The First Terrorist Group to Threaten the U.S.: The Rajneesh Cult of India

Back in the 1980s, if you called the Rajneesh cult living in Antelope, Oregon (which they renamed Rajneeshpuram) a terrorist group--they'd probably terrorize you for even insinuating such a thing. And so it was with the complex contradictions of the Rajneesh cult who communed for four years in this dot on the map town in Wasco County up in the northern regions of my home state. The cult was started in India via a religious leader named Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh who had developed a strong following, yet started developing serious health problems by the early 1980's. It led him to the United States for better medical care--and hence his personal secretary buying a ranch in Antelope in late 1981 where the cult moved to thrive without any supposed disturbances.

Does a cult leader with a health problem sound a little familiar? Well, the Rajneesh tribe was far from being comparable to Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda because they valued their own life. They nevertheless will forever be on record as being a terrorist group, because they managed to impose bioterrorism via food poisoning on unsuspecting citizens in The Dalles (pronounced "The Dahlz") that still gives Oregonians shivers knowing it's the worst bioterrorism attack the U.S. has ever seen so far. It also was the first terrorism attack of its kind on the mainland.

Evidence exists, too, that they were planning larger-scale attacks against influential people in Oregon just so the cult could gain the political purse strings to make things go their way in Antelope. All of this was the still-arguable realization that Bhagwan had nothing to do with it and his henchwoman making all the calls. You see, there's that little thing about Indian spiritual leaders believing in love, peace and understanding.