posted November 21, 2001 09:03 AM            

Indian guru's birthday hit by LTTE threat
By Mohammed Shafeeq, Indo-Asian News Service

Hyderabad, Nov 21 (IANS) A threat from Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers seems to have affected the birthday celebrations of a controversial Indian spiritual guru who has numerous high-profile disciples.

Tight security arrangements have been made for the 76th birthday celebrations of Sathya Sai Baba at the southern town of Puttaparthy, some 500 km south of Andhra Pradesh's capital city Hyderabad.

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who had been attending Sai Baba's birthday celebrations for the last two years, is keeping away this time as are several other VIPs.

The celebrations, which take place Friday, will be a low-key affair as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have threatened him for urging a compromise between the Tamils and Sinhalese in Sri Lanka.

The LTTE, which is fighting for a separate homeland for minority Tamils, had accused Sai Baba of being an agent of the Sri Lankan government. It had even warned British citizens against visiting Puttaparthy.

About 1,000 policemen have been deployed around his abode to maintain security.

Reports from the town said four patrolling squads had been pressed into service to guard the entry points. A central control room had also been opened to monitor the crowd of disciples.

Unlike last year when thousands of devotees thronged the town to attend his birthday celebrations, very few devotees turned up this year.

But sources close to Sai Baba said he himself wanted the celebrations to be simple. They also pointed out the gathering was large last year as Sai Baba was celebrating his 75th birthday.

On Tuesday, Sai Baba addressed invitees of Sathya Sai institutions and inaugurated a seminar on educational values. He asked his devotees to remain united.

Sai Baba's devotees from India and abroad shower him with costly gifts, mostly gold, on his birthday. The guru, who claims to have miraculous powers, has built a vast empire worth billions of rupees.

The small town where he resides has an airport, a super specialty hospital and a university, all built and managed by the Sathya Sai Trust. A massive project for providing drinking water to 400 villages in the drought-prone Anantapur district was another major charity done by Sai Baba.