Decode Politics: Indira Gandhi’s favourite yoga guru, and an ashram caught in a row now for 30 years

However, government officials say that as the Bill relates to charities, charitable institutions and charitable endowments, a subject that comes under the Concurrent List, it needs to be sent for the President’s assent.

A yoga guru from the 1970s

Dhirendra Brahmchari first came into prominence during the 1970s, and quickly rose to popularity and power due to his proximity to the Gandhi family. His jet-setting ways, including a personal aircraft, earned him the moniker of “the flying swami”. The yoga guru was close to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi as well as her son Sanjay, with people seeking an audience with the two power centres flocking to Brahmachari’s doors.

In the early ’70s, with Indira in power, Brahmachari registered the name ‘Aparna Ashram’ with the Registrar of Societies, New Delhi, with “the purpose of promoting yoga and its research, training and dissemination”. The land for the ashram was purchased using donations, financial grants and assistance from the Central government.

Currently, the Aparna Ashram is spread across 24 acres and 16 kanals in the Silokhra village of Gurugram.

A property mired in litigation

On January 30, 1989, the Haryana government led by Om Prakash Chautala (he belonged to the Haryana Lok Dal, which later became the INLD) issued a notification to acquire the land in Silokhra and adjoining Sukhrali village for public purposes. This also included land and buildings falling under the Aparna Ashram.

But Brahmachari approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, seeking that the notifications be scrapped, in 1990. On June 9, 1994, he died in a plane crash in J&K. Soon after, a dispute arose between two groups over the control of the ashram. Thirty years later, the property remains caught up in multiple litigations.

The Bill on the Aparna Ashram

Having got a favourable verdict from the Punjab and Haryana High Court on May 29, 2024, to take over the Aparna Ashram, the Haryana government passed an order the next day, announcing the transfer of 24.16 acres to its name. However, this was struck down by a division bench in July 2024.

It was after this that the government introduced the Aparna Institution (Taking over of Management and Control) Bill in the ongoing Budget Session, and the Assembly passed it on March 28.

Provisions of the Bill

The Bill proposes the takeover of the management, control and possession of the society’s assets by the government for a minimum 10 and maximum 15 years. An Administrator is to be appointed to carry on the management of the institution on behalf of the state government.

CM Saini has defended the Bill saying that while Brahmachari “wanted to set up a yoga ashram and start medical services”, it was now “being eyed by some people”. “The government is only trying to protect this land from falling in the wrong hands. This charitable trust has taken financial aid from the Central government multiple times. The government can take over any trust where it has been previously involved,” Saini says.

Haryana Industries Minister Rao Narbir Singh claims the land on which the ashram is located “is estimated to be worth over Rs 100 crore per acre” and might fall into the wrong hands if the government does not intervene. As per government officials, parts of the coveted land have been sold at throwaway prices to private players by the purported authorised representatives of the ashram society.

The Opposition’s argument

The Congress staged a walkout from the Assembly during the passage of the BIll, arguing that the Haryana government could not get involved in the matter as the charitable trust was registered in Delhi.

Congress MLA (Rohtak) B B Batra said: “I said on the floor of the House that the state government was not competent to bring this legislation. I said that this Bill was illegal.”

Saini countered this saying “the land is in Haryana”.