Empowerment at Beas: A New Era Begins as 45-year-old Jasdeep Singh Gill Ascends to Leadership

Radha Soami Satsang Beas Announces New Spiritual Leader

Jasdeep Singh Gill: The Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB), a spiritual organization based on the banks of the Beas river near Amritsar, has announced that its head, Gurinder Singh Dhillon, has nominated Jasdeep Singh Gill, a 45-year-old doctorate in chemical engineering from Cambridge and an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi alumnus, as its patron and’sant satguru’ with immediate effect. Gill has a PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Cambridge and a master’s degree in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under the exchange programme. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biochemical engineering and biotechnology from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.

Career Milestones: From Cipla to Spiritual Guidance

Gill stepped down as the chief strategy officer and senior management personnel of pharmaceutical company Cipla Limited, where he worked from 2019 till May 31, 2024. He was also associated with Ethris and Achira Labs Private Limited as a board observer. Earlier, he served at Ranbaxy as executive assistant to the CEO and at Cambridge University Entrepreneurs as the president and chairman. He has a Master’s Degree in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a Bachelors in Chemical Engineering from IIT Delhi. Gill will take over as the spiritual head only when Dhillon steps down, a senior functionary of the Dera told ThePrint.

Jasdeep Singh Gill: A Legacy of Engineering and Leadership

His father, Sukhdev Singh, is an ex-army man and is heading the management of the hundreds of satsangs of the Dera in India. Gill’s mother leads one of the hostels in the Dera complex at Beas. The Dera Sacha Sauda in Sirsa is a breakaway faction of the Radha Soami tradition. Dhillon took over as the head of the dera in 1990 from his maternal uncle Baba Charan Singh, who was its chief from 1951 till 1990. When Dhillon was announced as successor, he was in Spain and returned to take over the reins of the dera. In 2020, Dhillon found himself embroiled in the high-profile fraud case involving Shivinder and Malvinder Singh.

A statement by RSSB secretary Devender Kumar Sikri said: “Baba Gurinder Singh Dhillon has nominated Jasdeep Singh Gill, son of Sukhdev Singh Gill, as patron of the Radha Soami Satsang Beas Society with immediate effect from September 2, 2024. Jasdeep Singh Gill shall also succeed Baba Gurinder Singh Dhillon as the Sant Satguru of the Radha Soami Satsang Beas Society and will have the authority of giving initiation (naam),” Sikri said, “Baba Ji has expressed that, like he has received full support and love of the ‘sangat’ after Huzur Maharaj ji, he has wished and requested that the same love and affection be given to Jasdeep Singh Gill in carrying out his ‘sewa (service)’ as patron and sang satguru.”

Family and Legacy: Strong Ties to the Dera

Their mother, Nimmi Singh, was Baba Charan Singh’s daughter. However, ties soured after Malvinder dragged Dhillon and his family into the Ranbaxy case. He told the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court that Dhillon owed crores of rupees to his companies. According to the RSSB website, the dera has almost 5,000 branches in India and 90 abroad.

Its headquarters at Beas, spread across 3,000 acres, is a mini township in itself, complete with a massive satsang complex, residential areas, a school, and a hospital. Despite claiming to be completely apolitical, politicians flock to the RSSB during elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the dera in November 2022, and Dhillon met the PM in Delhi in February 2022. Union home minister Amit Shah visited the dera that year.