Gurugram: The Haryana government tabled a bill in the state assembly Wednesday, aimed at taking over the management and control of Gurugram-based Aparna Institution, an ashram founded by Swami Dhirendra Brahmachari, a renowned yoga guru and yoga mentor to late former prime minister Indira Gandhi.
The Aparna Institution (Taking Over of Management and Control) Bill, 2025, seeks to vest the institution’s management in the state government for a period of 10 years, with provisions for extension, citing public interest and the need to preserve the ashram’s original objective of promoting yoga and public welfare.
The bill outlines a comprehensive framework for the takeover.
It describes the “institution” as Aparna Institution, located in Gurugram’s Silokhra village, encompassing 24 acres and 16 marlas of land along with its buildings and properties.
The management and control of the institution, previously under Aparna Ashram Society (registered in 1973-74 under the Societies Registration Act), will vest in the Haryana government from the date of notification of the legislation in the official gazette.
The takeover is initially for 10 years, with the government retaining the option to extend it by up to five years at a time, if deemed necessary for the institution’s proper management and development.
The government will appoint an administrator to oversee the institution’s operations, replacing the existing governing council, which will cease to exercise any authority, the bill states.
It mandates that the government shall appoint an administrator, who will, with assistance from a government-constituted committee, promote yoga education, research, and training; eradicate harmful habits like drug use; and foster self-purity, universal brotherhood, and healthy living.
All properties and assets must be handed over to the administrator, and the government can cancel or vary any contracts deemed detrimental to the institution’s interests. Financial grants or advances may also be provided by the state.
The bill provides that offences such as withholding assets or documents from the administrator are punishable with up to five years’ imprisonment and fines up to Rs 50,000.
Institute & its founder
Born in 1924 in Bihar, Swami Dhirendra Brahmachari rose to prominence as a proponent of yoga’s therapeutic and spiritual benefits. Known for physical demonstrations and charismatic teachings, he established multiple ashrams to institutionalise yoga practice. His close association with Indira Gandhi brought him national attention, though his later years were marked by controversies involving property disputes.
The statement of objects and reasons in the bill provides a detailed backdrop to the government’s move, emphasising the institution’s historical significance and the current need for intervention.
It traces the origins of Aparna Institution to Brahmachari, who believed yoga was a universal solution to physical and mental ailments untreatable by conventional medicine.
To institutionalise yoga’s benefits, he founded Aparna Ashram Society and established Aparna Institution as a separate entity with an independent governing council. The ashram, built on land purchased with donations and government aid, was envisioned as a hub for yoga research, training and healthcare.
However, the statement highlights a series of challenges following Brahmachari’s death in a plane crash on 9 June, 1994.
Internal disputes within the society split it into factions, leading to prolonged litigation and attempts to “illegally” sell the ashram’s land and buildings for personal gain.
A prior land acquisition attempt by Haryana in 1989 under the Land Acquisition Act, was contested by Brahmachari, who filed a writ petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The high court website shows the case (Swami Dhirendra Brahmchari and Others versus State of Haryana and Others) as disposed of, but no date is mentioned. A copy of the final order in the matter is also not available on the website.
The ongoing legal battles and mismanagement, the bill statement argues, threaten to derail the institution’s mission, necessitating state intervention to safeguard its assets and revive its objectives.
The bill underscores that “any delay in taking over the management of the institution would be highly detrimental to the interests, aims and objectives of the said institution as well as that of the general public”, aligning the takeover with Brahmachari’s vision of benefiting humanity through yoga.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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