ALLAHABAD: Irked by recent controversies surrounding self-styled godmen, the Akhil Bhartiya Akhara Parishad, the apex body of Hindu sadhus, on sunday released a list of 14 "fake babas" and demanded a crackdown on "rootless cult leaders" by bringing in a legislation.
The parishad is a council of akharas, which are monastic orders drawing their spiritual lineage from 8th-century seer Adi Shankara, who is said to have established orders of martial monks with the aim of defending the Hindu Dharma.
Giving out the list, which includes names like Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, Rampal, asaram, Asaram and his son Narayan Sai, the parishad's president Swami Narendra Giri said, "We appeal to even the common people to beware of such charlatans who belong to no tradition and by their questionable acts, bring disrepute to sadhus and sanyasis."
The parishad is a council of akharas, which are monastic orders drawing their spiritual lineage from 8th-century seer Adi Shankara, who is said to have established orders of martial monks with the aim of defending the Hindu Dharma.
The development comes close on the heels of a CBI court in Haryana sentencing Dera Sacha Sauda chief Ram Rahim to 20 years in prison for the rape of two of his former disciples.
Large-scale violence took place in various parts of Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan following his conviction by the court in the two cases.
In the list of 14, the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad has asked the government to amend new laws against the "fake gurus".
Following are the names of fake Babas:
Asaram bapu
- Sukhvinder Kaur aka Radhe Maa
- Sachdarangi
- Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh
- Om baba aka Vivekanand
- Nirmal Baba
- Ichachadhari Vishwanand
- Swami Asmianand
- Om Namah Shivaay
- Narayan Sai
- Rampal
Asaram Bapu and Dera chief Ram Rahim are already lodged in jails and facing charges of rape. While another self-style godman Rampal from Haryana is also lodged in Hisar district jail and facing many cases.
Forty-one people were killed in Haryana in the clashes. However, no death was reported from Punjab and Rajasthan.
While Asaram is in jail in connection with a sexual assault case, his son Narayan Sai, also booked in a similar case, is out on bail.