Leonard Jonathan Spollen
(born 1983) disappeared on 3 February 2012 while working as a
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...
for the ''
International Herald Tribune'' newspaper; he was formerly Assistant Foreign Editor of ''
The National'' in Abu Dhabi. He went missing from the northern Indian tourist attraction of
Rishikesh, sparking an international campaign to locate him,
which included his local
TD,
Eoghan Murphy
Eoghan Murphy (born Dublin, 23 April 1982) is a former Fine Gael politician who was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Bay South constituency from 2016 until 27 April 2021, and previously from 2011 to 2016 for the Dublin South-East constitu ...
, raising the issue in the Irish Parliament. It is believed by several analysts that he may have joined a cloistered and extreme Hindu religious cult
Others speculate that Spollen died in 2012, either as a result of drowning in the River Ganges
The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...
br>
or after having been attacked by a wild anima
Biography
Spollen has worked on stories including the Iranian nuclear programme
The nuclear program of Iran is an ongoing scientific effort by Iran to research nuclear technology that can be used to make nuclear weapons. Iran has several research sites, two uranium mines, a Nuclear reactor technology, research reactor, an ...
, the Hijab controversy in Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
and the 2009 Iranian Elections. He read Philosophy and Politics at University College Dublin
University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...
, before commencing postgraduate studies in 2004 focusing on the Near and Middle East at London's School of Oriental and African Studies
SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury a ...
.
Disappearance and aftermath
Some 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
Jerusalem syndrome is a group of mental phenomena involving the presence of religiously themed obsessive ideas, delusions, or other psychosis-like experiences that are triggered by a visit to the city of Jerusalem. It is not endemic to one single ...
.Scott Carney
Scott Carney (born July 9, 1978) is an American investigative journalist, author and anthropologist. He's the author of five books: ''The Red Market, The Enlightenment Trap, What Doesn't Kill Us', The Wedge'' and'' The Vortex. ''Carney contributes ...
, 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."Edward Said
Edward Wadie Said (; , ; 1 November 1935 – 24 September 2003) was a Palestinian-American professor of literature at Columbia University, a public intellectual, and a founder of the academic field of postcolonial studies.Robert Young, ''Whit ...
, 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.
On the fifth anniversary of his disappearance, the BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
website published a major feature on Spollen, written by his former colleague and now BBC journalist Roland Hughes
Spollen is still considered a missing person.
in the event that he has remained in the country. Overstaying a visa carries a maximum penalty under The Foreigners Act, 1946
The Foreigners Act, 1946 is an Act of the Imperial Legislative Assembly enacted to grant the certain powers to the Interim Government of India in matters of foreigners in India. The Act was enacted before India became independent.
Provisions
T ...
of five years imprisonment with a fine and subsequent deportation from India
See also
* List of people who disappeared mysteriously: post-1970, List of people who disappeared
References
External links
Find Jonathan Spollen appeal website
Homepage
at The National
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spollen, Jonathan
1984 births
2010s missing person cases
Alumni of SOAS University of London
Alumni of University College Dublin
Irish journalists
Disappeared journalists
Missing people
Missing person cases in India
Possibly living people