Jonathan Spollen

Jonathan Spollen
Born
Leonard Jonathan Spollen

1983
Ireland
Disappeared3 February 2012 (age 28)
Lakshman Jhula, Rishikesh
StatusMissing for 14 years and 14 days
Height6 ft (1.8 m)

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.[2] He went missing from the northern Indian tourist attraction of Rishikesh, sparking an international campaign to locate him,[3] which included his local TD, Eoghan Murphy, raising the issue in the Irish Parliament.[4] It is believed by several analysts that he may have joined a cloistered and extreme Hindu religious cult.[5][6][7] Others speculate that Spollen died in 2012, either as a result of drowning in the River Ganges,[8] or after having been attacked by a wild animal.[9]

Biography

Spollen has worked on stories including the Iranian nuclear programme,[10] the Hijab controversy in Ireland[11] and the 2009 Iranian Elections.[12] 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.[13]

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.[3][14] 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."[15][14] However, this claim has yet to be substantiated.

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."[16]

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.[17]

Spollen is still considered a missing person.[18] 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,[19] 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.[20]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Please help find Jonathan Spollen". www.findspollen.com.
  2. ^ Venkataramakrishnan, Rohan (2 May 2012). "Irish journalist Jonathan Spollen goes missing from Rishikesh". India Today. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
  3. ^ a b Bennett-Smith, Meredith (11 October 2012). "Jonathon Spollen, Missing Irishman, May Have Fallen Victim To Mysterious 'India Syndrome'". Huff Post.
  4. ^ "Topical Issue: The Search Effort for Jonathan Spollen - EoghanMurphy.ie". eoghanmurphy.ie.
  5. ^ "Lost and found: Missing in Rishikesh, India, the 'Land of Gods'". CNN. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  6. ^ "'Closure is my most hated word' - Mum of missing Irish journalist issues appeal to help find her son". Irish Independent. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  7. ^ 'A Death on Diamond Mountain. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  8. ^ "RYAN Chambers was a 21-year-old backpacker when he was last seen. The South Australian is not the only person to vanish here". news.com.au. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  9. ^ "Mother of missing Irish man in India still 'determined' to find him two years on". The Journel. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  10. ^ Jonathan Spollen (4 October 2009). "Iran's warhead date is anyone's guess". thenational.ae.
  11. ^ Jonathan Spollen (20 September 2008). "Hijab sparks controversy in Ireland". thenational.ae. Archived from the original on 14 January 2013.
  12. ^ Jonathan Spollen (23 June 2009). "Debating Ahmadinejad". thenational.ae.
  13. ^ Mary Fitzgerald (28 April 2012). "Jonathan Spollen: lost in India". irishtimes.com.
  14. ^ a b Carney, Scott (October 2012). "India Syndrome - death on the path to enlightenment". Details.
  15. ^ Scott, Carney (2017). "The Enlightenment Trap". Scott Carney. Foxtopus Ink. pp. 221–227. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  16. ^ "India Syndrome".
  17. ^ "The disappearance of Jonathan Spollen". BBC News. 27 February 2017. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  18. ^ 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.
  19. ^ "Irish man missing in India". The Irish Times. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  20. ^ "Requirements for a Visa Extension".
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