In India, a self-styled guru can do no wrong – unless she’s a woman

Amrit Dhillon writes about Radhe Maa, the female 'guru' who is taking on India’s 'godmen' at their own game

Radhe Maa is being judged not as much for her “credentials” as her attire.

Finally, a woman has stormed the last remaining bastion of male domination in India – the right to hoodwink millions of gullible Indians who are prepared to believe any self-styled “guru”.

This woman, known as Radhe Maa, is not the male equivalent of the bearded, long-haired and long-robed guru. She is not matronly with a grey bun. No, she is heavily made up with red lipstick, has a penchant for red mini skirts and bling, and dances to Bollywood songs.

Although there is a controversy whirling around her, it is delightful to see a woman undertake the lucrative business of making Indians believe she can transform their lives. The gullibility of Indians when it comes to “godmen” is limitless – the faith is blind, and the belief that these charlatans can cure an illness, get them a job, get their child into a good school or destroy a business rival is childlike.

There is good money in this business. Most of these gurus, like Radhe Maa, come from humble backgrounds. Before long, they have fleets of cars, apartments and cupboards full of gold jewellery. The godmen almost invariably tend to end up mired in allegations of assaulting their female adherents. Yet nothing they do removes the scales from the eyes of the followers who hang on their every banal utterance.

Poor Radhe Maa – her original name is Sukhvinder Kaur – hasn’t been in the business very long by all accounts. But she is being brought down quickly, because she is a woman playing a man’s game.

First a video of her dancing in a shiny red dress went viral. Then one of her followers accused Radhe Maa of inciting her in-laws to demand more dowry. In no time at all, Mumbai police swung into action, interrogating her over the dowry allegations.

The severe treatment meted out to Radhe Maa contrasted with the exceedingly long rope that is usually given to male godmen who, even when accused of rape or murder, rarely end up in police custody.

Let’s assume for a moment, just a moment, that Radhe Maa was not so bad as a godwoman, that she gave good advice to her followers about how to attain happiness, that she gave solace to those who came to her in distress, and that she had some insights into the human condition. The point is that, even if this were true – and it’s hard to judge without having attended her meetings and heard her speak – it would have made no difference to the way she is being treated both by the media, which seems to have tried her and pronounced her guilty, and the police.

She is being judged not for her credentials as a godwoman but as a woman who dresses scantily, has no male chaperone to control her, and appears to be living life on her own terms.

Make no mistake, that is her crime. The dowry allegation is merely a pretext to bring down a woman who refuses to conform to Indian culture’s expectation that all women be demure, shy, chaste and obedient.

Godmen can go naked and dance as much as they like but Radhe Maa cannot. Hindu organisations have criticised her for insulting the goddess Durga (many of her followers believe she is an incarnation of Durga) by posing in miniskirts and behaving in an “unseemly” manner.

A Mumbai lawyer who has filed a private petition urging the High Court to act against her has accused her of vulgarity.

Like any other woman who refuses to conform, Radhe Maa’s clothes are being subjected to intense scrutiny. If she chooses to wear red, sparkly bridal gowns, it is her business. If she likes bling, likewise. If she likes to indulge in antics in private, it’s her affair. Between seeing her as “obscene” or “spiritual”, there seems to be no middle position for many Indians.

Even if she is found guilty of inciting the woman’s in-laws to harass her for more dowry, it will be ironic if she is punished – given that demanding more dowry is as routine as having lunch for millions of Indians.

Radhe Maa is the victim of double standards. This self-styled godwoman is being taught that she cannot have the same liberty as self-styled godmen. She must be made to realise that there cannot be equality between her and them. And she must be dealt with severely as an example to the others.

Amrit Dhillon is a freelance journalist in New Delhi