It is just as well that yoga teacher Ramdev, who of late had created something of a dramatic atmosphere in the country on the issue of black money and had gone on a hungerstrike with a view to making his point more effectively, had to reportedly end his fast on Friday with the administration of glucose. His health parameters had begun to deteriorate. It is to be hoped he emerges from the ICU in Dehra Dun soon with his health restored so that he may go about his normal life once again.

Recent events have clearly drained the yoga instructor physically and emotionally. All steps should be taken by the district administration to ensure nothing untoward happens and that Ramdev’s recovery is speedy.
The man who styles himself as a “Baba” had quickened the tempo on the issue of corruption in public life, and put a question mark over probity within the government. He should have expected return fire, which was not long in coming. As such, a well-publicised and elaborate press conference followed, held at his Hardwar ashram on Thursday expressly to disclose his assets.
However, what transpired at the media interaction may have left even curious onlookers wondering. Precious little was revealed about how the “Baba” came to acquire a tidy fortune in a relatively short time, or indeed the extent of the assets and income streams that accrue from the numerous trusts and companies he commands along with his aide, “Acharya” Balakrishna. It is evident that Ramdev runs an impressive business empire, selling ayurveda medicines and herbal foods and applications. This area of his activities is obscured from public view, and the man is generally known only as a yoga guru. His orange robes deepen that impression. One significant detail to emerge from the press conference was that the Astha television channel, on which Ramdev teaches yoga live, is owned to the tune of 99.9 per cent by Mr Balakrishna. In short, Astha is the yoga instructor’s captive channel. This makes him a media magnate, besides a food, beverages and pharmaceuticals entrepreneur.
So there should be no surprise that the disseminator of live yoga on television flies in a private plane and has an island that he can call his own. With a lifestyle such as this, a businessman would have to be weak of judgement if he goes about pointing finger at others in case he cannot be transparent about the sources of his own wealth. Therefore, Ramdev might do himself and his followers some good if he candidly disclosed the names of members of the public whose contributions to his trusts have made him the industrialist that he is. He has claimed, after all, that the business enterprises he presides over through his trusts have grown on the base of donations from devotees. This needs to be backed up with the right paperwork for even his devotees to be reassured.
The “Baba” has been accused of strong RSS and Hindutva links. Apparently it is these connections that are said to dictate his public agenda. In a democracy there can be no bar on this. A man’s ideology is his own business so long as actions in pursuit of a particular brand of politics or ideology do not lead to violence. It is on this level that Ramdev has faltered. He publicly announced that he would be raising an army that will be trained in both shaastra (scriptures) and shastra (weapons). When this domain is entered, the entrant cedes the privilege of being the leader of “civil society”. Raising a private army is the first step towards striking up postures of militancy. That fear cannot be dismissed lightly in this country, given the shades of terrorism that it has suffered in recent years.