Why UP CM Yogi Adityanath became a ‘poster boy’ in Nepal rally

LUCKNOW: The appearance of chief minister Yogi Adityanath's posters at a rally to welcome former Nepal king Gyanendra Bir Shah in Kathmandu has created a flutter in the Himalayan country, though the ties of the Gorakhsh Peeth, headed by Yogi, with its erstwhile monarchy is centuries old.
The Shah Dynasty, which ruled the country till 2006, when monarchy ended, calls itself Gorakhpanthi, or the follower of Baba Gorakhnath. Yogi, who heads the Goraksh Peeth, has been a strong votary for the 'Hindu nation' tag to the country. In fact, he was called by the pro-monarchy group in 2015 to address a rally in Kathmandu where he had made a strong pitch for reinstatement of Nepal's Hindu nation status.
"Nepal has 82% Hindus and a significant number of them revere Nath sect's Guru Gorakhnath and his spiritual guide Guru Matseyndranath as God. For them, communist dispensation and the growing China's influence has not been conducive, leading to fresh clamouring for the former king and Nepal's status as Hindu nation," says a political analyst.
Meanwhile, Pradeep Bikram Rana, who claimed to have waved the Yogi poster at the rally, landed in Gorakhpur on Tuesday. He claimed that he was being persecuted by the authorities in Kathmandu, forcing him to flee. Rana admitted to idolising Yogi as a symbol of Hindu pride, saying this had prompted him to wave the BJP politician's posters in Kathmandu.
"The connection between Nepal's former ruling dynasty and Gorakhsh Peeth is very old," says Dwarika Tiwari, who has been looking after the mutt's administration since 1972. King Birendra, who was assassinated along with his entire family in 2001, shared a strong bond with Mahant Avaidyanath, Yogi's guru. Once he came all the way to Gorakhnath Temple to offer khichdi himself on Makar Sankranti.
"Even today when monarchy has ended in Nepal, Rs 10,000 during Khichdi, Rs 5,000 on the first king's birthday and Rs 5,000 on Dussehra is sent to Goraksh Peeth as offering. The temple then sends prasad to the family through a temple representative every year," Dwarika told TOI.
"There is an old story that Guru Gorakhnath had blessed Prithvi Shah -- considered the first king of modern Nepal -- when he was a boy that his empire would flourish and expand wherever he would go. It is after this that Nepal, which was divided into several provinces, was unified," Dwarika said. There are several temples of the Nath sect in Nepal. "In fact many believe the famous Lord Pashupathi Nath temple is also of Nath sect founder Guru Gorakhnath," he added.
In August 2015, Yogi, who was then Gorakhpur MP, had visited Nepal and addressed a gathering of around 10,000 people demanding reinstating Nepal's status as a Hindu nation. Talking to TOI then, he had said: "I did demand declaring Nepal a Hindu rashtra as it was before, ban on cow slaughter and religious conversion." He had even written a letter to then Nepal PM Sunil Koirala demanding the same.
Therefore, whenever a voice for reinstating Nepal as a Hindu nation is raised, Goraksh Peeth head priest comes into picture. The Sunday incident was no different. The huge crowd that was present to welcome Gyanendra's return to Kathmandu after three months and the presence of Yogi's posters, a sign of support to Nepal as a Hindu nation, aligned with what Yogi had said then.
Gyanendra has met Yogi twice since he became the UP CM. He last met him in Jan this year in Gorakhpur on way to Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj. In 2018, months before Kumbh in 2019, the former king had met the CM at his official Kalidas Marg residence in Lucknow.