Lady in Red: All you need to know about the controversy around self-styled godwoman Radhe Maa

Godmen have been making the news for all the wrong reasons  and now a godwoman has joined them in their earthly infamy. Radhe Maa, whose video dancing to a Bollywood number went viral on Twitter, courted controversy after a complaint under the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, was filed against her recently. As Radhe Maa faces criminal charges and trolls on social media, her followers claim that she is the victim of an unfair trial by media. Here is all you need to know about the Lady in Red- [caption id=“attachment_2384334” align=“alignleft” width=“380” class=" “]  Imagfe courtesy- Facebook[/caption] 1) Radhe Maa’s real name is Sukhwinder Kaur and she was born in a village in Gurdaspur, Punjab. According to her profile on a blog dedicated to her, shriradhemaa.blogspot.in, as a child, she liked listening to Gurbani and spending time at a Kali temple near her house. The blog suggests that she was drawn to the otherworldly after her husband went abroad for work and she felt “a strange emptiness” in her life. 2) According to an article in Mumbai Mirror, she moved from Punjab to Mumbai after a Hindu organization objected to her portrayal of herself as the incarnation of goddess Durga. Later, her husband and her two sons also moved to Mumbai with her. However, her devotees are said to have claimed that her relationship with them now is that of guru and disciple. Whether that constitutes an upgrade or downgrade is anybody’s guess.

She also  calls herself a ‘devi avtaar’, carries a ‘trishul’ and gives ‘darshans’ and distributes ‘langar’ in the top floor of her apartment complex

  3) The FIR against Radhe Maa under the law prohibiting demand for dowry, has been filed by a 32-year old woman who has alleged that her in-laws are her followers, and that she instigated them to harass her if the demand was not met. You can read about the case filed against her in this PTI report put up on the website of NDTV. 4) If that was not trouble enough, a Mumbai lawyer who attended her satsangs found the discourse to be a little less divine than what it was made out to be, and filed a complaint of obscenity against her with the police. The lawyer has claimed that Radhe Maa and her associates were “conning people in the name of religion.” A report by the Times of India on the complaint is available here. 5) However, Radhe Maa appears to wield significant legal powers of her own. According to this Zee News report, Radhe’s profile on her official website states that she gave “divine power of attorney” to Chhoti Maa, who is said to be her foremost sevika, and has been in her service since she was a child. Radhe Maa’s other prominent disciple is a person named Talli Baba. For those who want to meet the godwoman, Talli Baba is said to be the first point of contact, who examines the visitor and, if deemed fit, sends the person to Chhoti Maa for final approval, who will then grant the necessary permission. 6) Radhe Maa, however, has been denied permission to participate in the Nasik Kumbh Mela’s shahi snan because of the charges of harassment for dowry and cheating leveled against her. The president of the Akhil Bhartiya Akhara Parishad, the apex body of Hindu ascetic organizations, was quoted by The Times of India saying that he has asked for Radhe Maa to be stopped from participating as she has been into controversy earlier as well. 7) Despite the controversy, Radhe Ma has a large fan0following in Bollywood too.  Devotees who come to seek her blessings include high-profile celebrities like Bhojpuri star Manoj Tiwari, television actress Dolly Bindra, actor Ravi Kishan and director Subhash Ghai.