Pontiff in Looking Glass Land

Indian Express Newspapers -- T. V. R. SHENOY : "I wish it were possible to talk about a simple ‘‘Jayendra Saraswati’’ — or of Subramaniyam of Irulneekki (which is what he was before taking sanyasa) — rather than ‘‘His Holiness the Shankaracharya of Kanchi’’. Sadly, his being Peethadipati of one of India’s best known religious institutions has polarised opinions.

With all due respect, may I point out to the Shankaracharya’s devotees that an immediate release from jail is the worst thing that could happen. Your Jagadguru has been charged in the court of public opinion with a variety of offences, ranging from the purely legal (murder, possibly defalcation) to the moral (lust). Everyone will say that he “escaped” because of his “connections” if he walks out sans trial. If you believe in his innocence, trust the courts to liberate him with his honour intact. And if you are looking for scriptural precedent, remember that this is a nation where Sita herself was asked to prove her chastity (twice) and Krishna was charged with theft (of the jewel Syamantaka).

The Supreme Court, on November 29, issued a notice to the Government of India on a public interest litigation that seeks the expeditious trial of criminal cases against influential persons. (The case was initiated by V.K. Ohri, citing the case against Union Minister Shibu Soren where the trial has been delayed for a quarter of a century.)

I am sure the Tamil Nadu authorities wouldn’t have acted without good reason, but some of the reasons dribbling out defy credibility. For instance, Jayendra Saraswati was arrested on Deepavali supposedly because there was a helicopter standing by to whisk him off to Nepal. HAL’s Advanced Light Helicopter, Dhruv, has a range of only 660 km. I am told the Pentagon has some choppers in its arsenal which can do about 700 km, and farther still with the addition of a fifth fuel tank. Oh well, I suppose we can be glad that nobody has leaked the information that President Bush too was in on the conspiracy. But who knows what awaits when we go through into Looking-Glass Land!"