The world recently woke up to the monumental crimes against humanity perpetrated by a Muck Meister named Jeffrey Epstein and figured the Evil Empire actually existed. Maybe it still does. Till the reams and reams and reams of highly incriminating files became public, there was speculation minus proof. Well… now that names have been named and seismic shocks experienced, does anybody really care a flying fig?
We in India are behaving as if depravity on this scale is no big deal. ‘Hota hai. Chalta hai. Jaaney do’. Even though the repugnant contents of the files have compromised the reputations of some of our own mighty personalities. At the centre of the global scandal that is likely to take down a few more celebrities is a boy from Brooklyn, a monster called Jeffrey Epstein. A demonic figure who wielded more power and influence than several heads of state put together.
A power he acquired through blackmail, sex crimes, child trafficking, prostitution, drugs, espionage and monumental trade-offs. The man was more lethal than a nuclear warhead, with the means to cause as much mass destruction. Revelation after revelation is still rolling out of the maws of the US Justice Department (3.5 million responsive pages), as a tsunami of revulsion and horror hits the watching world.
But…hold on—why has the usually excitable, scoop-hungry Indian media reacted in such a thanda manner? No screaming headlines. No thundering editorials? Ajeeb! The front page is boringly about surging gold prices, Kangana Ranaut’s smashing ‘Parliament lewks’ and traffic snarls on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. Wonder why the desi press is being so discreet. There’s been disappointingly skimpy, scanty reportage on the juiciest, sleaziest story of the decade.
Meanwhile, names of presidents, princes, tycoons, tech billionaires, ambassadors, diplomats, parliamentarians, movie stars, political icons, ministers, lobbyists, pimps, deal makers, assorted royalty… in short, anybody who is anybody in today’s power-obsessed global order, kept tumbling out, faster than the human mind could process. Satanic Verses got rewritten, as concentric circles of depravity and shame, threw up a tarnished galaxy of the international Who’s Who—a Power List of Perverts.
It was one big dirty club with a secret membership. Stanley Kubrick, take a bow for giving us ‘eyes wide shut’, an eerie prelude to the sordid Epstein scandal.
Epstein, the club’s owner, unilaterally and devilishly decided who made the cut. Bill Clinton? Oh yes. Prince Andrew—definitely. Several other high-profile derelicts and philanderers featured in the files, too. But it was when names like Bill Gates and Stephen Hawking emerged that the stakes got raised and public interest peaked. These men, with all their intellect, brain-power, influence and money, were reduced to contemptible figures—pathetic participants in Epstein’s macabre theatre of devilry. A theatre controlled by twisted, sadistic teams preying on innocent, defenceless children, peddled to them in a steady, uninterrupted supply by Epstein’s army of sex recruiters.
Before we huff and puff about the fall of the Western Empire, take a look at our own backyard. There are hundreds of Epstein avatars amid us—equally debauched predators and criminals who are still operating with impunity.
The Seven Spiritual Laws of ‘Excess’
We are recoiling at the thought of Deepak Chopra, a highly successful “Spiritual Guru” to the West, being identified as a friend of Epstein, given that Deepak features in more than 3,000 mentions in the files. But… hey…we aren’t particularly shocked or bothered. Why? Could it be because the author of the hugely successful international bestseller “The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success” is not alone? India has ‘’exported’’ other slime balls before him. Those self-styled spiritual fraudsters, who made millions by establishing mini-empires in America and multiple other countries.
Let’s be honest—the one thing our flamboyant Indian “Gurus” have never lacked is guts. And cunning. Gaming the system came easily to all of them, from Bhagwan Rajneesh to the ‘hot yoga’ criminal, Bikram Choudhury. Think of the countless ashrams established by respected names in the spiritual supermarket, FROM Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, to the motorcycle stuntman Sadhguru and the fey Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
There is a common thread that links them—a brilliant if warped mind, the ability to mesmerise the gullible, the talent to mould a carefully curated but essentially hollow image, and the prodigious ambition to assume a Godlike status. Several other minor league gurus are operating below the radar.There are assorted Godmen and women parading as sages and saviours, while exploiting blind faith and the unquestioning belief of ignorant followers. India loves its miracle makers.
The other, more sinister category includes the likes of Asaram Bapu.
The unholy parade of convicted “holy men” running highly guarded ashrams and camps, conducting strange, cruel experiments on trusting disciples, some of them underage. We are used to looking the other way at the sexual shenanigans of politically powerful godmen like Dhirendra Brahmachari and the tantric Chandraswamy (with followers like Adnan Khashoggi, Sultan of Brunei, Margaret Thatcher, even Dawood Ibrahim). Action is rarely taken against them even after victims file multiple cases.
Dehra Sacha Sauda (Abode of Fair Deal!), chieftain of a religious cult, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insaan, was convicted of rape and, get this—castration. The cult runs centres overseas and across India under the guise of “social welfare” and ‘spiritual organisation’. This rogue is out on parole for the 15th time.
The hook is always “spirituality”, no matter how distorted and warped the reputation of the founder.
The modus operandi of these spiritual hucksters is no different from Epstein’s—only the scale varies. They are all devious “people collectors”, the desi Epsteins, like Epstein himself, wield enormous influence with governments and corporates. For a fee, they fix appointments and deals, facilitate contracts and loans. If Epstein worked for Mossad/KGB/MI5, our chaps are also pretty active helping dodgy agencies across Europe, Canada, Australia, America and the UK, successfully peddling access and influence. As they say, “Information is the ultimate currency.”
Also read: Epstein files and what they mean for the American anger against elites
Devastating trail of incriminating documents
While Bill Gates was allegedly “seeding the future of the species” by experimenting on young girls strapped down to a table, others were indulging in cannibalism, and some say, conducting a trade in harvested body parts of victims. Melinda Gates (post the big reveal) has warned of a “reckoning”, while she herself has “moved on”. Really, Melinda? “I am in a beautiful space in my life….glad to be away from the muck.” Amazing, honey. If only those survivors of your ex-husband’s “experiments” could do the same. Astonishingly enough, Bill Gates is due in India on 15 February. Boycott this man!
We have desi Robert Maxwell (possibly the mastermind behind Epstein’s dark empire) counterparts in our midst, too. Delhi is all too familiar with shadowy figures and their shady connections at the highest levels of government. Which, maybe, is the reason we are shock-proof and blasé about the roster of prominent names (Anil Ambani, Mira Nair, Anurag Kashyap) emerging from the Epstein Files. After all, who remembers or cares about the Panama Papers anymore?
One intriguing question: If Epstein was indeed all that shrewd, sharp and brilliant, why did he leave such a devastating trail of incriminating documents? Why didn’t he destroy all the evidence? Unless… he wanted the files to be unearthed. Since conspiracy theories are irresistible, here’s one more: Is Epstein really dead? Or is he having the last laugh, monitoring the havoc his files have unleashed? Mogambo khush hua, bhai.
“God is a construct. Cute girls are real,” declared Chopra to his good friend Epstein. Sure, Deepak. Cute girls are real. So are perverts.
Shobhaa De is an author, columnist, social commentator, and opinion-shaper. She has written 20 books. She tweets @DeShobhaa. Views are personal.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)