Academics, writers decry Penguin's withdrawal of Doniger's book 'The Hindus'
NEW DELHI: Eminent academics, writers and lawyers have come out strongly against the withdrawal of American academic Wendy Doniger's book, The Hindus: An Alternative History, following a settlement between publisher
Penguin and petitioner Shiksha Bachao Andolan Samiti on Tuesday.
Noted Hindiliterary critic Namwar Singhtermed the act as an "attack on writers' freedoms". Having read Doniger's book, he said, he found it challenging. "It is not the kind of book that says 'yes sir' to everything. It challenges several beliefs. If Hindutva is so powerful and secure, it should tolerate it, and respond in kind. It is an open market, and the appropriate response to the written word is the written word itself, not a ban," said Singh.
Jeet Thayil, who came out in support of Salman Rushdie's banned book The Satanic Verses at the Jaipur Literature Festival in 2012, told TOI over phone that the development was "unfortunate". "It is unfortunate that a religion that is known for its tolerance is showing that fundamentalists are the same everywhere," says Thayil.
A number of leading academics have also jointly issued a statement against Penguin's decision to withdraw Doniger's book. The statement has been signed by the likes of historian Partha Chatterjee (Centre for Studies in the Social Sciences, Kolkata), Nayanjot Lahiri and Upinder Singh (department of history, Delhi University).
Senior Supreme Court advocate KTS Tulsi concurred with Singh's view of countering one book with another.
"There is a growing tendency of intolerance in a certain section of society against the letter and spirit of the Constitution. Penguin may have succumbed because they did not want to be physically attacked. It shows helplessness against unruly mobs. It is unfortunate that this should happen in India where we pride ourselves on freedom of speech," he says.
However, Dinanath Batra, convenor, Shiksha Bachao Andolan Samiti, and petitioner in the case, is a happy man. He says that with this move, his organization had "won the battle" but is yet to "win the war" against "faulty representation of Indian history and historical figures."
"The writer had heavily sexualized Hindu religious figures in the book. The book had a lot of dirt in it. This caused me a lot of pain and hurt my sentiments," said Batra.
Shiksha Bachao Andolan Samiti was registered in 2008 and is headquartered in Delhi. Ideologically, the group is right-wing and socially conservative and said to be associated with the RSS. When asked, Batra refused to confirm or deny the same.
In 2008, the Delhi high court had directed NCERT to remove 75 "objectionable" paragraphs from history textbooks following a petition by Batra. The organization has been active in the field of education in India, particularly in getting schoolbooks to reflect a history that, in Batra's words, "reflects India's pride". The group has also campaigned against sex education in schools.
Blacked out
The Satanic Verses, Salman Rushdie: The 1988 book was banned in India. In 2012, Rushdie was due to appear at the annual Jaipur Literature Festival, but cancelled his visit following reported threats from extremist groups. Even a video conference with the writer at the festival was stopped at the last moment.
El Sari Rojo, Javier Moro: Spanish author Javier Moro was sent a legal notice for his book on Sonia Gandhi. Abhishek Manu Singhvi was quoted in newspaper reports saying that Moro was "exploiting somebody's privacy for personal commercial gains."
Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India, James Laine: The Maharashtra state government ban the book in 2004" after demonstrations by Shiv Sena. The ban was briefly lifted in 2007 and then later again by the Supreme Court in 2010.
Three Hundred Ramayanas: Five examples and three thoughts on translations, A K Ramanujan: The Delhi University Academic Council dropped the essay from the history course after pressure from right wing groups. The ABVP had campaigned for the same since 2008. The essay was about 300 different versions of the Ramayana from across the world
.
(With inputs by Alisa Schubert Yuasa)
Academics, writers decry Penguin's withdrawal of Doniger's book 'The Hindus' - The Times of India
