Not just Nithyananda's Kailasa, these ‘micronations’ will also leave you puzzled
2 min read . Updated: 10 Mar 2023, 01:27 PM IST
PremiumKailasa came into limelight after its representative attended a United Nations meeting. Let's know about some more micronations that exist in the world.
Representation of a country founded by self-styled godman Nithyananda at the United Nations evoked sharp responses in social media. Later, the United Nations clarified that Kailasa's people didn't join the meeting as a representative of the nation but of an NGO. The incident has sparked interest among netizens about the existence of such nations. However, it is not the only self-proclaimed nation in the world, and the list is very long. Such nations are known as ‘micronations’. Find out about some of the interesting micronations that exist in the world.
Micronations
According to Collins English Dictionary, a micronation is typically existing only on the internet or within the private property of its members. Such an area is claimed to have a sovereign status as an independent nation by its people. The status is unrecognised by real nations and global organisations. Such nations lack the legal basis in international law for their existence.
Kailasa
Name of the micronation, ‘Kailasa’, draws its origin from Mount Kailash in Tibet. The nation is governed by a self-styled godman, Nithyananda, who once had a huge fan following in India and abroad and was arrested in 2010, over sex scandal. According to media reports, the island nation is located off the coast of Ecuador. However, there are no visuals of the nation.
Rajneesh Puram
The micronation might not find its place on the Internet but has a docu-series titled ‘Wild Wild Country’ based on it on Netflix. The micronation was formed by the followers of Osho, an Indian spiritual leader, who was also known as Bhagwan Shi Rajneesh. His full name was Chandra Mohan Jain. The micronation is located at 64,000 acres of the former Big Muddy Ranch in Oregon.
Asgardia
The micro-nation seems to draw inspiration from Marvel's Asgard, and also has a huge connection with freedom in space. According to the nation's website, Asgardia was founded by Igor Ashurbeyli. The website claims Asgardia to be the first space nation, which is a unique international community. The nation has a population of 10.95 lakhs and has its own parliament, and election process.
Liberland
The sovereign state is located between Croatia and Serbia on the west bank of the Danube River. The website of the micronation claims that its existence came out of a border dispute between Croatia and Serbia. The land was not claimed by either the nation or any other private entity. Later, Vít Jedlička and Jana Markovicova proclaimed it as the Free Republic of Liberland on 13 April 2015. The micronation has an area of around 7 km².
Nation of Celestial Space
Nation of Celestial Space, was another micronation formed to prevent space hegemony. It was founded by T Mangan in 1949. According to its official website, the micro nation claimed to have 19 members in the beginning.
