Pedro Guasico, a leader of one of the indigenous groups called the Baure, says that their contact with ‘Kailasa’ representatives began in 2024 after they offered help with forest fires.

Members of fugitive self-styled godman Nithyananda's fictional country, Kailasa, were deported from Bolivia for allegedly attempting to seize land belonging to indigenous communities.

As quoted by New York Times, in a statement issued on March 25, officials in Bolivia said they had arrested 20 people associated with "Kailasa". These 20 people signed 1,000-year leases with indigenous groups in the country for vast tracts of the Amazon.

However, the agreements by Kailasa members were declared void and they were deported to their home countries, including India, the United States, Sweden and China.

“Bolivia does not maintain diplomatic relations with the alleged nation ‘United States of Kailasa,’” Bolivia’s ministry of foreign affairs told. The Bolivian foreign affairs ministry officially declared their non-recognition of Kailasa. “Bolivia does not maintain diplomatic relations with the alleged nation United States of Kailasa,” the statement said.

‘United States of Kailasa’ representatives have defined their “country” as the first sovereign state for Hindus. It was founded by Nithyananda. It is spearheaded by members of the Hindu Adi Shaivite minority community and provides a “safe haven” to all the world’s practicing, aspiring or persecuted Hindus, irrespective of race, gender, sect, caste, or creed, as per Kailasa’s website.

The website further states that there are 100 million Adi Shaivite Hindus and two billion practising Hindus. Languages spoken in the country are English, Sanskrit and Tamil and the religion professed is the Sanatana Hindu Dharma. The country is dedicated to the restoration of an “authentic” Hindu culture and civilization after “years of oppression and subjugation.”

Kailasa claims it wants to revive the temple-based lifestyle, universal free healthcare, free education for all, vegetarianism, gender equality, and fight against global warming.

According to a report, Kailasa followers had arrived in Bolivia on tourist visas. They even managed a photo with the country’s president Luis Arce. Investigation by Bolivian newspaper El Deber revealed for the first time that attempts were made by Nityananda's followers to secure extensive land leases from indigenous groups, including the Baure community.

Pedro Guasico, a leader of one of the indigenous groups called the Baure, told that their contact with ‘Kailasa’ representatives began in 2024 after they offered help with forest fires. They negotiated for land “three times the size of New Delhi”, to which the Baure agreed for a 25-year deal that would fetch them close to $200,000 annually, the report said.

However, when Kailasa representatives presented an English version of the contract, it was modified to extend over 1,000 years and included rights to airspace and natural resource extraction.

Despite these alterations, Guasico said his group proceeded with signing. "We made the mistake of listening to them," he said.

Nithyananda, a self-styled godman, has given himself the title of "supreme pontiff" (SPH), a term not recognised in Hinduism. His followers, however, refer to him as "the SPH".

He fled India in 2019 and is wanted for multiple charges, including rape and sexual assault. In 2010, Nithyananda was arrested in Himachal Pradesh after being on the run since a video of him with an actress surfaced. In 2019, an FIR was filed against him in Gujarat for allegedly kidnapping and wrongfully confining children to collect donations for his Ahmedabad ashram.

His preachings are loosely based on those of Osho Rajneesh. In 2023, representatives of “Kailasa” had attended a United Nations meeting and demanded protection for him.

Nithyananda is known for his quotable quotes.  "I am going to be active, healthy for at least the next 150 years. The Hindu enemies and Hindu traitors wasted a lot of my time and I don't go and attack them or react to them... I just decided to live longer," he had said.

As per another report, Nithyananda, who has been described as leading a cult, claimed that he had created a new "Hindu nation" microstate, and claims that Kailaasa is the world's only sovereign Hindu nation. Whereas, Kailaasa has been widely considered a "fake country", a scam or a con.

The Bolivian administration reportedly accused the representatives of Kailasa, the 'fake' Hindu nation founded by self-styled fugitive godman Nithyanand, of 'land trafficking after they negotiated 1,000-year leases with indigenous groups for swathes of the Amazon.

At least 20 people associated with Kailasa were arrested last week in connection with the land-grabbing charges, the New York Times reported, quoting Bolivian officials.

In March 2025, the Bolivian government declared the agreements void and several Kailasans were deported to their actual home countries, including India, the United States, Sweden, and China.

As Nithyananda's so-called self-created country makes headlines again, here are some facts about the ‘United States of Kailasa’.

The United States of Kailasa was set up by fugitive Nithyananda in 2019 on an island off Ecuador in South America. He declared it the 'world's greatest and purest Hindu nation'.

Nithyananda's Kailasa claimed it to be a sovereign entity with its own flag, constitution, economic system, passport, and emblem.

According to its official website, 'Kailasa' is a movement ''founded and spearheaded by members of the Hindu Adi Shaivite minority community from Canada, the United States and other countries and is created for and offers a safe haven to all the world's practicing, aspiring or persecuted Hindus, irrespective of race, gender, sect, caste, or creed, where they can peacefully live and express their spirituality, arts, and culture free from denigration, interference and violence''

In 2023, Kailasa duped the city of Newark in New Jersey into becoming a "Sister City" with the fake Hindu nation. Mayor Ras Baraka invited representatives of Kailasa to Newark City Hall for a "cultural trade agreement," but later, Kailasa was not a real country.

It was later found that the United States of Kailasa had signed a “cultural partnership” with over 30 American cities. Irrespective of the country's claim, Kailasa is not recognised by the UN and its human rights office declared that any submissions made by representatives of the so-called "United States of Kailasa were "irrelevant."

Nithyananda, self-proclaimed Hindu guru, calls himself “supreme pontiff”, a title not recognised in Hinduism, but his followers use it to validate his status.

The Bolivian government accused representatives of ‘Kailasa,’ the fake nation founded by fugitive godman Nithyananda, of "land trafficking" after they negotiated 1,000-year leases with indigenous groups for large areas of the Amazon.

According to the New York Times, at least 20 people linked to Kailasa were arrested last week over land-grabbing allegations. The report on Thursday said that these agreements by Kailasa members were nullified, and they were deported to their respective countries, including India, the United States, Sweden, and China.

Bolivia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs clarified its stance, stating, “Bolivia does not maintain diplomatic relations with the alleged nation ‘United States of Kailasa.”

Facts about self-styled fugitive godman

In 2023, MEA officials stated that Nithyananda, originally named Arunachalam Rajasekaran and born in Tamil Nadu on January 1, 1978, is believed to be in the United States and does not own an island near Ecuador, according to a 2023 report.

In 2019, an FIR was filed against him in Gujarat for allegedly kidnapping and wrongfully confining children to collect donations for his Ahmedabad ashram. Nithyananda claims to have founded the "United States of Kailasa (USK)" in 2019 and falsely states that it represents “two billion practising Hindus.” The Indian government has distanced itself from Nithyananda and his cult, instructing its missions in the US and South America to monitor him.

In 2023, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi dismissed any official comment on Nithyananda, stating that India has no connection with him or his so-called “Hindu nation.” Government sources revealed that Indian missions have been instructed to deny any support to his representatives, emphasizing that Nithyananda is widely seen as a fraud.