Like many other ‘Godmen’ and ‘Godwomen’ in India, who are revered for their ability to essentially have God on speed-dial, Radhe Maa, the self-styled and hugely popular Indian spiritual leader, has succeeded with her celestial phone booth. With followers carrying her around with rose and trident in both her hands, she is usually seen with the most non-God like smile written on her face. But who cares, didn’t she cure a ‘vague chest pain‘ of a devotee just by placing her hand on his chest?
With these qualities clearly meaning Radhe Maa is an incarnation of the Goddess, it’s strange to think the reason she has been picked up by headlines recently is not because of her miracles but her playing around in a red dress. Hashtags have flooded the social media walls not with her (fake) claims about being a Goddess but the dress in the #YoRadheMaaSoRed trend.
Radhe Ma being trolled in media is not a concern. But the fact that she has clouded the social feeds for a dress and not her fraudulent life suggests more about our issue with the female image – what is conventional, what is acceptable, and what women must follow – than anything else. There can be no compromise on this female ideal.
Asaram Bapu, another self-styled Godman in India who has been slapped with several sexual assault charges has been forgotten by the media even when the witnesses of his crimes are dying in mysterious circumstances. But a ‘maa’ wearing a mini-skirt cannot be tolerated by popular culture. Why? Because in Indian culture a ‘maa’ must have self-respect and only being covered from bottom to top can apparently give this self-respect.
Increasingly images of Radhe Maa appeared next to images of Indian porn actress Sunny Leone
Comparisons between the porn star Sunny Leone to the Godwoman focused on the red dress
Is the dress style of the ‘maa’ so important in Indian culture that it can make headlines over genuine cases of fraud, or even more serious accusations? A 32-year-old Nikki Gupta filed a case against Radhe Maa and accused her of encouraging her husband, who happens to a devotee of hers, to harass Nikki Gupta for dowry. A Gujrat family committed the crimes after donating everything they owned to Radhe Maa. Social workers argued that the so-called ‘Godwoman’ should be booked under abatement to suicide.
Very few know about this serious accusation, yet it is the miniskirt that makes headlines. Was wearing a mini skirt too much to handle for a cultured Indian society? If yes, then perhaps it is time for some deep thinking to be done. Or is the media somewhat to blame? The Indian media has continuously shown preference to hyped-up, undeserving stories simply because it is good business.
It gives the impression that all its audience wants is to see someone dancing in a red dress all day rather than the more serious issues. But is this really the case?
Radhe Maa’s dress controversy, which has refused to settle for almost a month, has left the public wondering that if Radhe Maa was not wearing that red dress, would she be drawing headlines at all…?
