AFP – Indian spiritual guru Swami Baba Ramdev performs yoga during his hunger strike at the Pitanjali Yogpeeth … HARIDWAR, India (AFP) – At the spartan headquarters from where he controls a global empire, India's television yoga guru issues a warning to the government which he has seriously unnerved with his anti-graft campaign.
In an interview at his ashram complex in the foothills of the Himalayas, Swami Ramdev accused the government of "murdering democracy and human rights" with a brutal crackdown on his rally site in the capital New Delhi.
"If they continue to harass me like this, there will be protests throughout this country. We won't put up with it," he told AFP as he sat on a sofa, swathed in his trademark orange robes and with luxuriant black hair and beard.
Ramdev appears at ease with the global publicity he has drawn since his hunger strike campaign was broken up by police on Sunday, and he was feted as a hero when he returned to his ashram near the holy city of Haridwar.
After a brisk apology for a four-hour wait to be ushered into his presence, he smiled broadly and cracked jokes as he discussed his impact on India's political scene.
But he railed against the police action Sunday that left more than 70 people injured when officers fired tear gas and baton-charged supporters at a protest camp in central Delhi which had drawn up to 50,000 people.
The strict vegetarian, who has courted controversy with his claims to be able to cure cancer and AIDS, jumped off a stage as the police closed in and he said he dressed as a woman to escape.
Anger about corruption is high in India after a series of scandals involving the government including a $39-billion telecom scam. Ramdev piled on the pressure with a fast to protest so-called "black money" and demands that authorities accept all his strategies to tackle the problem.
The government's attempt to first placate Ramdev, and then its fierce reaction once his protest took root, point to the unusual place that Indian spiritual leaders have within the country's political landscape.
Hindu nationalists form the biggest opposition party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and Ramdev has millions of devoted followers through his daily television show -- but he said he wants to remain outside the party system.
"Why should I enter politics? What can politics give me that I don't already have? I don't need money, my work covers a huge span, and tens of millions of people love me," he said.
Ramdev certainly lives like a man of influence, smiling and waving to adoring acolytes who hail him as an incarnation of a Hindu god.
His private quarters at his imposing ashram outside the holy city of Haridwar are plainly decorated, but accessed through a series of three waiting rooms where young security guards are on duty.
"It's a step-by-step process," one of Ramdev's attendants explained.
He spends much of his day conducting business under a large concrete canopy in the grounds of the ashram. Devotees approach him for audiences to seek personal advice, while others relax on the surrounding lawns.
Sitting crossed-legged, he speaks publicly via a microphone most mornings and evenings to his followers, veering from an upbeat tone to angry polemic, and all the time waving his hands to emphasise key points.
Unlike some Indian gurus, he attracts few foreign devotees but his teachings exert a strong pull on Indians from all backgrounds who stay for a few nights or a few weeks, eating communally and sleeping in basic dormitories.
The sprawling ashram, which has its own bank, hospital and college, is one of several properties established by Ramdev, whose empire stretches from India to an island in Scotland, with declared revenues since 1995 of 11 billion rupees ($220 million).
His trust's wealth has raised eyebrows, especially as he has sought to fight corruption with unorthodox measures, including withdrawing large-denomination notes from circulation.
Since Monday, Ramdev has resumed his fast. He starts his day in the pre-dawn hours, demonstrating breathing exercises to hundreds of followers, many of whom perform yoga poses including hand and head stands.
Some supporters at the ashram have followed him from New Delhi.
"I will go with him wherever he takes us. Whatever he is doing is for the best of the country," said Rupa Rastogi, 63. "Only those who are themselves corrupt will criticise him."
Ravindra Kumar, a 52-year-old yoga teacher who travelled from his central state of Chhattisgarh to join the rally in the capital, and then followed Ramdev to Haridwar, said the government owed the guru an apology.
"He is fighting for the common man. He is like Mahatma Gandhi, he does what he says, unlike our politicians. There is a big difference between what they say and what they do," he said.
In an interview at his ashram complex in the foothills of the Himalayas, Swami Ramdev accused the government of "murdering democracy and human rights" with a brutal crackdown on his rally site in the capital New Delhi.
"If they continue to harass me like this, there will be protests throughout this country. We won't put up with it," he told AFP as he sat on a sofa, swathed in his trademark orange robes and with luxuriant black hair and beard.
Ramdev appears at ease with the global publicity he has drawn since his hunger strike campaign was broken up by police on Sunday, and he was feted as a hero when he returned to his ashram near the holy city of Haridwar.
After a brisk apology for a four-hour wait to be ushered into his presence, he smiled broadly and cracked jokes as he discussed his impact on India's political scene.
But he railed against the police action Sunday that left more than 70 people injured when officers fired tear gas and baton-charged supporters at a protest camp in central Delhi which had drawn up to 50,000 people.
The strict vegetarian, who has courted controversy with his claims to be able to cure cancer and AIDS, jumped off a stage as the police closed in and he said he dressed as a woman to escape.
Anger about corruption is high in India after a series of scandals involving the government including a $39-billion telecom scam. Ramdev piled on the pressure with a fast to protest so-called "black money" and demands that authorities accept all his strategies to tackle the problem.
The government's attempt to first placate Ramdev, and then its fierce reaction once his protest took root, point to the unusual place that Indian spiritual leaders have within the country's political landscape.
Hindu nationalists form the biggest opposition party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and Ramdev has millions of devoted followers through his daily television show -- but he said he wants to remain outside the party system.
"Why should I enter politics? What can politics give me that I don't already have? I don't need money, my work covers a huge span, and tens of millions of people love me," he said.
Ramdev certainly lives like a man of influence, smiling and waving to adoring acolytes who hail him as an incarnation of a Hindu god.
His private quarters at his imposing ashram outside the holy city of Haridwar are plainly decorated, but accessed through a series of three waiting rooms where young security guards are on duty.
"It's a step-by-step process," one of Ramdev's attendants explained.
He spends much of his day conducting business under a large concrete canopy in the grounds of the ashram. Devotees approach him for audiences to seek personal advice, while others relax on the surrounding lawns.
Sitting crossed-legged, he speaks publicly via a microphone most mornings and evenings to his followers, veering from an upbeat tone to angry polemic, and all the time waving his hands to emphasise key points.
Unlike some Indian gurus, he attracts few foreign devotees but his teachings exert a strong pull on Indians from all backgrounds who stay for a few nights or a few weeks, eating communally and sleeping in basic dormitories.
The sprawling ashram, which has its own bank, hospital and college, is one of several properties established by Ramdev, whose empire stretches from India to an island in Scotland, with declared revenues since 1995 of 11 billion rupees ($220 million).
His trust's wealth has raised eyebrows, especially as he has sought to fight corruption with unorthodox measures, including withdrawing large-denomination notes from circulation.
Since Monday, Ramdev has resumed his fast. He starts his day in the pre-dawn hours, demonstrating breathing exercises to hundreds of followers, many of whom perform yoga poses including hand and head stands.
Some supporters at the ashram have followed him from New Delhi.
"I will go with him wherever he takes us. Whatever he is doing is for the best of the country," said Rupa Rastogi, 63. "Only those who are themselves corrupt will criticise him."
Ravindra Kumar, a 52-year-old yoga teacher who travelled from his central state of Chhattisgarh to join the rally in the capital, and then followed Ramdev to Haridwar, said the government owed the guru an apology.
"He is fighting for the common man. He is like Mahatma Gandhi, he does what he says, unlike our politicians. There is a big difference between what they say and what they do," he said.
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