Leonard Jonathan Spollen[1] (born 1983) disappeared on 3 February 2012 while working as a journalist for the International Herald Tribune newspaper; he was formerly Assistant Foreign Editor of The National in Abu Dhabi.[citation needed] He went missing from the northern Indian tourist attraction of Rishikesh, sparking an international campaign to locate him,[2] which included his local TD, Eoghan Murphy, raising the issue in the Irish Parliament.[3] It is believed by several analysts that he may have joined a cloistered and extreme Hindu religious cult. [1] [2] [3] Others speculate that Spollen died in 2012, either as a result of drowning in the River Ganges [4], or after having been attacked by a wild animal.[5]
Jonathan Spollen | |
|---|---|
| Born | Leonard Jonathan Spollen 1983 |
| Disappeared | 3 February 2012 (age 28) Lakshman Jhula, Rishikesh |
| Status | Missing for 12 years, 8 months and 28 days |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Height | 6 ft (1.8 m) |
Biography
editSpollen has worked on stories including the Iranian nuclear programme,[4] the Hijab controversy in Ireland[5] and the 2009 Iranian Elections.[6] He read Philosophy and Politics at University College Dublin, before commencing postgraduate studies in 2004 focusing on the Near and Middle East at London's School of Oriental and African Studies.[7]
Disappearance and aftermath
editSome commentators have speculated that Spollen may have fallen prey to a supposed condition increasingly described as the India syndrome, which shares similarities with the alleged form of spiritual hysteria known as the Jerusalem syndrome.[2][8] Scott Carney, for example, states that Spollen: "fits the profile of the fervent young enthusiast of yoga, meditation, and Eastern thought who becomes lost—or worse—on a journey of spiritual self-discovery."[9][8] However, this claim has yet to be substantiated.[citation needed]
Placing this within the history of negative perceptions of non-Western cultures said to be characteristic of much Western analysis as contended by Edward Said, Hammmerbeck further states:
"This point of view parallels Said and other critics’ rather orthodox Orientalism, a clear thesis/antithesis between home and foreign cultures with no possible synthesis. The foreign other, in this case the guru as embodiment of Hindu mysticism, functions as a negative of Western values, consistent with the approach that Said and others propose as being the historical epistemology of Orientalism." [6]
On the fifth anniversary of his disappearance, the BBC News website published a major feature on Spollen, written by his former colleague and now BBC journalist Roland Hughes. [7]
Spollen is still considered a missing person.[10] Indian police and Irish authorities are calling for any information as to his whereabouts,[1] with the former also reportedly investigating Spollen for breaching Indian visa regulations [8], in the event that he has remained in the country. Overstaying a visa carries a maximum penalty under The Foreigners Act, 1946 of five years imprisonment with a fine and subsequent deportation from India. [9]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Please help find Jonathan Spollen". www.findspollen.com.
- ^ a b Bennett-Smith, Meredith (11 October 2012). "Jonathon Spollen, Missing Irishman, May Have Fallen Victim To Mysterious 'India Syndrome'". Huff Post.
- ^ "Topical Issue: The Search Effort for Jonathan Spollen - EoghanMurphy.ie". eoghanmurphy.ie.
- ^ Jonathan Spollen (4 October 2009). "Iran's warhead date is anyone's guess". thenational.ae.
- ^ Jonathan Spollen (20 September 2008). "Hijab sparks controversy in Ireland". thenational.ae.
- ^ Jonathan Spollen (23 June 2009). "Debating Ahmadinejad". thenational.ae.
- ^ Mary Fitzgerald (28 April 2012). "Jonathan Spollen: lost in India". irishtimes.com.
- ^ a b Carney, Scott (October 2012). "India Syndrome - death on the path to enlightenment". Details.
- ^ Scott, Carney (2017). "The Enlightenment Trap". Scott Carney. Foxtopus Ink. pp. 221–227. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
- ^ Jessica Ravitz (7 June 2014). "Lost and found: Missing in Rishikesh, India, the 'Land of Gods'". CNN. Archived from the original on 7 June 2014 – via archive.org.