Gail Tredwell (born 1958) is an Australian author. She was born in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. Tredwell served

Mata Amritanandamayi Mātā Amritānandamayī Devī (born Sudhamani Idamannel; 27 September 1953), often known as Amma ("Mother"), is an Indian Hindu spiritual leader, guru and humanitarian, who is revered as 'the hugging saint' by her followers. In 2018, she w ...

, known more frequently as simply Amma, for 19 years (1980-1999) as a disciple. Her autobiography, ''Holy Hell: A Memoir of Faith, Devotion, and Pure Madness'', was published in November 2013 by Wattle Tree Press, Maui, Hawai'i.

Controversy

Gail Tredwell's biography led to a controversy during in 2014 in Mata Amritanandmayi's Ashram. The book alleges that a senior follower of the ashram, Balu, had sexually abused the author for several years. It also alleged that Amritanandamayi behaved rudely and aggressively, abusing the author for several years. After publishing the book ''Holy Hell'', the first interview with Tredwell was published by Daily Indian Herald, an online news source. The mainstream media of Kerala was reluctant to report these allegations. A few news sources however broke the story. Later, other news channels telecasted exclusive interview with Tredwell in two episodes, disregarding legal notices from the Amritanandamayi Ashram. Kairali TV managing editor John Brittas went to New York for this interview with Tredwell. The Ashram initiated legal proceedings against two news channels and also against news anchor John Brittas. The

Press Club of India Press Club of India (PCI) is an association of journalists and media professionals in New Delhi, India. Founded by Durga Das in 1957, it is the oldest organization of its kind in the country. It is led by an annually elected executive body, wh ...

asked Amritanandamayi Ashram in Kerala to withdraw the case. In accordance with an order from

Ernakulam Ernakulam () is the Central Business District of the city of Kochi in Kerala, India and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Many major establishments, including the Kerala High Court, the office of the Kochi Municipal Corporation a ...

Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, on 11 March 2014,

Kerala Police The Kerala Police is the law enforcement agency for the Indian state of Kerala. Kerala Police has its headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital. The motto of the force is "Mridhu Bhave Dhrida Kruthye" which means "Soft in Temperamen ...

registered a case against Tredwell along with media organizations who reported the news, in response to a petition. The case was booked under Sections 153A (Promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), 298 (uttering words, etc., with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the

Indian Penal Code The Indian Penal Code (IPC) is the official criminal code of India. It is a comprehensive code intended to cover all substantive aspects of criminal law. The code was drafted on the recommendations of first law commission of India established in ...

Malayalam translation of ''Holy Hell''

''Holy Hell'' was translated into Malayalam It became an immediate sensation, but the publication of the book was stayed by the Supreme Court of India following the complaints made by the Math.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tredwell, Gail Australian autobiographers Living people Articles created or expanded during Women's History Month (India) - 2014 1958 births