Power broker and godman Chandraswami who rose to prominence due to his association with former Indian prime minister Narasimha Rao, passed away earlier last week following a multiple organ failure at Apollo Hospital, New Delhi. Boasting a long line of devotees and supporters, Chandraswami was many things; political fixer, spiritual guru, mover and shaker and a fraud. His admirers included Sanjay Gandhi, Sultan of Brunei, King Hussein of Jordan, Elizabeth Taylor, Hosni Mubarak and Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi.
An obvious contrast considering his chosen path, Swami's life was everybody's envy. The influential leader travelled in private jets and fancy yachts, and his audience included the cream of the ever-thriving crop. It was evident. Pre-liberalisation India's most famous spiritual guru, Swami could not leave the comforts of the material world.
Rise
It was his yagnas that brought him fame. Swami claimed to have protected former prime minister Indira Gandhi with his tantric powers and yagnas. The astrologer came into recognition with his first yagna in Madhuban. The event was reported all across the country. He boasts of 25 yagnas until the late 1980s, most of which were attended by politicians and ministers. It was through these yagnas that the brushed shoulders with the the top leaders of socialist India, impressing them with his tantric powers.
In 1975, senior Indian diplomat, K Natwar Singh managed to provide him with a brief audience in London. Then Conservative opposition leader Margaret Thatcher grudgingly met him at Singh's request. As written in his memoir, Swami, who spoke no English, asked the future prime minister to write down five questions on five separate pieces of paper and then scrunch them into balls. He then asked her to unfold each piece, speaking out each question written on it. This got an amazed Thatcher's attention, and she asked for a second meeting, in which, Singh writes, the two discussed her prime ministerial prospects.
Ungodly Ways
Swami's life is marred with a bevy of criminal cases - ranging from FERA violations, to blackmail and cheating, to shady arms deals. Signs of his lack of 'godliness' showed up early in 1972, when he was arrested in connection to the Nagarjunasagar scrap iron scandal. It was clearly stated that he had promised to supply scrap iron worth millions of rupees to a party in Jaipur, Rajasthan, on behalf of the Andhra Pradesh government. He reportedly used documents and signatures faked with the help of a minister's personal secretary.
His most devoted disciple was PV Narasimha Rao, a Congress leader who came into power following Rajiv Gandhi's assassination in 1991. As the country's foreign policies opened up to market forces and private investment, Swami gained more political power. From 1991 to 1996, he could now take matters directly to members of the cabinet. Leaders and businessmen who wished to get things done would pay him massive chunks of money to get their work done. As Swami gained stability, his web only grew, marking years of treachery and treason. Vinay Sitapati, Rao's biographer stated that as much as he loved his social and political stature, it brought him many legal troubles.
Swami in a pickle
In 1996, Chandraswami was arrested on charges of defrauding London-based Indian-origin businessman Lakhubhai Pathak. Founder of a line of pickles, chutney, and sauces, Patak's, the 'Pickle King' claimed he gave $100,000 in 1983, to Swami for Rao, then Indian foreign affairs minister, on a promise of newspaper pulp. He was convicted by the Delhi magistrate court but they went on appeal.
Swami was accused of financing the Tamil suicide bomber who killed Rajiv Gandhi, in 1997. His death essentially made way for Rao's political ascendence. While a commission dug deep into his possible involvement, no conclusive evidence was found.
After spending years catering to kings, prime ministers, and leading world businessmen, Swami was finally consigned to flames last week, at Nigambodh Ghat, in a quiet farewell. No prominent people marked their presence at the cremation as controversy's favourite child was laid to rest.
