Thursday, April 17, 2008

Indian Editor Vir Sanghvi Is Game But Is He Game Enough?

Recently, one of India's top editors, Vir Sanghvi of Hindustan Times, has written against Sathya Sai Baba.

However, his article lacks weighty arguments, and is far too impressionistic. He seems to have ducked out of sight of both Sai Baba protagonists and former devotee activists. Unlike Indian Today (and its courageous journalists like Vijay Thapa), the BBC, The Times of London, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian and other leading media in the world who have contacted key witnesses and closely examined crucial documentation, Vir Sanghvi has failed to consult with those best able to provide evidence of the sheer extent and good provenance of the allegations against Sai Baba. For security and because of the painful sensitivity for many witnesses, the great bulk of these cannot be broadcast in the public domain - e.g., via the Internet. 


Why do not Sanghvi and other Indian editors research and write something rigorously researched on Sai Baba and the myriad of allegations facing him? - that is to say, like Paul Lewis in The Guardian, or Dominic Kennedy and his team in The Times of London, or Mick Brown in The Daily Telegraph, or Michelle Goldberg for Salon.com, the ABC (Australia), television broadcasters DR (Denmark) and AZUL (Argentina), and other top journalists in several countries to whom we have been glad to provide access to victims, their families and other compelling witnesses. Sathya Sai Organization leaders like Indulal Shah (Mumbai), Dr Michael Goldstein (the Sai Baba cult's world head, a physician of Covena, California, USA, who so thoroughly disgraced himself in angry displays caught by BBC hidden camera in 'The Secret Swami', 2004), Dr G. Venkataraman (deputy world head, Puttaparthi, India), J. Jagadeesan (Malaysia) etc., who attempt to characterize media articles and documentaries as ‘sensational’ untruths.

Note:  

Many former devotees have given the utmost dedicated service - both in 
and far beyond the Sathya Sai Baba fold. 

They are happy to assist properly qualified investigators from the best quality media, Interpol, academic institutions, law courts, and so on.



1 comment:

Anonymous said...

People should read this.