This Week in Explainers: Why 150 policemen turned up at Sadhguru’s Isha Foundation

It’s been a busy, busy week, dominated by the news of the escalating conflict in West Asia. Israel launched a ground offensive in Lebanon, Iran struck back with a barrage of missiles and so on. But amidst this flurry of action emanating from the region, it’s been a chaotic time in India too.

The very well-known and reputed Isha Foundation, founded by Sadhguru, saw itself in the eye of the storm when 150 police personnel led by an additional superintendent of police rank officer from Coimbatore Rural Police raided the institute’s premises.

There was also the news of how the Supreme Court of India gave Atul Kumar, an 18-year-old student from Uttar Pradesh, a second chance at his college dream.

The Union Health Ministry’s new draft guidelines on passive euthanasia also was in the news after the Indian Medical Association asked for a review on the matter.

And the news in India would be incomplete if there wasn’t a political controversy. This week, it’s all thanks to Telangana Minister Konda Surekha who stirred the pot when she linked KT Rama Rao, or KTR, with the divorce of actors Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu.

We take a closer look at these big stories in our weekly wrap.

1) Let’s start with the good news. On Monday (September 30), the Supreme Court used its extraordinary powers to ask the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Dhanbad to admit 18-year-old Atul Kumar into the Electrical Engineering course. The teen from Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar had managed to crack the notoriously difficult Joint Entrance Examination. But missed out on the opportunity to secure his admission. What happened there? How did the apex court intervene? Read Kumar’s amazing life story and get inspired to do something great.

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2) Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, India’s coolest spiritual guru, was in the news this week after 150 policemen raided his Isha Foundation premises in Coimbatore. The raid occurred after Dr S Kamaraj, 69, a retired Tamil Nadu Agricultural University professor in Coimbatore, had filed a petition alleging his two daughters – Geetha Kamaraj (42) and Latha Kamaraj (39) – were being confined at the premises.

The matter reached the Supreme Court of India, which granted Sadhguru and his institute some relief when it stayed the police action and transferred the matter to itself from the Madras High Court, asking the Tamil Nadu police to file a status report.

Want to know more about this? Read our essay that details the entire controversy.

3) Movies and politics often mix in India. This week it happened when Telangana Minister for Forests and Environment Konda Surekha ignited a major controversy by linking the high-profile divorce of actors Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu to the working president of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) KT Rama Rao, commonly known as KTR.

The matter snowballed into a larger one with prominent figures such as actors Nagarjuna, Samantha, Naga Chaitanya, and Khushbu, as well as several BRS leaders wading into the row.

But who exactly is Konda Surekha? And what did she say?

4) Dying with dignity has often been discussed and debated. On this, the Centre, this week, drew up draft guidelines for passive euthanasia, laying down the circumstances when doctors could withdraw life support to terminally ill patients.

While human rights activists praised the move, India’s top medical body, the Indian Medical Association, has expressed reservations. RV Asokan, national president of the IMA, said that the proposed regulations will put doctors under legal scrutiny. Find out more on this, here.

5) The Earth welcomed a new companion this week — a rare ‘mini-moon’. The tiny asteroid named PT5 will orbit our planet until November 25. While this discovery is exciting, what makes it even more interesting is its Indian connection, especially with Hindu mythology. Want to know more? Our explainer has it all.

6) Delhi was made to relive the memories of the horrific Burari deaths this week as news emerged of a 50-year-old man and his four daughters being found dead in their Vasant Kunj house. The bodies were discovered after neighbours reported a foul odour emanating from the flat. Here’s more on the deaths and its eerie similarity to the 2018 case.

With this, we come to an end of our roundup of the big stories from India. Bookmark our page if you liked the way we explain the news.

Before you leave, here’s an interesting read. Read up on leptospirosis, the ailment that landed Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in the hospital.