A number of Indian media commentators, writers and intellectuals have expressed outrage at the way in which the SBAS and other Hindu extremists are imposing a communal code of censorship and that leading publishing houses like Penguin have caved in. In a letter to Penguin, Indian writer Arundhati Roy declared: “What are we to make of this? Must we now write only pro-Hindutva books? Or risk being pulled off the bookshelves in ‘Bharat’ [India] (as your ‘settlement’ puts it) and pulped? Will there be some editorial guidelines perhaps, for writers who publish with Penguin? Is there a policy statement?” Lawrence Liang, an attorney from the Bangalore-based Alternative Law Forum, filed a legal notice on Penguin over its withdrawal of The Hindus. Commenting on reports that Aleph had recalled Doniger’s book, he said: “It’s absolutely shameful and ridiculous. If you want a publisher to withdraw a book, all you have to do is file a police complaint. Reading has no future in this country.” An online petition launched by a group of leading Indian and international academics, including Partha Chatterjee and Romila Thapar, urged Penguin to “contest the suit against The Hindus through the higher courts, to ensure that a strong precedent upholding freedom of expression be established.” The Hindu extremists have gained the upper hand under conditions where the ruling Congress party, despite its claims to be “secular,” has connived with the Hindu right. Congress, which has held power in New Delhi for nearly a decade now, has failed to take any action against Modi over his state government’s role in 2002 anti-Muslim pogroms. Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh from the Congress party branded Penguin’s withdrawal of Doniger’s book as “atrocious” and described SBAS as a “Taliban-type outfit. .. distorting and destroying our [India’s] liberal traditions.” However, Congress has adapted to the Hindu right ever since it agreed to the 1947 partition of India by Britain that unleashed a communal bloodbath. Indian Stalinists have played the most treacherous role in paving the way for the Hindu right. The main Stalinist parliamentary parties—the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) and the Communist Party of India (CPI)—have worked tirelessly to politically subordinate the working class to the parties of the Indian bourgeoisie, from Congress to various regionalist and caste-based parties. By blocking any independent struggle by the working class to defend living standards, the Stalinists have opened the door for the Hindu right to posture as advocates for working people. wsws.org/en/articles/2014/04/01/book-a01.html
Posted on: Tue, 28 Oct 2014 23:46:13 +0000
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