The Hathras tragedy that claimed at least 121 lives during a satsang conducted by UP police constable-turned-preacher Bhole Baba has brought the focus back on religious preachers. This rerun of a 2014 story about another controversial preacher Baba Rampal highlights the messianic hold they have over their followers.
The journey was daunting — a 10-km trek from his village, a back-breaking bus ride and then a long train journey. But for Pannalal Yadav, a marginal farmer from Madhya Pradesh’s backward Damoh district, it was like a pilgrimage. “My grandson,” he said, “was born with a head as small as an apple. But after being blessed by ‘parmatma’, it grew to normal size.”
Barely literate, the middle-aged OBC was a picture of despair when hustled out of Satlok Ashram in Barwala along with other devotees of controversial preacher Rampal.
The journey was daunting — a 10-km trek from his village, a back-breaking bus ride and then a long train journey. But for Pannalal Yadav, a marginal farmer from Madhya Pradesh’s backward Damoh district, it was like a pilgrimage. “My grandson,” he said, “was born with a head as small as an apple. But after being blessed by ‘parmatma’, it grew to normal size.”
Barely literate, the middle-aged OBC was a picture of despair when hustled out of Satlok Ashram in Barwala along with other devotees of controversial preacher Rampal.