Just when you think it cannot get any worse ... and what happens? The Times of India reports that a Brahma Kumari center-in-charge absconds from the police, yet again, following accusations of multiple sexual abuses at a BK centre ... ending in a forced abortion.
Brahma Kumari center-in-charges absconding from the police is so common, it must be centralized advice coming from somewhere high up in the organization. In this case, it appears the BKs even moved in new center-wassis. The BKs are again labelled a cult.
Note too the BKWSU Mount Abu headquarters sending a big gun to "clear the ashram's stand on the controversy" ... which no doubt will mean bullshitting about the they are friends with the United Nations, know lots of famous people and handing out holy sweeties to journalists and policemen. BKs playing the Brahmin caste card ...
So what do we make of all this?
Firstly, it is not the first time accusations have been made of sexual abuse within Brahma Kumari centers. Abuse of the unpaid young women the Brahma Kumari leaders encult goes from being the unpaid servants of rich male sponsors of centres, to outright sexual abuse and rape as, it would seem, in this case.
Secondly, it underlines an attitude to child birth and abortion that might surprise observers of the religion. I remember as long as 30 years ago the Kirpalani Klan advising a young Western adherent, who had gotten herself pregnant just before coming into The Knowledge, to have an abortion because having a child would be a burden and distract from her spiritual salvation, a salvation from the End of the World which was at that time going to happen around 1986.
Thirdly, it underlines who mafia like the BKs are when the **** hit the fan and how "Om Shanti" can so easily mean Omertà ... and how vulnerable young women, utterly separated from their own real families, are bossed and bullied by center or regional-in-charges.
However, rape is a hot topic in India right now following some horrendous and high profile cases. Pre- or extra-marital sex is still a taboo in many parts of the country.
Out of fairness and equanimity, one would have to ask the question, was it rape and serial sex abuse, or was it a "human needs" and a tragic love affair gone wrong, as in the Panipat case where a young Kumari burnt herself alive and BK center-wassis cleared away all the corpse and evidence before the police became involved? In some cases, an accusation of rape can be the only way for a woman to regain face after a consensual relationship. An abortion, the easy way to tidy un 'inconvenient' evidence.
At present, we don't know ... and you can guarantee on the BKWSU not providing more details.
Is the BK system of absolute abstinence ... including even simple human love and affection ... working? What human costs is their religious and caste role play worth?
One thing that does stand out for me in this is ... as with the child sex abuse incidents ... the victim was not just victimised by one offender, but more. The coincidences of such random victim abuse happening by chance to one individual are so minute, that both case suggest 'rings' or at least associations between the abusers.
Note also how these men are referred to as "employees", not volunteers, adherents or sevadhari servants. It would seem the Brahma Kumaris wealth, and the employment of lower caste workers to perform menial tasks for the cult, is coming back to haunt them.
In their ambitions for power and wealth ... the Brahma Kumaris have gone from "Quality" to "Quantity", without sufficient safeguards and filters to protect the young women and children they encult into their Doomsday Sect. Have we yet to hear of a BK leader taking responsibility for such incidents or a center-in-charge being made an example of? I cannot think of any. Normally the BKs' response to the victims is ... "it's their karma".
It's India. Plenty more unwanted young girls to be kept working 7 days a week unpaid where she came from.
Note the words of an Indian commentator on The Times website ...
Brahma Kumari center-in-charges absconding from the police is so common, it must be centralized advice coming from somewhere high up in the organization. In this case, it appears the BKs even moved in new center-wassis. The BKs are again labelled a cult.
Note too the BKWSU Mount Abu headquarters sending a big gun to "clear the ashram's stand on the controversy" ... which no doubt will mean bullshitting about the they are friends with the United Nations, know lots of famous people and handing out holy sweeties to journalists and policemen. BKs playing the Brahmin caste card ...
So what do we make of all this?
Firstly, it is not the first time accusations have been made of sexual abuse within Brahma Kumari centers. Abuse of the unpaid young women the Brahma Kumari leaders encult goes from being the unpaid servants of rich male sponsors of centres, to outright sexual abuse and rape as, it would seem, in this case.
Secondly, it underlines an attitude to child birth and abortion that might surprise observers of the religion. I remember as long as 30 years ago the Kirpalani Klan advising a young Western adherent, who had gotten herself pregnant just before coming into The Knowledge, to have an abortion because having a child would be a burden and distract from her spiritual salvation, a salvation from the End of the World which was at that time going to happen around 1986.
Thirdly, it underlines who mafia like the BKs are when the **** hit the fan and how "Om Shanti" can so easily mean Omertà ... and how vulnerable young women, utterly separated from their own real families, are bossed and bullied by center or regional-in-charges.
Brahmakumari ashram inmates claim ignorance on rape case
BHOPAL: Ashram inmates in Brahmakumari sect in Bhopal expressed ignorance about the incident of rape when Habibganj police station staff reached there on Thursday to hold investigations into the allegations made by a Chhatarpur-based woman of the cult that she was raped and later forced to abort by two persons from Bhopal ashram and one from Singrauli.
As the allegations were made in Chhatarpur, the police registered a case and later transferred it to Bhopal. A day after the case was transferred, the police started holding investigations into the allegations of the 25-year-old woman from Chhatarpur. The police also did not find the accused named in the case in Bhopal ashram located near Char Imli.
Police said the disciples from here left for Singrauli. Those who were present in Bhopal ashram belonged to different places across the country.
The complainant had on December 14 alleged in Chhatarpur that two associates of the ashram in Bhopal and one in Singrauli raped her and a woman disciple forced her to undergo abortion. The accused in the case are Awdesh Bahenji and Prembhai of Bhopal and Prasad Bhai of Singrauli.
Police said Awdesh Bahenji had also gone to Singrauli and it has been informed by disciples that she would return on December 29. The police also did not rule out the possibility of going to Singrauli if required.
Sources pointed that a senior associate of Brahmakumari Ashram is coming from Ahmedabad or Mount Abu to clear the ashram's stand on the controversy.
Meanwhile, Singrauli police have also started their investigation and they went to the ashram there but Awdesh Bahenji fell ill and was admitted in a hospital there.
Brahma Kumari ashram head gives police the slip leaves Singrauli before arrest
BHOPAL: The zonal head of Brahma Kumaris' ashram at Singrauli, Awadhesh Behan, accused of forcing a 26-year old rape survivor to undergo abortion, gave a slip to the police and moved out of Singrauli town on Sunday citing ill-health. Awadhesh Behan left for Uttar Pradesh reportedly to get some pathological tests done, even before the complainant could reach Singrauli or the police could file a case against her.
Awadhesh Behan was admitted to the hospital and was undergoing treatment, ever since the woman lodged a complaint against her.
She was admitted to the NTPC hospital in Singrauli from December 17, onwards. It was on December 17, that the copy of the complaint lodged by the 26-year old woman in Chhatapur district reached Singrauli.
Sources said that since the survivor could not reach Singrauli, police was not able to frame case against the in charge of the ashram, Awadhesh Behan. However, hardly few hours before the arrival of the complainant at Singrauli, she moved out of the district.
"She has informed us, that as per referral by doctors she needs to get certain pathological tests done for which she was required to go to Uttar Pradesh. She has assured to return soon after the tests and present herself before the police," in charge of women cell of police, Singrauli, Archana Tiwari told TOI.
"The girl arrived late in the evening so we could not have much discussion with her. But she would be taken to the ashram and her statement would once again be recorded, it is only on the basis of her statements and other evidences that further course of action would be taken," Tiwari said.
Meanwhile, Singrauli police have arrested Prasad Bhai, who the complainant has accused with rape and while Bhopal police has launched a hunt to nab the other accused Prem Bhai, who has been accused of raping the woman in Bhopal ashram.
On, December 15, the woman, a resident of Chhatarpur district and who lived at various ashram of Brahma Kumaris since 2001, alleged that she was raped two times in two years during her stay at Singrauli and Bhopal ashrams and was also forced to undergo abortion. In her complaint to police she alleged that in 2010, she was raped by an employee of ashram Prasad Bhai in Singrauli, later she was forced to undergo abortion by Awadhesh Behan in Bhopal where she was raped by another employee named Prem Bhai in 2012.
However, rape is a hot topic in India right now following some horrendous and high profile cases. Pre- or extra-marital sex is still a taboo in many parts of the country.
Out of fairness and equanimity, one would have to ask the question, was it rape and serial sex abuse, or was it a "human needs" and a tragic love affair gone wrong, as in the Panipat case where a young Kumari burnt herself alive and BK center-wassis cleared away all the corpse and evidence before the police became involved? In some cases, an accusation of rape can be the only way for a woman to regain face after a consensual relationship. An abortion, the easy way to tidy un 'inconvenient' evidence.
At present, we don't know ... and you can guarantee on the BKWSU not providing more details.
Is the BK system of absolute abstinence ... including even simple human love and affection ... working? What human costs is their religious and caste role play worth?
One thing that does stand out for me in this is ... as with the child sex abuse incidents ... the victim was not just victimised by one offender, but more. The coincidences of such random victim abuse happening by chance to one individual are so minute, that both case suggest 'rings' or at least associations between the abusers.
Note also how these men are referred to as "employees", not volunteers, adherents or sevadhari servants. It would seem the Brahma Kumaris wealth, and the employment of lower caste workers to perform menial tasks for the cult, is coming back to haunt them.
In their ambitions for power and wealth ... the Brahma Kumaris have gone from "Quality" to "Quantity", without sufficient safeguards and filters to protect the young women and children they encult into their Doomsday Sect. Have we yet to hear of a BK leader taking responsibility for such incidents or a center-in-charge being made an example of? I cannot think of any. Normally the BKs' response to the victims is ... "it's their karma".
It's India. Plenty more unwanted young girls to be kept working 7 days a week unpaid where she came from.
Note the words of an Indian commentator on The Times website ...
Sushil India (India) 24 Dec, 2013
All Ashrams these scandals are so common .Only few comes in light .Otherwise most of them remain behind close doors .These are legal brothels .