Wendy Doniger expresses anger over Penguin’s decision to axe her book

mangaloretoday.com/ India Today

New Delhi, Feb 11: Wendy Doniger on Tuesday expressed her disappointment over Penguin Books India’s decision to withdraw all published copies of her book, The Hindus: An Alternative History.

"I was thrilled and moved by the great number of messages of support that I received, not merely from friends and colleagues but from people in India that I have never met, who had read and loved The Hindus, and by news and media people, all of whom expressed their outrage and sadness and their wish to help me in any way they could. I was, of course, angry and disappointed to see this happen, and I am deeply troubled by what it foretells for free speech in India in the present, and steadily worsening, political climate," said Wendy in her statement to India Today Group.

 

According to reports, Penguin Books India has succumbed to pressure by various groups and agreed to withdraw all published copies. Reports say that they have even agreed to destroy all the remaining copies of the book which are currently with the publisher.

While there is no official confirmation from Penguin, a copy of the agreement wherein Penguin cans the book has been leaked online and is doing the rounds on Twitter and Scribd.

The main contention of all petitioners is that the book insults and offends Hindus and Indians. The issues against the book range from factual errors, dates, maps, to use of psychoanalytical tools while viewing Vedic, Hindu and Indian gods.

The decision has been taken in light of a civil lawsuit against the company in 2011 by a group called Shiksha Bachao Andolan based in New Delhi. The book also has two other criminal complaints against it.

Wendy Doniger’s statement:

I was thrilled and moved by the great number of messages of support that I received, not merely from friends and colleagues but from people in India that I have never met, who had read and loved The Hindus, and by news and media people, all of whom expressed their outrage and sadness and their wish to help me in any way they could. I was, of course, angry and disappointed to see this happen, and I am deeply troubled by what it foretells for free speech in India in the present, and steadily worsening, political climate. And as a publisher’s daughter, I particularly wince at the knowledge that the existing books (unless they are bought out quickly by people intrigued by all the brouhaha) will be pulped. But I do not blame Penguin Books, India. Other publishers have just quietly withdrawn other books without making the effort that Penguin made to save this book. Penguin, India, took this book on knowing that it would stir anger in the Hindutva ranks, and they defended it in the courts for four years, both as a civil and as a criminal suit.

They were finally defeated by the true villain of this piece-the Indian law that makes it a criminal rather than civil offense to publish a book that offends any Hindu, a law that jeopardizes the physical safety of any publisher, no matter how ludicrous the accusation brought against a book. An example at random, from the lawsuit in question:

’That YOU NOTICEE has hurt the religious feelings of millions of Hindus by declaring that Ramayana is a fiction. "Placing the Ramayan in its historical contexts demonstrates that it is a work of fiction, created by human authors, who lived at various times........." (P.662) This breaches section 295A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).’

Finally, I am glad that, in the age of the Internet, it is no longer possible to suppress a book. The Hindus is available on Kindle; and if legal means of publication fail, the Internet has other ways of keeping books in circulation. People in India will always be able to read books of all sorts, including some that may offend some Hindus.