Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh (born 15 August 1967) is an Indian spiritual leader, social worker, actor, director and singer.[2] He has been the head of the spiritual group Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS) since 23 September 1990. The Indian Express placed Singh 96th in their list of the 100 most powerful Indians of 2015 because he has about fifty million (fivecrore) devotees and several politicians seek his blessings before polls.[3]
Singh has also been involved in controversies.[4] Mainstream Sikh leaders have accused him of insulting their faith. He has also been accused of rape, murder and forced castrations.[5][6][7] On 25 August 2017, he was convicted of rape by a special CBI court.[8][9][10][11]
Early life
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was born in August 1967 into a Jat Sikh family, at Sri Gurusar Modia village in Ganganagar district of Rajasthan. At the age of 7, he was initiated into the Dera Sacha Sauda sect by his predecessor Shah Satnam Singh.[4]
On 23 September 1990, Shah Satnam held a satsang where he publicly conferred sainthood and succession of the spiritual leadership upon Gurmeet Ram Rahim.[1][non-primary source needed] He is married to Harjeet Kaur and has three daughters and a son. They all use Insan as their last name. His son Jasmeet is married to the daughter of Harminder Singh Jassi, a Punjab Congress leader.[12] His adopted daughter Honeypreet Insan is a movie actress and director.[13]
Ram Rahim was educated in a school in his village of Sri Gurusar Modia.[citation needed]
Political influence
Singh is known for political clout, as his Dera has a large number of followers among Dalitsand Other Backward Classes. His Dera Sacha Sauda is the only among the varoius Deras, which openly asks its supporters to vote for particular political parties.[14]
Singh originally supported the Indian National Congress, whose government provided him with a Z+ Security status reserved for those VIPs with the most threat to their lives.[4]Singh's son is married to the daughter of the Congress leader Harminder Singh Jassi. The Dera Sacha Sauda supported Congress in the 2007 Punjab state elections, and helped the party take control of the Malwa region.[15] Before the 2012 Punjab state elections, the Congress leader Amarinder Singh, his wife Preneet Kaur and his son Raninder Singhvisited Singh, asking him to extend his support to Congress.[16][17] However, Dera's support to Congress alienated the party's Sikh vote bank. In the 2012 elections, Congress performed poorly, and Jassi lost the election. The poor performance of Congress in Malwa in 2012 was seen as a signal of the downfall of Dera's political power.[15]
Before the 2014 Haryana state elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaderNarendra Modi praised Singh in order to attract the Dera Sacha Sauda followers.[18]. Singh supported the BJP in the state elections, thus helping BJP form a non-coalition government in the state for the first time.[4] In February 2015, his organisation openly supported BJP in Delhi elections, saying that he has over 2 million followers in Delhi.[19][20][21] His organization supported BJP in the Bihar assembly election in 2015, and nearly 3000 Dera followers campaigned for BJP in the state.[22] In 2016, the Haryana sports minister Anil Vijannounced a ₹ 5 million grant to the Dera for promoting sports, in Singh's presence, leading to a controversy.[23]
Social work
Ram Rahim has organised drives for blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol screening that have been recognized by Guinness World Records.[24][25][26] In association with theAmerican Society of Echocardiography, he also organized the world record for "Most Cardiac Echo Tests".[27] On 21 September 2011 in New Delhi, Ram Rahim initiated a series of sanitation drives and also pledged his support to the Central Government's campaign.[28] As of 2016, about 30 Mega Cleanliness Campaigns have been conducted in several states of India.[29][30][31][32] On 22 May 2012 Ram Rahim laid the foundation of the Shah Satnam ji Super Speciality Hospital at Sirsa. He established a specialised disaster relief and welfare agency called Shah Satnam Ji Green-S Welfare Force Wing in 2001. Especially in the aftermath of the Odisha cyclone and Gujarat earthquake.[33][34][35][36][37]He was apparently also working against cow slaughter[38]
Discography
Albums
Film songs
| Notes |
| 2015 |
MSG: The Messenger |
Desh, Daru Ko Goli Maro, Papa The Great, Never Ever, Never Ever remix, Rataan Bataan, Ram Ram |
Yes |
Yes |
Sony Music India |
Singh was awarded 4 Platinum Plaques from IFPIfor music of this movie[44] |
| MSG-2 The Messenger |
Party Dhoom Dhaam Se, MSG The Messenger, Rooh Nashiyaani, Hasin Wadiyon Mein, Sapnon Mein Aana Tera, Hule Maale Gile Chila, Party Dhoom Dhaam Se(remix) |
Yes |
Yes |
T Series |
Singh has sung in different voices[45] |
| 2016 |
MSG: The Warrior Lion Heart |
Dhol Baaje, Sohna Mera Mishri Di Daliye |
Yes |
Yes |
Zee Music[46] |
Second song unveiled in live concert admist 3.6 million fans[47] |
| 2017 |
Hind Ka Napak ko Jawab - MSG Lion Heart - 2 |
Jung Hai Humri Aatankwad Se, System Hil Gaya, Thank U For That, Tujhe Paa Ke |
Yes |
Yes |
Zee Music |
|
| 2017 |
Jattu Engineer |
Holi Ki Pichkari |
Yes |
Yes |
|
|
Filmography
Films
'MSG Online Gurukul' is future project of Singh.[49]
Television
Ram Rahim is currently shooting his upcoming reality show Aan Baan Shaan Mera Hindustan.[50]
Awards
Singh is a 2016 recipient of the "Dadasaheb Phalke Film Foundation Award" (not to be confused with the Indian Government's Dadasaheb Phalke Award[51]) for making movies with a social message.[52] Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was awarded four Platinum Plaques in four categories including Vocals, Lyrics, Composition and Music Direction for music ofMSG: The Messenger from IFPI.[53] He received the Giants International Award for his social work in 2016.[54] In 2017, Singh received the Bright Award for best actor and most versatile personality.[55] He has also been nominated for the Dronacharya Award by The Yoga Federation of India(YFI) for producing 'World Champion yogis'.[56][57][58][59][60]
Controversies
Singh has been accused of being involved in enforcing the castration of hundreds of followers; Singh has repeatedly denied involvement.[61][62][5][63]
Conflict with Sikh groups
In May 2007, Singh was accused of hurting the religious sentiments of the Sikhs by wearing, in an advertisement, an attire, resembling the tenth and final living Sikh Guru Gobind Singh, by using a turban with a kalgi (egret feather) .[64][65] His followers also organised a demonstration against their alleged persecution at the hands of some religious organisations.[66][67] Ram Rahim was attacked by a mob on 16 July 2007, but escaped unhurt.[68] The Dera Sacha Sauda tendered multiple apologies, regretting confusion over the dress, and stated that it had high regard for all Sikh Gurus, Sikh religion and the entire humankind.[69] A multi religion delegation approached the apex Sikh organisation to accept the apology.[70] Though the Akal Takht didn't use the word "rejected" – they maintained that the apology was inadequate on several counts.[71]
A criminal case filed against him, for hurting the Sikh sentiments, was dismissed by theSirsa court in 2009 and Bathinda court in 2014.[72][73] Counter-terrorism expert Ajai Sahnihas stated that the tensions between the Sikh community and the Dera have been exploited by the pro-Khalistan elements. He has further quoted Indian military intelligence that Iknoor Khalsa Fauj, Khalistan Zindabad Force and Khalistan Commando Force have attempted to eliminate him.[74] In a case where the Dera's followers were accused of being suicide attackers, the Dera has stated publicly that it was being targeted by vested political groups that were conspiring to defame it.[75][76] The organisation has demanded a judicial probe into the allegations.[72][74][77]
On 2 February 2008, Ram Rahim's cavalcade was attacked with explosives, injuring 11 persons.[78] A Khalistan Liberation Force member was later arrested for the attack who confessed to arranging explosives for the attack on the Dera chief and also executing the plan along with his associates.[79][80] After that, Ram Rahim was protected with Z+ security cover.[81]
On 20 June 2008, a group of Sikhs shouted anti-Dera slogans during Gurmeet Ram Rahim's visit to the Nirmal Lifestyles mall in Mumbai. The situation developed into an altercation between the protestors and the Dera followers, and one of the Sikh protestors was killed.[82] This led to further protests from Sikhs in Mumbai and Punjab.[83]
On 27 September 2015, the Akal Takht accepted his apology and pardoned him, but, on observing widespread resentment and protest among Sikhs regarding his pardon, the organisation revoked the pardon on 16 October.[84]
Rape conviction
In 2002, a female follower of Singh's allegedly penned an anonymous letter to then Prime Minister of India Atal Vajpayee accusing Singh of sexual abuse. A CBI probe was ordered into the incident on 24 September 2002. In the same year, Singh had murder charges levied against him for the murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati, who was writing articles at the time about Dera Sacha Sauda, and for the murder of Dera Sacha Sauda manager Ranjit Singh.[85]
On 25 August 2017, a special CBI court in Panchkula, Haryana, delivered its verdict in a sexual assault case regarding a former Dera sadhvi, finding Gurmeet Ram Rahim guilty of two counts of rape.[8][9][10] Singh was taken into custody.[86] More than 200,000 people had gathered near the court premises ahead of the verdict in Panchkula, Haryana.[87] Following the conviction, 30 people were killed and another 80 were injured in violent protests in parts of India with reports of widespread vandalism.[88][89][90]
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