There is no hiding to the fact that what we actually see on social media may or may not be true. Recently, a video surfaced online showing spiritual leader Sadhguru and a student having a private interaction.
In a conversation recorded between the two, Bilal tells Jaggi Vasudev, “The night you are meant to spend in the grave, you won’t be spending it outside anyways.”
In reply, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev (jokingly) says, “This guy is a proper Taliban here.”
Bilal was quick to ask what ‘Talibaniya’ actually is and Jaggi Vasudev clearly says, “Taliban, Taliban.” in the video.
In case you didn’t know, Taliban is ‘Sunni Islamic fundamentalist political movement’ currently waging war within Afghanistan. In fact, it is a terrorist group. After all these remarks, the LSESU demanded that Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev release a ‘formal apology’ for the islamophobic remarks against a student.
The LSE Student Union (LSESU) had this video recording of the conversation from March 27 in the institute’s premises and stated that it was “deeply disappointed in Sadhguru’s comments and views them as Islamophobic”.
Soon after, Jaggi Vasudev issued a clarification on his statement and even alleged that the video had been ‘mischievously edited. He then claimed that the word Taliban was used in India as meaning ‘over-enthusiastic’.
“This small video clip of a private conversation, which has been mischievously edited, is unfortunate. I would like to tell all those concerned that the word ‘Taliban’ in Arabic means an ‘ardent student’, which Bilal definitely is, as also the other two students are. This term is always used in India in relation to someone who is over enthusiastic. It is in that context that I was joking with Bilal, it is very unfortunate that it has been projected this way,” said Jaggi Vasudev.
“If this has in any way offended or insulted anybody, this was not the intent. This private conversation was mischievously edited, with what intent, I am unable to fathom. I wish to anyway apologize to the London School of Economics and the Students Union if it offended any of you in some way,” he stated.
But LSESU was in no mood to listen to Sadhguru’s words. “LSESU stands firmly on our above stance and deem the comments to be Islamophobic. We do not believe the video was “mischievously edited” and have heard no reports supporting the common use of ‘Taliban’ in India as meaning over-enthusiastic,” said the student union on its social media page.
“We believe that individuals who have many followers, hold power and status, and claim to promote tolerance, should be aware of and sensitive, to the political and extremist connotations attached to the word ‘Taliban’ in our current context. Casual Islamophobia such as this perpetuates the culture of misunderstanding and judgement. This is especially relevant given recent spates of terror against Muslims in Britain, New Zealand and around the world.”
When TNM contacted the ISHA foundation, officials told TNM, “They must release the whole video and not selectively. Then in the context of the conversation, the truth will come out,” says an office bearer. “The Student Union elections are coming up in LSE, that is why they are doing all this now.”
Indian sites like Scroll.in and TheWire were caught spreading fake news as they targeted Sadhguru. Watch the video below to get complete clarity on the incident.
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