Controversial godman Nithyananda was in the news again recently when representatives of his sovereign nation the 'United States of Kailasa (USK)' attended two UN committee meetings in Geneva in February.
'Ma' Vijayapriya Nithyananda, who was part of the all-women delegation of the USK, and who claimed to be "the permanent ambassador of the United States of Kailasa", sought to know what measures can be put in place to "stop the persecution" of Nithyananda and the residents of Kailasa, during one of the UN meetings.
Nithyananda, a self-proclaimed godman, is wanted in India on several charges of rape and sexual assault allegations. He claims to have founded the USK in 2019 and according to its website, counts "two billion practising Hindus" among its population.
Vijayapriya Nithyananda, during the UN meeting, described USK as the "first sovereign state for Hindus" and claimed that the nation has been "successful with sustainable development."
While the UN human rights office, on Thursday, said any submissions made by representatives of the USK at its public meetings in Geneva were "irrelevant" and will not be considered in the final outcome drafts, there has been a lot of media attention on Vijayapriya Nithyananda.
Who is 'Ma' Vijayapriya Nithyananda?
Clad in a saree and wearing a turban and a tika on her forehead, Vijayapriya Nithyananda did make quite an impression during the UN meetings. On his Twitter handle, Nithyananda confirmed that Vijayapriya Nithyananda is his nation's permanent ambassador to the United Nations.
In multiple tweets, the self-styled godman introduced all the members of the delegation, along with their photos.
A photo on her Facebook profile showed that Vijayapriya Nithyananda, who according to her profile lives in Washington D.C., has a huge tattoo of Nithyananda on her upper right hand.
According to her LinkedIn profile, she completed BSc Honours in Microbiology from the University of Manitoba. Honours and awards she received at the university include 'Dean's honour list' and 'International undergraduate student scholarship'. She also studied in the University of Cambridge.
She is proficient in English, Hindi and French, showed her LinkedIn profile.
Vijayapriya Nithyananda also makes pacts with organisations on behalf of the USK, according to the website of Kailasa.
Social media also has several photos of her meeting representatives of several countries at the UN body meeting.
Not much is known about her initiation into the cult and country of Nithyananda.
UN issues clarification
Confirming the participation of the "USK representatives" at two of its public meetings — registration to which was open to everyone—the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said they were prevented from distributing promotional material and their "tangential" speech was not taken into consideration.
"Registration for such public events is open to NGOs and the general public. Anyone can submit information to the treaty bodies, who will use their judgment to determine the credibility of the submissions received," the OHCHR spokesperson said when asked about their participation.
"On 24 February, at CESCR's general discussion, when the floor was opened to the public, a USK representative spoke briefly. As the focus of the statement was tangential to the topic at hand, it will not be taken into consideration by the Committee in the formulation of the General Comment," the spokesperson added.