Who is Vijayapriya Nithyananda who 'represented Kailasa' at UN event

Many eyebrows were raised last month when an all-women delegation of fugitive rape-accused self-styled godman Nithyananda's "United States of Kailasa (USK)" attended a United Nations (UN) event. However, one of the "Kailasa representatives," Vijayapriya Nithyananda, particularly grabbed attention and went viral after speaking at the UN's Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (CESCR) discussion. So, here's all you need to know regarding Vijayapriya.

As per the information available on the "official website" of Kailasa, Vijayapriya is reportedly described as someone who makes pacts with organizations on behalf of the "country." Her Facebook profile mentions that Vijayapriya lives in Washington DC, United States (US). Furthermore, pictures shared on social media reportedly show Vijayapriya also has a big tattoo of the rape-accused self-styled godman on her right arm.

On her LinkedIn profile, Vijayapriya stated she completed her Bachelor of Science in Microbiology in 2014 from the University of Manitoba in Canada and is proficient in English, Hindi, French, Creoles and Pidgins (French-based). Her profile also claims she has been on the dean's honor list for "outstanding academic performance" at the university and received international undergraduate student scholarships in 2012, 2013, and 2014.

Speaking at the aforementioned UN event on February 24, Vijayapriya said, "Kailasa is the first sovereign state for Hindus, established by the supreme pontiff of Hinduism, Nithyanand Paramashivam." She claimed he was "reviving the enlightened Hindu civilization," adding that "its 10,000 indigenous traditions of Hinduism, including the Adi Shaivite indigenous agricultural tribes for which the supreme pontiff of Hinduism is the leader as well."

Reacting to Vijayapriya's statement at the event, a UN official reportedly told the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) they would ignore the comments made by the fictional country Kailasa's representatives. They also called the so-called representatives' submissions "tangential" and "irrelevant" to the matters under discussion at the forum. The presence of "Kailasa" representatives at the UN event stunned not only India but the whole world.

The CESCR is a body with 18 independent members that meets twice a year and monitors the implementation of the UN treaty known as the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. During its biannual meetings, the committee usually devotes one day to general discussions over a particular right or a specific aspect of the covenant.

To recall, Nithyananda, who fled India in 2019, is the prime accused in numerous cases registered under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including torture, rape, kidnapping, and illegal confinement of children. Furthermore, French authorities are also probing the fugitive for an alleged fraud of $400,000.