The Herald News
March 17, 2023
FALL RIVER — The mayor of Newark, New Jersey, recently admitted that his city was scammed into becoming sister cities with a fictional country by an accused rapist and cult leader from India — and Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan was one of many city leaders who have signed souvenir proclamations honoring that same man.
However, Fall River avoided falling for the sister cities scam, city officials said.
Nithyananda Paramashivam, a self-proclaimed guru and “supreme pontiff of Hinduism,” claims to be the leader of a nation he invented, sometimes called Kailasa, Kailaasa, Shrikailasa, or the United States of Kailasa. He fled India in 2019, facing multiple rape and child abduction charges.
A post on the “government” of Kailasa’s website features a proclamation allegedly signed by Coogan naming Jan. 3, 2022, “Kailasa’s SPH Nithyananda Day.”
“I convey my best wishes to The Supreme Pontiff of Hinduism (‘SPH’) Jagatguru Mahasannidhanam (‘JGM’), His Divine Holiness (‘HDH’) Bhagavan Sri Nithyananda Paramashivam, the Sovereign of the Sovereign State of SHRIKALASA, recognized as the 1008th living incarnation of Paramashiva as per Sanatana Hindu Dharma (‘Hinduism’) and by His predecessors of enlightened masters and adepts,” reads the opening of the lengthy, jargon-filled document.
“I thank and congratulate KAILASA having enriched and enreached [sic] more than one billion individuals over the past 27 years and as such also has had a significant impact over Fall River, Massachusetts."
The document features Coogan's signature at the bottom.
Proclamations don't really mean anything
According to Coogan's special projects and media coordinator Elaina Pevide, the document is real. It's also not actually important, since it holds no legal or financial significance.
"We get requests like these all the time," Pevide said. "Because they're not a binding document at all, we usually accommodate them."
Like in many cities, Fall River’s website allows people to request “official proclamations” from the mayor — they are not genuine documents, but symbolic tokens offered as a "courtesy" to honor or celebrate milestones and other achievements. Fall River's application is a simple form that allows applicants to insert their own information.
“These public service documents are not legally binding, nor do they constitute an endorsement by the Mayor," reads the application form.
Pevide said the original email they'd received from the representatives of Kailasa noted that about 50 other communities and public officials — including Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — had offered similar congratulations and greetings.
Because the documents are essentially like souvenirs, Coogan's office provided the the proclamation.
"It's like when you adopt a star," Pevide said. "You're not really getting anything. Or a patch of land in Scotland. It's a piece of paper that you print out, but it's not really anything important."
But the government of Kailasa wanted more.
"We did actually get two subsequent requests last year. We got a request in the summer ... trying to push for sister city status," Pevide said. "It was a very odd request."
This was immediately denied, since the request triggered red flags and it became clear Kailasa was "not a real entity." The phony government requested a second proclamation at the end of 2022, which was also denied.
The form notes that if someone intends to publicize their mayoral proclamation — like posting it on Kailasa's website — they must contact the mayor’s office to get prior approval.
"We definitely did not give them permission to publicize or post on their website," Pevide said.
Who else has 'recognized' this fictional country?
In January, Newark went a step further and invited dignitaries from the fake country, evidently followers of Nithyananda, for a cultural exchange and a ceremony to become sister cities. A few days afterward, when it was discovered that the country does not exist, the agreement was nullified. Nithyananda's website nevertheless claims that this ceremony resulted in a "bilateral agreement" between the United States and his imaginary country.
Fall River and Newark are far from the only cities that Nithyananda has misused to claim legitimacy.
The website features proclamations from Issaquah, Washington; Texarkana, Texas; Buena Park, California; and many others. A Twitter account for Nithyananda claims that his country has entered into "bilateral relations" with several countries, and posts photos of representatives of his government "meeting" with officials from Burundi, Equatorial Guinea, The Gambia and Lebanon.
Among Nithyananda’s other claims, he alleges that Kailasa has its own currency, flag, passports and banking system. Some reports claim he purchased an island off the coast of Ecuador, but that nation deniesthis claim. Last month, representatives from his fictional country appeared before United Nations committee meetings, though their remarks were ignored.
Nithyananda has also said he has magical powers, claiming he has made cows speak and once commanded the sun to delay sunrise for 40 minutes.
Dan Medeiros can be reached at dmedeiros@heraldnews.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.
https://www.heraldnews.com/story/news/local/2023/03/17/fall-river-recognized-fake-country-invented-by-indian-guru-scam-nithyananda/70018023007/
FALL RIVER — The mayor of Newark, New Jersey, recently admitted that his city was scammed into becoming sister cities with a fictional country by an accused rapist and cult leader from India — and Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan was one of many city leaders who have signed souvenir proclamations honoring that same man.
However, Fall River avoided falling for the sister cities scam, city officials said.
Nithyananda Paramashivam, a self-proclaimed guru and “supreme pontiff of Hinduism,” claims to be the leader of a nation he invented, sometimes called Kailasa, Kailaasa, Shrikailasa, or the United States of Kailasa. He fled India in 2019, facing multiple rape and child abduction charges.
A post on the “government” of Kailasa’s website features a proclamation allegedly signed by Coogan naming Jan. 3, 2022, “Kailasa’s SPH Nithyananda Day.”
“I convey my best wishes to The Supreme Pontiff of Hinduism (‘SPH’) Jagatguru Mahasannidhanam (‘JGM’), His Divine Holiness (‘HDH’) Bhagavan Sri Nithyananda Paramashivam, the Sovereign of the Sovereign State of SHRIKALASA, recognized as the 1008th living incarnation of Paramashiva as per Sanatana Hindu Dharma (‘Hinduism’) and by His predecessors of enlightened masters and adepts,” reads the opening of the lengthy, jargon-filled document.
“I thank and congratulate KAILASA having enriched and enreached [sic] more than one billion individuals over the past 27 years and as such also has had a significant impact over Fall River, Massachusetts."
The document features Coogan's signature at the bottom.
Proclamations don't really mean anything
According to Coogan's special projects and media coordinator Elaina Pevide, the document is real. It's also not actually important, since it holds no legal or financial significance.
"We get requests like these all the time," Pevide said. "Because they're not a binding document at all, we usually accommodate them."
Like in many cities, Fall River’s website allows people to request “official proclamations” from the mayor — they are not genuine documents, but symbolic tokens offered as a "courtesy" to honor or celebrate milestones and other achievements. Fall River's application is a simple form that allows applicants to insert their own information.
“These public service documents are not legally binding, nor do they constitute an endorsement by the Mayor," reads the application form.
Pevide said the original email they'd received from the representatives of Kailasa noted that about 50 other communities and public officials — including Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — had offered similar congratulations and greetings.
Because the documents are essentially like souvenirs, Coogan's office provided the the proclamation.
"It's like when you adopt a star," Pevide said. "You're not really getting anything. Or a patch of land in Scotland. It's a piece of paper that you print out, but it's not really anything important."
But the government of Kailasa wanted more.
"We did actually get two subsequent requests last year. We got a request in the summer ... trying to push for sister city status," Pevide said. "It was a very odd request."
This was immediately denied, since the request triggered red flags and it became clear Kailasa was "not a real entity." The phony government requested a second proclamation at the end of 2022, which was also denied.
The form notes that if someone intends to publicize their mayoral proclamation — like posting it on Kailasa's website — they must contact the mayor’s office to get prior approval.
"We definitely did not give them permission to publicize or post on their website," Pevide said.
Who else has 'recognized' this fictional country?
In January, Newark went a step further and invited dignitaries from the fake country, evidently followers of Nithyananda, for a cultural exchange and a ceremony to become sister cities. A few days afterward, when it was discovered that the country does not exist, the agreement was nullified. Nithyananda's website nevertheless claims that this ceremony resulted in a "bilateral agreement" between the United States and his imaginary country.
Fall River and Newark are far from the only cities that Nithyananda has misused to claim legitimacy.
The website features proclamations from Issaquah, Washington; Texarkana, Texas; Buena Park, California; and many others. A Twitter account for Nithyananda claims that his country has entered into "bilateral relations" with several countries, and posts photos of representatives of his government "meeting" with officials from Burundi, Equatorial Guinea, The Gambia and Lebanon.
Among Nithyananda’s other claims, he alleges that Kailasa has its own currency, flag, passports and banking system. Some reports claim he purchased an island off the coast of Ecuador, but that nation deniesthis claim. Last month, representatives from his fictional country appeared before United Nations committee meetings, though their remarks were ignored.
Nithyananda has also said he has magical powers, claiming he has made cows speak and once commanded the sun to delay sunrise for 40 minutes.
Dan Medeiros can be reached at dmedeiros@heraldnews.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.
https://www.heraldnews.com/story/news/local/2023/03/17/fall-river-recognized-fake-country-invented-by-indian-guru-scam-nithyananda/70018023007/
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