Latest news with #AparnaAshram
Indian Express
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Once ashram of power whisperer Dhirendra Bramhachari, now home to the penniless in Gurgaon
Yoga classes by the district administration, a cricket ground for locals, a shelter for people with nowhere else to stay, and a haunt of dealers in scrap and second-hand furniture. This is what is spread across the 30-acre land in Gurgaon's Sector 30, which once held the Aparna Ashram of the late Dhirendra Brahmachari, the jet-setting yoga guru to the country's mightiest — and which the Haryana government has now moved formally to take over, passing a Bill that awaits the President's approval. With the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi among Brahma-chari's disciples, the ashram had flourished. Central grants over time helped it purchase this prime plot, now reportedly worth several hundred crores. Since Brahmachari's demise in 1994, though, the ashram has been at the centre of constant litigation, with competing sides laying claim to it. The only sign now of what is at stake is two constables posted at the site, from the Sector 40 Police Station, who guard the 5-acre section of the property that is already under state government ownership. This is the site where yoga classes are held in the open, and where the demolished remnants of the ashram's main building, including a former helipad, lie. Refusing to be identified, one of the constables says: 'We have been here for two months now, but police have been guarding this place since February 2023, when the (ashram) building was demolished. The yoga classes started a month after that.' A small tin shed built for the constables to stay on the property 24×7 means the encroachers have stayed away from these five acres. 'Even if there is only one of us, no one will dare trespass,' says the constable. Inspector Lalit Kumar, Station House Officer of the Sector 40 Police Station, says they have not received any complaints or had any issues relating to any attempted encroachments on the land where the two policemen are stationed. 'They have been deployed as a precautionary measure,' Kumar says, adding that they had not received any fresh instruction from the district administration as regards the land, given the passage of the Bill. Away from the constables' eyes, on the other side of the disputed property, a settlement ironically called 'Indira Vikas Colony' is watching in apprehension as the construction of a boundary wall demarcating the former ashram land indicates the government's resolve to take over the premises. Afraid of inviting action, the residents talk only on the condition of anonymity. A group of scrap dealers, who have been staying and working out of this area since the start of the year, say they have not received any notices so far and are waiting and watching. 'We have not faced any hassle. If any notice comes, we will see,' says one of the scrap dealers. Their neighbours include three old furniture dealers from Uttar Pradesh, who say the notices have come to them. As a precaution, they have moved their shop from one site within the property to another. 'For poor people like us, nothing is certain. They (the authorities) can come anytime to remove us,' says one of them, adding that they would act as asked. 'What can we even do if the State is set on doing this (taking over the land)?' A group of local families claims they have been 'paying rent' for the shanties they occupy and, since they have not received any notice yet, are 'at ease'. 'Our landlords will know about all this, we do not,' a woman says. At the same time, she admits families like hers would have nowhere to go if evicted by the State.
Indian Express
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Decode Politics: Indira Gandhi's favourite yoga guru, and an ashram caught in a row now for 30 years
Last week, Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya sent a Bill passed by the BJP government for the President's assent, essentially meaning that the saga over an ashram started by the once powerful yoga guru Dhirendra Brahmachari in the state will continue for some time. The Aparna Institution (Taking over of Management and Control) Bill pertains to the Aparna Ashram Society in Gurgaon, started by Brahmachari. The Congress claimed it had been vindicated by Dattatreya's move as it had been objecting to the Nayab Singh Saini government's power to legislate regarding the property. However, government officials say that as the Bill relates to charities, charitable institutions and charitable endowments, a subject that comes under the Concurrent List, it needs to be sent for the President's assent. A yoga guru from the 1970s Dhirendra Brahmchari first came into prominence during the 1970s, and quickly rose to popularity and power due to his proximity to the Gandhi family. His jet-setting ways, including a personal aircraft, earned him the moniker of 'the flying swami'. The yoga guru was close to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi as well as her son Sanjay, with people seeking an audience with the two power centres flocking to Brahmachari's doors. In the early '70s, with Indira in power, Brahmachari registered the name 'Aparna Ashram' with the Registrar of Societies, New Delhi, with 'the purpose of promoting yoga and its research, training and dissemination'. The land for the ashram was purchased using donations, financial grants and assistance from the Central government. Currently, the Aparna Ashram is spread across 24 acres and 16 kanals in the Silokhra village of Gurugram. A property mired in litigation On January 30, 1989, the Haryana government led by Om Prakash Chautala (he belonged to the Haryana Lok Dal, which later became the INLD) issued a notification to acquire the land in Silokhra and adjoining Sukhrali village for public purposes. This also included land and buildings falling under the Aparna Ashram. But Brahmachari approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, seeking that the notifications be scrapped, in 1990. On June 9, 1994, he died in a plane crash in J&K. Soon after, a dispute arose between two groups over the control of the ashram. Thirty years later, the property remains caught up in multiple litigations. The Bill on the Aparna Ashram Having got a favourable verdict from the Punjab and Haryana High Court on May 29, 2024, to take over the Aparna Ashram, the Haryana government passed an order the next day, announcing the transfer of 24.16 acres to its name. However, this was struck down by a division bench in July 2024. It was after this that the government introduced the Aparna Institution (Taking over of Management and Control) Bill in the ongoing Budget Session, and the Assembly passed it on March 28. Provisions of the Bill The Bill proposes the takeover of the management, control and possession of the society's assets by the government for a minimum 10 and maximum 15 years. An Administrator is to be appointed to carry on the management of the institution on behalf of the state government. CM Saini has defended the Bill saying that while Brahmachari 'wanted to set up a yoga ashram and start medical services', it was now 'being eyed by some people'. 'The government is only trying to protect this land from falling in the wrong hands. This charitable trust has taken financial aid from the Central government multiple times. The government can take over any trust where it has been previously involved,' Saini says. Haryana Industries Minister Rao Narbir Singh claims the land on which the ashram is located 'is estimated to be worth over Rs 100 crore per acre' and might fall into the wrong hands if the government does not intervene. As per government officials, parts of the coveted land have been sold at throwaway prices to private players by the purported authorised representatives of the ashram society. The Opposition's argument The Congress staged a walkout from the Assembly during the passage of the BIll, arguing that the Haryana government could not get involved in the matter as the charitable trust was registered in Delhi. Congress MLA (Rohtak) B B Batra said: 'I said on the floor of the House that the state government was not competent to bring this legislation. I said that this Bill was illegal.' Saini countered this saying 'the land is in Haryana'.
