Aravinda & Jasmin Maheshwari

 

Saturday, May 24 th 2008

 

To the BBC

Having watched the video ”Indian town's sex abuse claims" (BBC Newsnight), we are shocked to see a piece of the basest kind of journalism aired on a BBC channel. 

We are familiar with Auroville, through having lived there, frequently visiting, and decades of service at International liaison level (Auroville International) in different countries. And while we appreciate that it isn't easy for a first-time visitor to understand the complex and sometimes delicate relationships between community and villages, nor perhaps to distinguish between Aurovilians and white visitors roaming in the area, we would have expected a BBC report to be based on a minimum of objectivity and verified information.

We had always considered BBC to uphold a high standard of professionalism, a belief that is shattered by this irresponsible, unresearched, mud-slinging tabloid video, hard to be classified as jounalism at all. We urge BBC to do some serious and meaningful enquiry into, and reporting on the reality of Auroville.

Aravinda & Jasmin Maheshwari

Auroville International,  South Africa Liaison

Canada :  Charlottetown PEI , C1A 3B2  

South Africa : Cape Town