Since last week, Indians have been witness to a real-life drama that wouldn’t have been out of place in a soap writer’s oeuvre. A self-proclaimed godwoman, about whom little was known in the past, suddenly became the subject of news headlines everywhere – not because police complaints have been filed against her, but because pictures showing her in a red mini-skirt made it to the internet.

Radhe Maa or Sukhvinder Kaur, who claims to be an incarnation of Durga, found arc lights trained on her soon after Rahul Mahajan, once a contestant on Bigg Boss, tweeted pictures of her in a skirt.

Claiming credit for “exposing” Radhe Maa, Mahajan told ABP News that self-styled saints rise to stardom since people are ready to follow them. “Calling Sukhvinder Kaur Radhe Maa would be an insult to the words radhe and maa,” he said, explaining that Radhe Maa doesn’t possess qualities that real saints do, such as spirituality and asceticism. “This is all a dhanda [business] and all of them have become dalals [touts].”

Even before her pictures in a dress hit social media, Radhe Maa was already drawn into a controversy. The Mumbai police have summoned her for questioning after a 32-year-old woman alleged that her husband and his family harassed her for dowry at Radhe Maa’s behest. This row was yet to die down when another complaint was filed against her, accusing her of driving a family of seven to suicide in Gujarat.

Known for her unique style of blessing which involves devotees lifting and carrying her, Radhe Maa is also in trouble because of an obscenity complaint that alleges that she allowed devotees to kiss her.

In her defence, Radhe Maa just said that she is “pure and pious”. Amidst all the trouble, she has also found some supporters, most prominent among whom is Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Vijay Sampla. The minister claimed on Monday that she has “special divine powers” and allegations against her are “baseless”. “Yes, I respect Radhe Maa and her style of preaching,” Sampla told the Hindustan Times. “Is it a sin? She is not controversial at all and all stories about her have been cooked by the media. There is no authenticity in the allegations against her.”

Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports claim that the row has inspired a movie based on her life, with Mallika Sherawat being roped in to play Radhe Maa. Still, it wasn’t her misadventures that got her fame on social media but her taste for flashy attire. Here’s a selection of some humour that flowed freely on Twitter:


#Radhe Maa . . . Seen This Cartoon ? pic.twitter.com/ReefObAC9R


— Bankim Mistry (@BankiMistry) August 11, 2015



Offered without comment. #RadheMaa pic.twitter.com/VHcUen2664


— Sarita A Tanwar (@SaritaTanwar) August 11, 2015



Once Radhe Maa hugged a man. pic.twitter.com/iO6UOxkL0a


— ThakurSaab. (@HathwalaThakur) August 11, 2015



Radhe Mao. pic.twitter.com/QOovrK811j


— Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) August 10, 2015



Before and after meeting Radhe Maa pic.twitter.com/w8xtGPRyw1


— Dilwala Bhaitard (@Bhaitard) August 11, 2015



#YoRadheMaaSoRed that the color of love is ‘Radhe Maa’


— Shambhvi (@Srivastava_Girl) August 10, 2015



Aasaram getting ready for #radhemaa #YoRadheMaaSoRed pic.twitter.com/GTEI51vz8L


— V (@killing__humor) August 10, 2015



Radhe Maa wasn’t Born, she was transferred through ‘Infra-Red’. #YoRadheMaaSoRed


— डूड है हम (@Nautankibaba) August 10, 2015



Radhe Maa does not read books, still she is a very well red person. #YoRadheMaaSoRed


— Sagarcasm (@sagarcasm) August 10, 2015



Q. What is Radhe Maa’s favourite festival? A. Tomatina, of course. #YoRadheMaaSoRed


— Rohan Dasgupta (@RohanDasgupta) August 10, 2015