The recent story on alleged sexual abuse of minor girls as a part of initiation process in Isha foundation is an explosive expose by investigative journalist Shyam Meera Singh. Of late we see such exposes are carried out by independent journalists on social media platforms rather than by mainstream print or television media. The story is based upon some leaked emails between the controversial Godman Jaggi Vasudev also known as Sadhguru and two of his closest associates. The allegations are damning saying that minor girls were coerced into esoteric practices wherein they had to remove their top dresses and all this was done without permission or knowledge of their parents. It also highlighted that the practice was in knowledge of Jaggi Vasudev also. While there has been no official response from Isha foundation, online trolls are responding the usual way. Law enforcement agencies are conspicuously absent. There are several important issues involved and are reflective of both our society and polity The servility of mainstream media leaving such important questions to the freelancers, the unaccountability of law enforcement, disaffection of civil society and religious bodies and most importantly the inability and unwillingness of the larger society to question the dominant ideologically aligned religious groups even for such grave transgressions and moral turpitude. While much is said about criminalization of politics the concomitant criminalization of religion, corporate bodies and bureaucracy is not discussed at all. The abuse of religious authority and its alignment with political power is a threat to democratic process and the idea of public morality.
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