Coordinates	41°38′44″N71°28′39″N
Name	Ramdev
Birth date	January 11, 1971
Birth place	Village: Ali Saiyad Pur (Alipur), Distt: Mahendragarh, Haryana, India
Birth name	Ram Krishn
Current place	Haridwar,Uttar Pradesh,nowUttarakhand
Guru	Acharya Pradumn
Footnotes	}}

Swami Ramdev (), born as Ram Krishn on 11 January 1971, in India is popularly known as Baba Ramdev who has gained worldwide fame through the teachings of Yoga and Ayurved. More or less his movement against curruption has also gained momentum throughout India within few months.

Early life

He was born as Ram Krishn to Gulab Devi and Ram Nivas in the village Saiyad AliPur (Alipur) of Mahendragarh district in Haryana state of India. According to the affidavit filed by him to the Passport Office his date of birth is 11 January 1971. He was inspired by the portraits of Ram Prasad Bismil and Subhas Chandra Bose that were hung in his room. According to his statements in an open Yog Shivir at Shahjahanpur,Uttar Pradesh when he grew up and read the autobiography of Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil, his mind was totally cleansed. After completing his middle education of eighth standard from ''Shahbajpur'' Haryana, he joined Aarsh (Arya) Gurukul, Khanpur and studied Sanskrit and Yoga under the guidance of Acharya Pradumn.

After he received teachings from Acharya Baldevji, he renounced worldly life, entering into ''Sanyas'' and changed his name from Ram Krishn to Ramdev. (''Note'': The Hindi word ''swami'' means master of conscience).

In Kalva Gurukul of Jind district in Haryana India he offered free training of Yog to villagers for some time. Then he moved to Haridwar,Uttar Pradesh and spent several years studying ancient Indian scriptures at Gurukul Kangri Vishwavidyalaya. This included a rare book of Aurobindo Ghosh, ''Yogik Sadhan'', translated from Bangla into Hindi by Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil. After reading this small booklet he went to the caves of Himalaya and practiced intense self-discipline and meditation. According to Sanjay Upadhyaya's book "Ramdev - Myth and Reality", Ramdev fell seriously ill in his childhood and through his recovery discovered his techniques of yoga and meditation.

Contemporary life and family

He shot into prominence when he started the Divya Yog Mandir Trust with the company of Acharya Bal Krishna. In 2003, Aastha TV began featuring him in its morning yoga slot. Within a few years, he had gathered a huge following. He is known for his efforts of popularizing ''yoga''. The New York Times called him "an Indian, who built Yoga Empire, a product and symbol of the New India, a yogic fusion of Richard Simmons, Dr. Oz and Oprah Winfrey, irrepressible and bursting with Vedic wisdom". His yog-camps are attended by a large number of people in India and abroad.

Institutions founded

His flagship project is Patanjali Yog Peeth (a registered Trust which was inaugurated on August 6, 2006 by Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, then Vice President of India). The primary aim of this institution is to build India the world's largest centre for ''Ayurved'' and ''Yoga'' with the facilities of treatment, research and training.

At present the trust offers treatment to those who cannot afford to pay and for the rest, it is provided at a reasonable cost. Various institutions and medical organizations are also run by the Patanjali Yoga Peeth Trust to study and improve the effectiveness of ''yoga'' against diseases like diabetes, hypertension, obesity, etc. Recently the second phase of Patanjali Yoga Peeth has also started its working. Patanjali Ayurved College, Patanjali Chikitsalaya, Yog Gram, Go-Shala, Patanjali Herbal Botanical Garden, Organic Agriculture Farm, Patanjali Food And Herbal Park Ltd are some of its affiliated institutions which are run under the guidance of Swami Ramdev and his close associate Acharya Bal Krishn. Some useful books are also published by its sister concern Divy Prakashan.

''Yog Sandesh'' is the authorised journal Patanjali Yoga Peeth which is being published in 11 languages viz. Hindi, English, Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi, Bengali, Oriya, Assamese, Nepali, Kannada and Telugu. Monthly readership of this multi-lingual journal is more than one million.

Patanjali Yog Peeth has acquired a Scottish Island for about £2 million which was donated by Mr.Sam and Mrs.Sunita Poddar, originally from India and living in Scotland for 25 years, have been running the UK branch of the Patanjali Yoga Peeth Trust. The Little Cumbrae Island, off the fishing town of Largs in Scotland, will also serve as the Patanjali Yog Peeth's base overseas, where ''yoga'' will be taught. This project will be run by Patanjali Yogpeeth (UK) Trust. They have plans to set up a wellness retreat there.

Political and social campaigns

Ramdev has clarified that he has no political ambitions and is not interested in starting a political party, but feels it's his obligatory duty to reform social and political ambiguities apart from popularising yoga and thus strengthen the country.

He has raised a number of political, social and economic issues through his yoga camps (in Hindi ''Yog Shivir''). Most of the issues raised by him demand a drastic change in the governance policies of India.

Bharat Swabhiman

For changing governance policies, he has initiated a movement named ''Bharat Swabhiman'' along with Rajiv Dixit.

The five goals of ''Bharat Swabhiman'' campaign are: # 100% voting # 100% nationalist thought, # 100% boycott of foreign companies and adoption of ''swadeshi'', # 100% unification of the people of the nation and # 100% yoga-oriented nation.

As a part of campaign, Baba Ramdev has been organising yoga camps across India to create awareness amongst people against corruption and black money.

On agriculture and dietary practices

In many ''yog shivira'' (yoga camps), he has raised the issue of increased consumption of fast foods, packed foods and soft drinks by the people. According to him these products can cause diseases and so they must not be eaten. He has also claimed that commercially available aerated drinks are harmful to due to the presence of phosphoric acids, preservatives, unknown chemicals and emulsifiers. He claims that these drinks are very harmful to the entire body and especially the stomach lining if consumed. He has also made statements along the lines of "Cold Drinks means Toilet Cleaner" and has claimed that these cold drinks are more effective at cleaning toilets than commercially available toilet cleaners. He urges people in his public meetings to pledge not to consume commercial aerated drinks, to protect individual health as well as to avoid Indian wealth being transferred to multinational companies. Instead he advices the public to consume hot water, milk or traditional Indian juices only so that India may become prosperous.

He has also claimed that the use of fertilizers and pesticides has led to an undue economic load on farmers and increased the profits of large business houses involved in the business. He also claims that these practices are harmful to the general public, since the farming produce is contaminated with inorganic fertilizers and pesticides. Due to this practice, the farming land is also becoming barren. He also blames corrupt practices for the miserable conditions of the poor farmers and other backward class of the society. He says that although agriculture is the biggest area which can contribute enough to India's economy yet it's farmers are the most poverty stricken class of the country. He says if villages improve then there will be a completely different India

Illegal mining

According to Baba Ramdev, there is permission for only 200 mining leases but about one lakh illegal mines are operational in the country. Baba Ramdev argues that illegal mining is the biggest source of black money and that corrupt people are eying the natural resources of the country, which are present in abundant amount. Natural resources include gold, copper, coal, iron, oil and other natural resources. Plunder of natural resources is the most devastating form of national crime, according to Ramdev, yet it is the least reported.

According to conservative estimates India has natural resources worth around 10,000 lakh crore. ''Das Hajar Lakh Crore'' is the exact phrase used by Baba Ramdev to quote the figure at his gatherings. Baba Ramdev says that the natural resources of the country must be protected otherwise corrupt people would sell every bit of it and stash the money in tax havens. Contrary to the popular belief of tax evasion being the source of black money, Baba Ramdev points out that the nation's wealth is being plundered from the natural resources and that has resulted into the huge stockpile of black money in various tax havens.

Protests against black money

Baba Ramdev was the first to raise the issue of black money publicly in 2008, before the assembly elections of 2009. Estimations indicate a total of Rs. 400 lakh crore, or nearly 9 trillion USD, of Indian black money outside the country. This is so much money that every Indian constituency could get up to 50 thousand crore for development. The money has been pulled outside the country via physical and technical means, with hawala, under/over invoicing being some common methods. Money laundering started on a large scale since 1990.

In April 2011 Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks, confirmed that there are Indian names on Swiss bank accounts. Switzerland is not the only tax havens where Indian black money is stashed. Other tax havens include Dubai, Liechtenstein, Italy, and others. Switzerland made an official statement that, if the Indian government approaches them, they are willing to declare the names of Indian account holders. However, no such approach has been made by Indian government. Baba Ramdev has said that most of the money belongs to the ministers, government officials and bureaucrats.

Apart from this, there is an estimated Rs. 100–150 lakh crore of black money in India's internal economy. India's total GDP is in the range of 60 lakh crore and economists suggest that at least twice of this amount is circulating in black, which is roughly between 100 and 150 lakh crore. Ramdev has suggested many measures to curb the amount of black money circulating inside the internal economy. Baba Ramdev pointed out that total currency note circulation in India is 10 lakh crore. If the GDP is 60 lakh crore, then currency note circulation should be 1/50 of that amount, which is only 2 lakh crore. A basic economy concept states that a currency note can travel 50 to 100 transaction points over a year. Hence if RBI has circulated 10 lakh crore of currency then the total Indian economy should be at least 50 × 10 lakh crore = 500 lakh crore. This clearly indicates that there is huge amount of black money circulating inside the internal economy and an equally high amount of unaccounted wealth is being siphoned out of the country every year by corrupt ministers and bureaucrats.

Swami Ramdev has been associated with the 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement and was involved in the Jan Lokpal agitation

In February 2011, he gave the following steps for eradication of black money:

# Declare all Indian wealth lying outside the country illegally as national wealth. # Agree to and accept the U.N. Convention against Corruption – pending since 2006. # Access, monitor and disrupt payment gateway servers enabling corrupt people to manage money in tax havens. # Scrutinizing accounts of people having credit/debit cards of foreign banks without any foreign work/relation. # Disabling operations of any bank from a tax haven country. # Withdrawal and demonetizing of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 currency notes – so as to avoid misuse of unaccounted money and quick arrest of the entire locally circulated black money, bribing, and fake note traffic. # Death penalty provision for the corrupt persons in Indian Penal Code.

Many countries like USA, Germany and other smaller African countries have adopted similar steps to get back their black money. However in India the government calls Ramdev's idea as impractical. The practicality of such steps has been called into question.

He has raised the issue of Indian money stashed away illegally in Swiss banks, which is estimated to be anywhere between 1 and 1.5 trillion USD. He says that the government must take immediate action and bring back the money as it belongs to the people of India. Not only this, he openly charges that this black money has been taken out of the country illegally and also very strongly demands a capital punishment to all those Indians or non-resident Indians, who acquire, handle and stash black money. He suggests that Mauritius route is a tax haven for black money operators in India and this route should be cut effectively by the Indian government. He had also demanded (as early as September 2009) the removal of currency of denominations of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000, saying that this would curb corruption, black money and terrorism.

Anticorruption rally on 27 February 2011 at Ramlila Maidan

On 27 February 2011 Baba Ramdev held a large rally of over 1 lakh people at the Ramlila Maidan, New Delhi to protest against corruption. Those present at the rally included Baba Ramdev, Acharya Balkrishna, Ram Jethmalani, Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi, Swami Agnivesh and many others. All members spoke and explained how corruption was rampant in the country and how the government itself was indulging in it. The most highlighted topic was Indian black money lying in tax havens of Switzerland.

Arvind Kejriwal mentioned that Anna Hazare would hold a fast in April 2011 to put pressure on the government to enact the JanLokPal Bill.

It is a noticeable fact that no major news channel covered this event.

Bhrashtachar Mitao Satyagrah 4 June 2011 at Ramlila Maidan

Preface

Baba Ramdev launched the Bhrashtachar Mitao Satyagrah which was held at Ramlila Maidan, New Delhi on 4 June 2011. Key demands were:

# Declare all illegal wealth/black money lying in foreign countries, which belong to Indians as National Property. # Declaring money laundering as a National Crime and should be punishable. # Investigate and shut down the Mauritius route of foreign investment. # Sign and ratify the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, pending since 2006 # Recall Rs. 1000 and Rs. 500 notes to curb corruption, bribery and illegal flow of money in the internal economy of the country. # Enact a strong Lokpal bill. # Establish infrastructure to deliver medical and engineering education in Indian Languages. # Enact Public Service Delivery Guarantee Act to enable all citizens to avail government/public services easily and quickly # Enact the Kisan Vetan Ayog to establish standards for payment of wages to farmers and classify farming as skilled labour.

Protest at Delhi

Baba Ramdev declared to go on an ''Anshan'' (indefinite fast) on June 4, 2011 at Ramlila Ground Delhi to pressure the Central Government to root out corruption from India and bring back the black money stashed away in various financial institutions abroad. After this declaration the government was said to have set up a panel to suggest steps to curb black money and its transfer abroad, in an apparent bid to placate Ramdev.

When Ramdev arrived at Delhi airport on June 1, four senior ministers of the UPA government met him on the airport and tried to persuade him by telling of the government's initiative on corruption. On 4 June morning 65,000 followers of the yoga teacher had gathered at Ramlila Ground By noon queues extending up to 3 km from the entry point of Ramlila Grounds and were seen chanting 'Vande Mataram'. In the evening a press conference was organised by Kapil Sibbal made public a letter from Ramdev's camp to call off their agitation. Ramdev took it as a betrayal of the Government and hardened the position by declaring not to take back his Satyagrah until a proper government ordinance is announced in place of forming a committee.

Satyagrah was going on even in the night of 4 June 2011. Sources informed Baba Ramdev that a huge police force can try to clear Ramlila Ground and if it is not done they can also kill him in a fake encounter or set fire in the tents. At midnight, a huge team of Delhi Police comprising of 10000 policemen and RAF raided the ground when most of the Satyagrahis were sleeping on the and Ramdev was also sleeping on the dias along with his core group. A large police force lobbed tear gas shells and lathicharged to evict the crowd from 1a.m. to 4 a.m. The tent was set on fire at many places. Cold water was thrown over power generators to create complete darkness to prevent any video recording of the whole attack. However most media persons recorded what was going on.

Police had arranged buses to drop supporters at railway stations and bus stands in advance; had ammunition ready and all the policemen were in battle-gear wearing vests and helmets and kept some ambulances on standby. Ramdev was arrested while attempting to disguise himself in women's clothing.

Delhi Police forcefully detained Ramdev at Safdargunj Airport in complete isolation for a few hours and then deported him to his Ashram in Haridwar via helicopter. Police fired tear gas, lathcharged people who were reportedly peacefully fasting. 53 persons were injured and treated at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) hospital, AIIMS trauma center, and Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. Government stopped media person or anybody to enter the hospital to check the injured. Protesters huddled near the Metro station, bus depots and railway stations. Many walked down to Gurdwara Bangla Sahib and other nearby Ashrams. According to New Delhi railway station authorities, supporters continued to leave in batches through the course of the day. While several supporters spent the day in a park near Ramlila Maidan, others took shelter in Arya Samaj at Paharganj.

Baba Ramdev was taken by police out side Delhi and was banned from entering Delhi for 15 days. After being banned from entering Delhi for the next 15 days, Union Home Secretary G. K. Plillai said the Baba was on his way to his Ashram at Haridwar under police custody. On reaching Haridwar, Swami Ramdev declared in a press conference that his fast unto death will continue.

About 5,000 supporters were still missing according to Baba Ramdev. Dr. Jaideep Arya, a key advisor of Ramdev’s team, said that about 19 girls students from the Chotipur Gurukul, who were seated near the dais, are estimated to be still missing. Suman, women’s representative of the Trust, said many of these girls were roughed up when the police tried to reach Swamiji and were crying since police officials were pulling their hair, dragging them badly and their clothes were torn. Police, however, said no one was missing. A senior police officer reported that they were forced to retaliate after Baba Ramdev's supporters started throwing stones and flower pots at them. Police also released CCTV footage to prove that no woman was beaten by them. TV channels were telecasting the footage of the scene in Ramlia Ground.

Aftermath of the Delhi protest and fast unto death

Ramdev accused the government of cheating him, and alleged that there was a conspiracy to kill him and that he was threatened during a meeting with senior ministers. All political parties other than the Congress Party condemned the police action, called it ''undemocratic'' and naked fascism, deplorable and shortsighted. It was even compared it with the Emergency and the Jalianwala. Apart from politicians, he was also supported by civil societies as well. A senior poet laureate Dr Madan Lal Verma 'Krant' wrote an article on his blog KRANT and said that the action of the government was more shameful than the Jalianwala of British period. He argued that the British Government had ordered firing in the day whereas Indian Government took such a brutal action after midnight when all of the protesting persons (hi.satyagrahi) were sleeping. Activist Anna Hazare termed the crackdown of the agitation a ''strangulation of democracy''. He said: "There was no firing otherwise the eviction was similar to Jallianwala Bagh massacre". He boycotted his lokpal panel meeting with the government on 6 June and decided to go on a one day fast on 8 June. His allies RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal, former Law MinisterShanti Bhushan, and Swami Agnivesh also criticised the police action to evict the hunger strikers forcefully Protests were held in many different parts of the country. Protest were held in Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Jammu and Lucknow as well as among other several cities of India.

Soon after this, a vacation bench of the Supreme Court of India comprising justice B. S. Chauhan and justice Swatantra Kumar issued notices to the Union Home Secretary, Chief Secretary of Delhi, Delhi Administration, and Delhi Police Commissioner asking them to respond within two weeks, after taking suo motu cognizance of forceful eviction of yoga guru Baba Ramdev and his followers from the Ramlila Maidan, New Delhi. The National Human Rights Commission also issued notices on June 6, 2011 to the Government of India and Delhi State Government seeking reports within two weeks on the midnight crackdown on Baba Ramdev’s supporters at Ramlila ground. After being evicted from Delhi, Baba Ramdev wanted to continue his fast from Noida but was denied permission by the Uttar Pradesh government.Many pepole like Sri Sri Ravi Shankar also forced him to end his fast. Ultimately, he decided to continue his idefinite fast satyagraha at Haridwar only from 4 June 2011 onwards. After repeated attempts to end his fast Baba Ramdev's health worsened and was taken to the Himalaya Institute of Medical Sciences on the seventh day of his fast.

End of hunger strike

Baba Ramdev ended his fast on the ninth day by drinking a glass of juice at Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences, Dehradun, where he was recuperating from the seventh day of his fast. After repeated request from Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and various other saints he ended his fast. Political reactions came in from all major parties expressing their happiness about ending the fast. BJP Spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said they have a "sense of satisfaction" that the fast has ended. Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy said that the fast was "successful" and termed the government as "monstrous". While the ruling party Congress spokesperson Janardan Dwivedi gave a reaction by saying it as "good".

Anti-Ramdev campaign by Congress

Hours after 4 June, the Congress-led UPA government started a massive campaign against Baba Ramdev, Acharya Balkrishna and Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust. Multiple allegations were raised against Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna.

Some of them being:

# Baba Ramdev is involved in tax evasion. # Acharya Balkrishna is a Nepali staying illegally in India. # Baba Ramdev exports products that are banned in USA. # Acharya Balkrishna has a fake Indian passport. # Donations received by Baba Ramdev consist of black money.

Congress party launched a booklet to criticise and ''expose'' Ramdev during its election campaign in Uttar Pradesh for the 2012 elections.

However as investigations were carried out by various agencies at both state and centre level, eventually nothing was found wrong with either Baba Ramdev or Acharya Balkrishna. Acharya Balkrishna was cleared of fake passport charges. When the government failed to find anything wrong with Balkrishna's passport, new allegations were raised that Balkrishna has 2 birth certificates which is illegal. No such thing was found in investigations and this allegation also fell silent

It is rumoured that Congress contacted USFDA to ban and investigate various products sold by Baba Ramdev in the USA and soon news of investigation came to light.

Baba Ramdev in his press conference at Delhi later declared that all these allegations are nothing but an active attempt by government to divert the attention of the public and media from the core issues of corruption and black money. If even a single penny of black money is found with him, he is willing to declare it as national property, said Ramdev.

Controversies and criticisms

Alleged involvements in activities prohibited for non-profit in USA

Ramdev and his non-profit firms are alleged to involve in activities prohibited for non-profit tax-exempt organisations in USA.

Alleged link with RSS and BJP

Ramdev is alleged to have been supposedly linked by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) by many politicians. Lalu Yadav said in a press conference- "Sadhvi Ritambhara was the first one to share the stage (with Ramdev at ramlila protest). She was the one who was responsible for the Babri Masjid demolition". Digvijay Singh,Congress general secretary alleged that all the five-star arrangements at Ramlila ground protests were done by right activist group RSS and Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP). Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said-"Some people with vested interest are hijacking and remote controlling the protest by RSS and BJP". He also alleged that nation wide protest by Ramdev is being financed by RSS.

Initially RSS leader Ram Madhav made distance on this issue. But later on RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said- "The RSS was not behind the stir launched by Ramdev seeking repatriation of the black money stashed illegally in foreign banks but have extended all support to it (agitation)." He added- "RSS cannot remain a mute spectator to the social revolution taking place against corruption and black money. Therefore, it has asked its cadres to join the agitation"

Exemplar yog empire

Baba Ramdev is allegedly called as business tycoon, has built a global yog empire that stretches from India to a remote island in Scotland, with declared revenues since 1995 of 11 billion rupees ($220 million). "I've become so powerful, I can uproot a government. I don't have financial or legal power, but in a democracy I have the power of the people," he declared in an interview with Indian magazine Tehelka last year. Though there were discussions in public domain that various media and political parties are questioning his credibility and raising allegations, making Ramdev a fun object, calling him a thug, instead of debating about the issues raised by him.

Labour law violations and animal parts in medicines

In March 2005, 113 employees of Divya Yoga Mandir Trust, Haridwar started an agitation for minimum wages and employees's rights such as coverage under the Provident Fund and Employees' State Insurance schemes. After a tripartite meeting, an agreement was reached between the workers, management and the district administration. However, some agitating workers were dismissed by the Trustees after being alleged to be responsible for sabotage. Their case was taken up by the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), affiliated to the Communist Party of India (Marxist). They are still to be reinstated.

Brinda Karat, a senior leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) was involved with the protesters and was told by disgruntled workers that animal parts were used in the manufacture of some medicines. In January 2006, she accused the ''Divya Pharmacy'', owned by Divya Yog Mandir Trust for using human and animal bones in their medicines. Samples of the medicines ''Kulya Bhasm (Mixture)'' and ''Yauvanamrit Vati'' purchased from Brahmakalp Chikitsalaya- the Trust's Hospital at Haridwar were allegedly tested at government labs and the presence of animal materials in the sample was confirmed. However, the source of the samples was disputed, as these had been supplied by Karat to the labs and not procured by government officials. Karat produced what were claimed to be the prescription and cash receipt obtained from the medicine counter for the samples provided.

Her controversial remarks drew strong condemnation from several politicians in North India, like Sharad Pawar, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Narayan Dutt Tiwari. Subsequently she received a legal notice on the behalf of a BJP leader in Faridabad.

A few months later in 2006, four samples were sent to the government recognized Shriram Institute of Industrial Research in Delhi. Negating the report from this institute the Union Health Ministry said to have found animal DNA in the samples, although most of the newspapers carried reports to the contrary.

Views on AIDS and sex education

In December 2006, Swami Ramdev claimed to cure diseases such as AIDS and cancer through yoga and ayurvedic drugs sold by his Divya Yoga Mandir Trust. He also went on to suggest that sex education should be replaced by yoga, as his way to AIDS awareness, prevention and a cure. "Sex education in schools need [sic] to be replaced by yoga education," Ramdev told reporters at the state health minister's residence. As a consequence of these public statements he was sent a cease and desist order by the Indian Union Health Ministry to avoid making such claims in the future, and the civil society threatened legal action. In response, Ramdev retracted his statement and said the claims were not directly his, but those of patients who practiced yoga.

Claims of curing cancer

Other press reports quoted him as claiming to have a cure for cancer of the breast, liver, prostate, uterus, pituitary gland, and brain, as well as leukemia, by practicing breathing exercises. In a residential camp held in ''Yog Gram'', Haridwar during 19–25 June 2008, several cancer patients stepped forward to recount first-hand stories of their successful bouts with prostate and breast cancer and leukemia using ''Pranayam'', or breathing exercises. Swami Ramdev has claimed to have documented proof of his successes, but has failed to provide any to the media or the Health Ministry.

Views on homosexuality

In July 2009, when Delhi High Court gave a verdict under decriminalizing homosexuality in Delhi, the swami called a press conference and said, "This verdict of the court will encourage criminality and sick mentality. This kind of thing is shameful and insulting to all of us. We are blindly following the West in everything. This is breaking the family system in India. Homosexuals are sick people, they should be sent to hospitals for treatment. If the government brings this law, I will take this matter to the streets of Delhi in protest."

Awards and recognitions

January 2007 – Honorary Doctorate, by Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar, in recognition of his efforts to popularize the Vedic system/science of Yoga.

March 2010 – Honored with Degree of Doctorate of Sciences by Amity University ,Noida,Uttar Pradesh.

April 2010 – Honored with honorary degree of Doctor of Science by Dr D. Y. Patil Deemed University,Pune,Maharashtra.

January 2011 – Honored with Sri Chandrashekharendra Saraswati National Eminence Award by Maharashtra Governor K. Shankaranarayanan.

See also

Hinduism

Secularity

References

External links

Patanjali Yogpeeth – Divya Yog Madir

Full text of Ramdev's speech at the Ramlila Ground in New Delhi on un 03, 2011

Bharat Swabhiman Andolan

BBC Audio Interview with Swami Ramdev in Hindi

The republic and the wayward rationalist – Essay by P. Sainath

BBC Interview with Swami Ramdev

BBC News – Yogi cleared of animal parts row – March 8, 2006

Swami Ramdev Website

Swami Baba Ramdev

Category:Living people Category:Indian Hindus Category:Hindu gurus Category:People from Mahendragarh Category:Yogis Category:Indian activists Category:1971 births Category:Haridwar

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Coordinates	41°38′44″N71°28′39″N
name	Subramanian Swamy
Office1	President, Janata Party
Term start1	1989
Office2	Minister of Commerce and Industry
Primeminister2	Chandra Shekhar Singh
Term start2	1990
Term end2	1991
Office3	Minister of Law and Justice
Primeminister3	Chandra Shekhar Singh
Term start3	1990
Term end3	1991
Office4	Member of the Rajya Sabha
Term start4	1988
Term end4	1994
Term start5	1974
Term end5	1976
Office6	Member of the Lok Sabha
Term start6	1980
Term end6	1984
Term start7	1977
Term end7	1979
Birth date
Birth place	Mylapore, Chennai, British India
Party	Janata Party
religion	Hindu
alma mater	University of DelhiIndian Statistical InstituteHarvard University
profession	EconomistProfessorAuthorPolitician
spouse	Dr. Roxna Swamy }}

Subramanian Swamy (born 15 September 1939 in Chennai, sometimes spelt Subramaniam Swamy) is presently the President of Janata Party. He is a politician.

Early life and education

Subramanian Swamy was born in Mylapore, Chennai, India, into a Hindu Brahmin family. His father originally is from Madurai, Tamil Nadu, and his mother is from Tamil speaking family from Trichur, Kerala.

He attended Hindu College, University of Delhi, from where he earned his Bachelor Honours degree in Mathematics. He studied for his Masters degree in Statistics at the Indian Statistical Institute. He then went to study at Harvard University on a full Rockefeller scholarship. He was awarded a Ph.D. in Economics by Harvard University (Class of 1965).

For some time, while completing his dissertation in 1963, he worked at the United Nations Secretariat in New York as an Assistant Economics Affairs Officer. He subsequently worked as a resident tutor at Lowell House at Harvard.

Academic career

In 1964, Swamy joined the faculty of economics at Harvard and since then has taught in the Department of Economics. He began as an assistant professor, and in 1969 became an associate professor. He regularly teaches economics courses in summer session at Harvard.

From 1969 to 1991, he was a Professor of Economics at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi. He was removed from the position by its board of Governors in the early 1970s but was legally reinstated in the late 1980s by the Supreme Court of India. He continued in the position until 1991 when he resigned to become a cabinet minister. He served on the Board of Governors of the IIT, Delhi (1977–80), and on the Council of IITs (1980–82).

He is the chairman of School of Communication & Management Studies in Kerala, a business institute in India.

Comparative study

He is accounted by some to be an authority on the comparative study of India and China and is also well-versed in the Mandarin Chinese language.

Political career

Role played during Indian Emergency

He first came into the spotlight for protesting against the emergency imposed in 1975. He went underground for a period of 6 months to avoid being arrested by police. Under the instruction of Jayaprakash Narayan, Swami escaped to US so that he could mobilise overseas Indians and world media against the emergency.

Elections contested

He was one of the founding members of the Janata Party and has been its president since 1990. He was elected Member of Parliament 5 times between 1974 and 1999. He has twice represented the city of Mumbai North East during 1977 and 1980, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu in the Parliament.

He was also a member of the Planning Commission between 1990 and 1991. Between 1994 and 1996, he held the position of "Chairman of the Commission on Labour Standards and International Trade" (equivalent to the rank of a cabinet minister) under the P. V. Narasimha Rao government. Dr. Swamy has been subject to several defamation cases. He is known to argue these cases himself without the agency of lawyers. In October 2004, he along with other members of the erstwhile Janata Party established the Rashtriya Swabhiman Manch to oppose the policies of the ruling UPA.

Minister of Commerce and Law of India

Economic Reforms in India

During the period 1990 to 1991 when Swamy was Cabinet Minister of Commerce and Law of India he created the blueprint for economic reforms in India under Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar Singh which was later carried out in 1991 by Manmohan Singh, then Finance Minister under leadership of Prime Minister Narasimha Rao. The current Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh recently stated that Dr. Swamy was the first to envisage and articulate the need for reforms in India.

Political views

International relations

China and India

He is known for his efforts in normalizing relations between China and India. In 1981, he persuaded Deng Xiaoping to open the Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet to the Hindu pilgrims from India. He became the first Indian on the reopening to visit Kailash and Mansarovar in 1981. In 1990-1991, he was a minister in the Chandra Shekhar cabinet and was in charge of the Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Law and Justice.

Israel

In his speeches and articles, Dr Swamy has expressed his admiration for Israel, and has credited its retaliatory capacity for its ability to survive in a hostile Arab environment. He made pioneering efforts at establishing diplomatic relations with Israel.

2G spectrum scam

In November 2008, Subramanian Swamy wrote the first of five letters to PM Manmohan Singh seeking permission to prosecute A. Raja in regards to the 2G spectrum scam. However, Singh took no action, leading Swamy to file a case on his own in the Supreme Court of India regarding the matter, which then asked the Central Bureau of Investigation to produce a detailed report on the matter. He further called on the Indian government to re-auction the 2G spectrum without the involvement of Communications Minister Kapil Sibal.

Swamy has raised allegations that that Sonia Gandhi's two sisters Anushka and Nadia have received sixty percent of the kickbacks in the 2G spectrum scam, amounting to Rs.18,000 crores each. On 15 April 2011, he filed a 206-page long petition with PM Singh seeking permission to prosecute Gandhi. In the petition, he claimed to have strong evidence of corrupt acts committed by Gandhi as early as 1972; he also raised doubts regarding her acquisition of Indian citizenship. At a lecture on corruption given on 29 May 2011, he again repeated his allegation against Sonia Gandhi, saying she has Rs.1 lakh crore stashed abroad. Most of Swamy's letters to the prime minister regarding this matter are not supported by proof, but he is not defensive about his allegations, stating: "I am writing to the prime minister, I am not holding a press conference. The PM has agencies available to him, they can investigate. My job is to bring things to his notice." Also, "They say I have no proof. Rubbish! As if on other things, they always have proof."

Reaction to 2011 Mumbai bombings

In response to the 2011 Mumbai bombings, he wrote an editorial in ''Daily News and Analysis'' (''DNA'') claiming that "Muslims of India are being programmed by a slow reactive process to become radical and thus slide into suicide against Hindus". He then set out a programme for dealing with this alleged threat, including repealing Article 370 of the Constitution of India (which granted special autonomous status to Jammu and Kashmir), removing the Gyanvapi Mosque at Kashi Vishwanath Temple and other mosques at Hindu temples, disenfranchising non-Hindus who refuse to acknowledge their Hindu ancestry, prohibiting conversion from Hinduism to other religions, and annexing part of Bangladesh in retaliation for Bangladeshi illegal immigration in India.

Negative reactions

His column provoked a variety of reactions. His house was attacked by people alleged to be Congress party workers . Minorities Council of Maharashtra Vice Chairman Abraham Mathai and National Commission for Minorities chairman Wajahat Habibullah accused him of violating Indian Penal Code Section 153A. New Delhi law student Shehzad Poonawala attempted to lodge an FIR against him at Defence Colony police station, but was disallowed by the officer on duty. ''DNA'' published two hostile response columns by Rakesh Sharma and Parsa Venkateshwar Rao Jr. calling him a "Hindu Taliban", "maverick", and "Zionist" in response to his views.

Reaction at Harvard

Some students at his alma mater Harvard University, where he also teaches economics in the summer school, accused him of stoking communalism and circulated a petition calling on the university to fire him and publicly repudiate his remarks. Adam Kissel, on behalf of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, wrote in a letter to Harvard that a disciplinary investigation against him would be inappropriate for an academic institution dedicated to intellectual freedom, represented a threat to free speech, and could lead to self-censorship by other faculty members.

In response to the petition, Donald H. Pfister, dean of Harvard Summer School, stated that the school would "give this matter our serious attention", but the school decided to stand by its instructor .

Tamil Nadu

He is well known for his critical views against the Government of Tamil Nadu and against the rationalist views of E.V.R. Ramaswamy. He is a constant fighter for the revival of Hindutva in Tamil Nadu.

He is staunch detractor of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

He obtained Supreme Court Stay against the implementation of Sethu Samuthiram Shipping Channel project (SSSCP). He believes that this shallow land connecting between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka was built by Rama approximately 1,260,000 years ago. He strongly opposes the implementation of SSSCP citing that implementing this scheme may affect the sentiments of Hinduism. He wrote letters to Prime Minister of India in June 2009 asking him to stop the project.

Personal Life

Swamy is married to Dr. Roxna Swamy (a Parsi .), an advocate at the Supreme Court of India. He has two daughters, Gitanjali Swamy and Suhasini Haider, the latter a journalist at CNN-IBN. His brother-in-law is Jewish, his son-in-law Muslim, his sister-in-law Christian and his wife Parsi.

Books, Research Papers and Journals

Books:

Economic Growth in China and India, 1952-70 (Publisher: University of Chicago Press; ISBN: 9780226783154)

Indian economic planning;: An alternative approach (Publisher: Barnes & Noble; ISBN: 9780389042020)

Building a New India: An Agenda for National Renaissance (Publisher: South Asia Books; ISBN: 9788185674216)

India's Labour Standards and the WTO Framework (Publisher: Konark Publishers; ISBN: 9788122005851)

India's economic performance and reforms: A perspective for the new millennium (Publisher: Konark Publishers; ISBN: 9788122005943)

Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi: Unanswered Questions and Unasked Queries (Publisher: Konark Publishers; ISBN: 9788122005912)

India's China perspective (Publisher: Konark Publishers; ISBN: 9788122006063)

Financial Architecture and Economic Development in China and India (Publisher: Konark Publishers; ISBN: 9788122007183)

Trade and Industry in Japan: A Guide to Indian Entrepreneurs and Businessmen (Publisher: Prentice-Hall of India; ISBN: 9788120307858)

Sri Lanka in Crisis: India's Options (Publisher: Har Anand Publications; ISBN: 9788124112601)

Hindus Under Siege (Publisher: Har Anand Publications; ISBN: 9788124112076)

Rama Setu: Symbol of National Unity (Publisher: Har Anand Publications; ISBN: 9788124114186)

Terrorism in India: A Strategy of Deterrence for India's National Security (Publisher: Har Anand Publications; ISBN: 9788124113448)

Corruption and Corporate Governance in India: Satyam, Spectrum & Sundaram (Publisher: Har Anand Publications; ISBN: 9788124114865)

2G Spectrum Scam (Publisher: Har Anand Publications; ISBN: 9788124116388)

References

References

External links

Biography on Janta Party site

Kashmir Hindu Foundation interviews Subramaniam Swamy

Subramaniam Swamy's views on the influence of Hinduism

Subramaniam Swamy in Janata Party's website

An article by Dr. Subramanian Swamy on how to face defamation litigation

Basic Islam for Hindu Dhimmis - Subramanian Swamy

The Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi: unanswered questions and unasked queries

Category:1939 births Category:Living people Category:People from Chennai Category:Indian Hindus Category:Tamil Brahmins Category:Indian economists Category:Indian politicians Category:Tamil Nadu politicians Category:Maharashtra politicians Category:Members of Parliament from Maharashtra Category:6th Lok Sabha members Category:7th Lok Sabha members Category:University of Delhi alumni Category:Harvard University alumni Category:Indian Institute of Technology Delhi faculty Category:Harvard University faculty Category:English-language writers from India

hi:सुब्रमणियन स्वामी ta:சுப்பிரமணியம் சுவாமி

Swaminathan Gurumurthy (;) is the co-convenor of the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch, a journalist and a chartered accountant in India, and an RSS idealogue. He portrays himself as an economist with a right antidote for economic crisis caused due to Globalization.

He is a strong proponent of the traditional Indian economic wisdom that was a part of every home and village model but he was also associated with some of the biggest corporate deals in India.

Early life and education

Gurumurthy was born in a small village, 160 kilometres South of Chennai (formerly Madras). He had his schooling in a local school and higher education at the Vivekananda College, Chennai. Unable to realize his dreams to study law, he chose to become a Chartered Accountant. After completing the course in 1972, he joined an auditing firm and was allotted the job of maintaining the books of some of the companies of the press baron, Ramnath Goenka. Impressed by this young accountant, in 1975, Goenka offered a job, which Gurumurthy declined. In 1976, he started his own firm, Guru & Varadhan, which was financially supported by the Goenka family. He was drawn into RSS since his college days and continues his affiliation with the organisation and has had an important role in many assignments. He is a leading member of the think-tank of Sangh Parivar.

War with Reliance

He was not happy with the aggressive empire building by Dhirubhai Ambani and strongly believed Ambani's business practices were highly unhealthy for the nation. Goenka entrusted the job of fighting what he considered the Goliath of Reliance with Gurumurthy. His articles in ''The Indian Express'' created unusual stir in the corporate world, which brought lot of troubles to the conglomerate. All his articles were written based on extensive study and lot of pains he took to collect all pertinent data. The articles meticulously pointed out many of the irregularities in the Reliance Group of Companies . One of his articles, co-authored by Arun Shourie claimed Reliance was operating an entire plant with the machines that were actually imported as spare parts,paying lower Customs Duty,and doubling its production. Besides, he exposed how Pranab Mukerjee, the then Finance Minister of India helped Reliance against Bombay Dyeing through differrential taxation in textile industry. As a result Bombay Dyeing was almost decimated.Subzbharti (talk) 03:39, 30 August 2011 (UTC)

Views

After this, Gurumurthy wrote on the Bofors issue and later regarding the Swadeshi Movement. Later many of his articles in ''The New Indian Express'' highlighted the disadvantages of globalization. His articles espoused the cause of the Swadeshi Jagran Manch and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the concept of a united India.

The Mole controversy

He came to the limelight again, when he publicly accused two of the then senior Indian bureaucrats of being American moles. He indirectly named them in the New Indian Express Article titled "US plots Gujral-Sharif show" dated 20-09-1997. Later, in his article "Not one mole, Mr prime Minister and Mr jaswant, but Two!" dated 27-07-2006,he explicitly named Dr. V S Arunachalam and Naresh Chandra Saxena as the two he identified as moles.

Views on the Sankararaman murder case

Later he wrote extensively on the infamous Sankararaman murder case, in which Sankaracharya of the Kanchi Mutt was the prime suspect.

Corporate roles

Gurumurthy is known to have played a pivotal mediating role to resolve the feud between Bajaj Auto Ltd Chairman Rahul Bajaj and his younger brother Shishir who controls Bajaj Hindustan Ltd and has a stake in Bajaj Auto and other group firms. However he has not voiced anything when the Reliance Empire got divided between the brothers in feud.

He also played a major role in the transfer of L&T;'s cement division to Aditya Birla Group.In 2004 Gurumurthy also ended another corporate stalemate when he persuaded non-resident Indian investor C Sivasankaran to divest his 33 per cent holding in the Tuticorin-based Tamilnad Mercantile Bank for Rs 130 crore (Rs 1.3 billion)

Black money row

He was the convenor of the task force conceived by the BJP to assess black money illegally deposited by indian politicians and businessmen in foreign banks. He has criticized the UPA government for its alleged failure in recovering black money back to India.

Swadeshi Jagran Manch

He is a staunch proponent of the Swadeshi model of economic development and is a leading light of the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), which is currently spearheading the agitation against the evils of modern economic policies.

Besides politics, he also enjoys considerable clout in corporate circles.

His role in on reliance issues adopted in cinema, R. Madhavan played his role as Shyam Saxena in the movie Guru.

Notes

External links

indians-stashed-rs-688000-cr-illegally

Gurumurthy.net

Transcript of the chat with S. Gurumurthy on Aug 15 1997: Rediff.com

Ramnath Goenka's trusted advisor: A Photo

Articles published in the Indian Express from Jan 10, 1997

Speeches by S. Gurumurthy

Interview to rediff on Solving TMB Tussle

Interview with Mr. S. Gurumurthy in indiainteracts.com

Audio of S. Gurumurthy on Indian Entrepreneurs (in Tamil), 7th July 2007

Audio of S. Gurumurthy on Life after Marx and Markets (in English), 1st September 2007

http://www.gurumurthy.net/indexing.pl?Politics

Category:Living people Category:Indian accountants s.,Gurumurthy

hi:स्वामिनाथन गुरुमूर्ति