Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh

Singh was born on 15 August 1967 at Sri Gurusar Modia village in Ganganagar district of Rajasthan.[15][16] Born into a Sikh family, his father Maghar Singh was a landlord, and his mother Naseeb Kaur was a housewife. Maghar was a devoted follower of the DSS leader Shah Satnam Singh, and Gurmeet accompanied his father to the dera.[17][18][19] At the age of 7, Singh was initiated into the Dera Sacha Sauda sect by Shah Satnam Singh.[15]

As an adult, Singh did odd jobs, including driving a tractor, and assisted his father in volunteer work (seva) at the dera. When Shah Satnam Singh announced his retirement in 1990, Singh was not one among the three contenders expected to succeed him. In a surprise public announcement, however, Satnam Shah appointed him as his successor, giving him the name "Huzoor Maharaj Gurmeet Ram Rahim".[17] Ram Rahim became the leader of Dera at the age of 23, on 23 September 1990.[20]

Ram Rahim and his wife Harjeet Kaur have two daughters, named Amarpreet and Charanpreet. They also have a son, Jasmeet, who is married to Husanmeet, a daughter of the Indian National Congress leader Harminder Singh Jassi. Ram Rahim also adopted his confidante Priyanka Taneja as his daughter, giving her the name Honeypreet in 2009.[21] Ram Rahim's followers have adopted "Insan" ("human") as a surname.[17]

The Dera runs 3 hospitals and 13 educational institutes. Ram Rahim has organised drives for blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol screening that have been recognised by Guinness World Records.[22][23][24] In association with the American Society of Echocardiography, he also organised the world record for "Most Cardiac Echo Tests".[25] 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.[26] As of 2016, about 30 Mega Cleanliness Campaigns have been conducted in several states of India.[27][28][29] 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.[30][31][32][33][34] A CBI report investigating criminal allegations against him mentioned that Ram Rahim's "crusades against drugs, alcohol, and prostitution" have gained him a "larger-than-life" image.[35] He has also spoken out against cattle slaughter in India.[36]

Ram Rahim had been known for political clout, as his Dera has a large number of followers among Dalits, estimated to be over 70%.[37] His Dera Sacha Sauda is the only one among the various Deras that openly asks its supporters to vote for particular political parties.[38]

Ram Rahim originally supported the Indian National Congress.[15] and aided them in the 2007 Punjab state elections esp. to wrest control of the Malwa region.[39] Before the 2012 Punjab state elections, the Congress leader Amarinder Singh, his wife Preneet Kaur and his son Raninder Singh visited Ram Rahim, asking him to extend his support to Congress.[40][41] However, Dera's support to Congress alienated the party's Sikh vote bank. In the 2012 elections, Congress performed poorly, and Jassi himself lost the election. The poor performance of Congress was seen as a signal of the downfall of Dera's political power.[39]

Before the 2014 Haryana state elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Narendra Modi praised Ram Rahim in order to attract the Dera Sacha Sauda followers.[42] Ram Rahim reciprocated by supporting the BJP in the state elections.[15] and in February 2015, again in the Delhi assembly elections. He reportedly claimed to have over 2 million followers in Delhi.[43][44][45] His organisation supported BJP in the Bihar assembly election in 2015, and nearly 3,000 Dera followers campaigned for BJP in the state.[46] In 2016, the Haryana sports minister Anil Vij announced a ₹ 5 million grant to the Dera for promoting sports, in Ram Rahim's presence, which led to a controversy.[47]

In May 2007, Ram Rahim was accused of hurting the religious sentiments of the Sikhs by wearing in an advertisement attire resembling the tenth and final living Sikh Guru Gobind Singh, by using a turban with a kalgi (egret feather).[67][68] His followers also organised a demonstration against their alleged persecution at the hands of some religious organisations.[69][70] Ram Rahim was attacked by a mob on 16 July 2007, but escaped unhurt.[71] 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 all of humanity.[72] A multi religion delegation approached the apex Sikh organisation to accept the apology.[73] While not rejecting the apology outright, the Akal Takht maintained it was inadequate on several counts.[74]

A criminal case filed against him, for hurting the Sikh sentiments, was dismissed by the Sirsa court in 2009 and Bathinda court in 2014.[75][76] Counter-terrorism expert Ajai Sahni has 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.[77] 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.[78][79] The organisation has demanded a judicial probe into the allegations.[75][77][80]

On 2 February 2008, Ram Rahim's cavalcade was attacked, with explosives injuring 11 persons.[81] A Khalistan Liberation Force member was later arrested and confessed to arranging explosives and executing the plan along with his associates.[82][83] After that, Ram Rahim was protected with Z+ security cover.[84] On 20 June 2008, a group of Sikhs shouted anti-Dera slogans during 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.[85] This led to further protests from Sikhs in Mumbai and Punjab.[86] 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.[87]

In January 2016, Hindu groups lodged a complaint with police after Ram Rahim dressed up as the Hindu god Vishnu.[88]

• Official website
• Media related to Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh at Wikimedia Commons