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Baba Ramdev
New Delhi: Baba Ramdev's threat of an indefinite hunger strike has left the government jittery. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Cabinet colleagues got into a huddle on Wednesday to try and resolve the crisis.
So what is it about Baba Ramdev that makes him seem so influential, not just among politicians and celebrities, but also the aam aadmi.
He cracks jokes, recounts stories and yes he also teaches yoga to politicians, to Bollywood and even to British Lawmakers. Ramkishan Yadav, now better known as Baba Ramdev, is the new age guru.
"He is the only man in India today who thinks of the nation," said a follower.
He zips across India, often in a private jet, like he did on Wednesday when some of India's most powerful ministers queued up to meet him at the Delhi airport. And he is now using his anti-black money stand as his latest calling card.
He is 46 years old, young by Indian political standards and has a rather mysterious background. Son of a farmer in Narnaul district of Haryana, he began going to a gurukul at the age of four. He says as a child he suffered from paralysis and that it was Yoga that cured him.
His first move to prominence came in 2003, when spiritual channel Aastha TV began featuring him in its daily morning yoga slot. Within years, he had gathered a cult following.
With rapid popularity came controversies. In 2006, CPM politburo member Brinda Karat alleged that the medicine made at his ashram had bone powder. Lab tests found the claim unfounded. Ramdev's medicine only became more popular. He opposed homosexuality, called it a disease and openly campaigned against aerated drinks.
No one knows Baba Ramdev's net worth but speculations have often pegged it to several hundred crores.
The celebrity guru is linked to an impressive Rs 1000-plus crore empire of yoga centres, hospitals and spas across the world in less than 15 years.
It is said that he is planning a Rs 100-crore dream project, Patanjali Yog Peeth at Bahadrabad, a sort of a Yoga University, about 20km from Haridwar.
Sale of Ramdev's ayurvedic medicines is worth Rs 300 crores a year; sale of his books and CDs fetch Rs 25 to 30 crore.
In 2011, Ramdev has acquired an unprecedented position - a powerful civil society voice who has the government worried.
Baba Ramdev
New Delhi: Baba Ramdev's threat of an indefinite hunger strike has left the government jittery. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Cabinet colleagues got into a huddle on Wednesday to try and resolve the crisis.
So what is it about Baba Ramdev that makes him seem so influential, not just among politicians and celebrities, but also the aam aadmi.
He cracks jokes, recounts stories and yes he also teaches yoga to politicians, to Bollywood and even to British Lawmakers. Ramkishan Yadav, now better known as Baba Ramdev, is the new age guru.
"He is the only man in India today who thinks of the nation," said a follower.
He zips across India, often in a private jet, like he did on Wednesday when some of India's most powerful ministers queued up to meet him at the Delhi airport. And he is now using his anti-black money stand as his latest calling card.
He is 46 years old, young by Indian political standards and has a rather mysterious background. Son of a farmer in Narnaul district of Haryana, he began going to a gurukul at the age of four. He says as a child he suffered from paralysis and that it was Yoga that cured him.
His first move to prominence came in 2003, when spiritual channel Aastha TV began featuring him in its daily morning yoga slot. Within years, he had gathered a cult following.
With rapid popularity came controversies. In 2006, CPM politburo member Brinda Karat alleged that the medicine made at his ashram had bone powder. Lab tests found the claim unfounded. Ramdev's medicine only became more popular. He opposed homosexuality, called it a disease and openly campaigned against aerated drinks.
No one knows Baba Ramdev's net worth but speculations have often pegged it to several hundred crores.
The celebrity guru is linked to an impressive Rs 1000-plus crore empire of yoga centres, hospitals and spas across the world in less than 15 years.
It is said that he is planning a Rs 100-crore dream project, Patanjali Yog Peeth at Bahadrabad, a sort of a Yoga University, about 20km from Haridwar.
Sale of Ramdev's ayurvedic medicines is worth Rs 300 crores a year; sale of his books and CDs fetch Rs 25 to 30 crore.
In 2011, Ramdev has acquired an unprecedented position - a powerful civil society voice who has the government worried.