The Hindu Apologises for Front-Page Ad Praising Convicted Rapist Ram Rahim

India’s influential newspaper ‘The Hindu’ has issued an unconditional apology after facing strong criticism for publishing a full-page advertisement portraying convicted rapist Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh as a great spiritual leader. Titled “What is Dera Sacha Sauda? (Facts Versus Fiction)”, the advertisement appeared on the front page of the newspaper’s New Delhi and North India editions last Saturday.

The advertisement presented a positive image of the Dera Sacha Sauda chief. It also published several unverified claims made on behalf of the organisation, including that “7.5 crore people have been freed from drug addiction,” “35.40 crore trees have been planted,” “33.85 lakh units of blood have been donated,” and “22 Guinness World Records have been achieved.” However, no independent or neutral evidence was provided to support these claims.

The 59-year-old convicted rapist Mr. Ram Rahim is serving a 20-year prison sentence handed down by a CBI court for raping two female followers. He also faces several other charges, including murder, fraud, criminal conspiracy and intimidation. He has been acquitted in one of these cases, while another case is still pending.

He is currently outside prison on a 21-day temporary release, or parole. His frequent parole and furlough releases have repeatedly sparked public controversy in the past. The publication of the advertisement shocked many readers and journalists. As recently as June, The Hindu had published an infographic showing that Ram Rahim had spent around 13.5 percent of his sentence outside prison.

Against this backdrop, the decision to publish a promotional advertisement on the front page was seen as a sharp contradiction of the newspaper’s earlier position. Former students of the Asian College of Journalism also publicly criticised former The Hindu editor-in-chief N. Ram and Director Malini Parthasarathy for giving such prominent space to the organisation of a person convicted of rape.

In its apology, The Hindu said: “The Hindu deeply regrets the objectionable front-page advertisement titled ‘What is Dera Sacha Sauda? (Facts Versus Fiction)’ published in our Delhi, Mohali and North India editions. The said advertisement, among other claims, alleged that ‘drug mafia and various anti-Dera forces’ had conspired against convicted rapist Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh…” However, the newspaper did not provide any clear explanation as to how the advertisement was approved for publication.