In December 2019, Nithyananda declared that he had created 'Kailaasa' on an island off Ecuador in South America.
As per the official site, the fictional nation has a population of 100 million Adi Shaivites and 2 billion practicing Hindus.
Nithyananda is not alone when it comes to founding a country. There are five such micronations that existed before his Kailasa. They are Republic of Molossia, Liberland, Sealand, Republica Glaciar, and Principality of Pontinha.
Like Kailasa, the Republic of Molossia is another self-proclaimed nation founded by Kevin Baugh. It is located near Nevada in America and has a total population of 34 -- 30 humans and 4 dogs. It also has its own currency, Valora.
In April 2015, Wit Jedlica, a Czech politician, announced his own independent country, Liberland. It is situated on the banks of the Danube River between Croatia and Serbia and has a population of around 2.5 lakh.
In 1967, a former serviceman HM Fort Roughs founded Sealand on a military fortress, adjacent to the coast of England in the North Sea. Around 1970, the population of Sealand reached 70. But now around 27 people live here.
Republica Glaciar was founded by some Greenpeace activists in 2014. It is between Chile and Argentine. But the purpose of this was not to create a country but force the governments to protect the glacier.
The Principality of Pontinha is a micronation on an islet along the coast of a Portuguese island. This was created in 2007 by a teacher Renato de Barros, who bought the islet from a wealthy British family in 2000.
Nithyananda's Kailasa recently made headlines after its two representatives attended a discussion conducted by the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (CESCR) in Geneva.
On Kailasa's presence in the UN, the global body said its general discussions were public meetings open to anyone interested to participate. It, however, said Kailasa's submission 'will not be published' as it was irrelevant.