyananda?
Nithyananda, whose real name is Rajashekharan, is a native of Tamil Nadu. He rose to prominence after founding an ashram near Bengaluru in the early 2000s.
He is the main accused in several cases in India, including rape, torture, kidnapping and wrongful confinement of children. In 2010, Nithyananda hit the headlines after a video of him in a compromising position with an actress went viral. He was later charged with rape and arrested. He was also arrested and charge-sheeted in a separate case of rape. He fled India in 2019.
He is also reportedly being investigated by French authorities for an alleged fraud of $400,000.
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