Legality of Book Banning

1

Legality of Book Banning

(Group B6)

Law and Language - I

Submitted by

Vrinda Vinayak

Roll No. 76LLB14

Submitted to:

Dr. Prasannanshu

2014

National Law University, Delhi

2

Table of Contents

Serial No. Chapter Page

1 Acknowledgements 3

2 Background and Introduction 4

3 Methodology 9

4 Observation table 11

5 Results and Analysis 79

6 Discussion 86

7 Conclusions 92

8 References 94

3

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I feel very privileged in expressing my gratitude to Dr. Prasannanshu for permitting me to move

forward with this research project and providing valuable inputs. This project could not have

been completed but for his constant motivation and able guidance.

I would like to thank Dr. Priya Rai, Chief Librarian, National Law University Delhi, for

enabling me to utilize the library resources efficiently.

I also extend my gratitude towards my parents and my classmates who encouraged me and

assisted me directly or indirectly with my research.

Vrinda Vinayak

1st year

B.A. LL.B. (Hons.)

National Law University

Delhi

4

Background and Introduction

1.1 What is Book Banning?

“Don’t join the book burners. Don’t think you are going to conceal faults by concealing

evidence that they ever existed.” –Dwight D. Eisenhower, Speech at Dartmouth College,

14th June, 1953

“The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.”

–Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1891

Simply stated, book banning is a form of censorship. It is the practice of banning and

withdrawing from circulation, certain books based on perceived notions of social,

political or moral obscenity. (Blume, 1999) The censorship of literature on the charge

of obscenity appears to have begun in the early 19th century. The rise of the middle

class, who had evangelical backgrounds, brought about this concern with obscenity

(Robert, 1965).

Book burning has been in practice since the 7th Century BC, when Jehoiakim, King of

Judah, burned part of the prophet Jeremiah's scroll. It is the practice destroying written

material by setting fire to it. It is generally done ceremonially, in public, to generate

public condemnation of the material. Book banning is a civilised form of the vice of

book burning, which is a sure sign of fascism (Noorani, 2007).

"Almost every country places some restrictions on what may be published, although

the emphasis and the degree of control differ from country to country and at different

periods."( McLintock, 2009).

5

1.2 Background of Book-Banning in India

“What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist.” ―Salman

Rushdie.

The British raj did not confer basic fundamental rights on its subjects. The constitution of India

recognises that citizens are entitled to such rights. Article 19 (a) of the Indian Constitution

clearly states that all citizens shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression. The

British Raj in India in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was characterised by indecision

regarding matters of free expression.

“…the bureaucracy had not resolved the inherent ideological tension between theoretical

adherence to democratic ideas and ultimate recourse to repression as a means of political

survival.”(Chandran, 2010)

This is brought out starkly in the official communication between Lord Morley, secretary of state

for India at the India Office in London and Lord Minto who was the viceroy in India. The liberal

in Morley was opposed to imposing restrictions on freedom of expression in India, while Lord

Minto understood the realpolitik that demanded strict action against errant journalists and

writers. In a letter dated 19 May 1908, an exasperated Minto wrote to Morley (quoted by Barrier

1976: 21):1 The modern House of Commons is absolutely incapable of understanding Indian

humanity and the influence of many creeds and traditions, and is to my mind perhaps the greatest

danger to the continuance of our rule in this country.

Needless to say, subsequent acts of violence by Indians even in London, for instance, the

assassination of Sir William Hutt Curzon Wyllie by Madan Lal Dhingra in 1909 convinced

Morley of the necessity of stringent action, including tight con- trols over the press in India. This

resulted in stricter application of the various laws on printed matter from 1910 up to the year of

India’s indepuendence in 1947 (Chandran, 2010).

6

1.3 Introduction to Legality of Book-Banning

Laws framed during the British Raj were used by the newly liberated colony to gag the

press and literature. Major laws used to curb literature, like the Customs Act, the Post

Office Act, the Official Secrets Act, the Press Registration Act of 1867, and Sections

124, 153 and 252 of the Indian Penal Code, retain the major tenets they contained

when originally drafted by the British (Chandran, 2010).

Under the Indian Constitution and law, the Right to Expression is subject to 'Reasonable

Restrictions'. Article 19, which under its clause 1(a) gives all citizens the right "to freedom of

speech and expression;" goes on in the very next clause, clause 2, to state:

"Nothing in sub clause (a) of clause ( 1 ) shall affect the operation of any existing law, or prevent

the State from making any law, in so far as such law imposes reasonable restrictions on the

exercise of the right conferred by the said sub clause in the interests of the sovereignty and

integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order,

decency or morality or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence"

To ban a book in India, the government takes recourse to two statutes. One is the Customs Act

1962, by this act the government prevents the import of the books in India, thus, in a way prevent

the circulation of the. The other method is to confiscate the books published or sold in India.

This power is derived from section 95 of Criminal Procedure Code 1973, which empowers the

state government to declare “forfeited to the government” any newspaper, document or book

which, in its opinion, offends against the following provisions of the penal code; namely, S 124-

A (“sedition”), S 153-A (promoting ill will “between different…groups” based on religion,

language, caste, etc), S 153-B (imputing disloyalty to the country to any such group); S 292

(obscene literature); S 293 (sale of obscene literature to the young); or S 295-A (insult to

religious feelings of any group of citizens with “deliberate and malicious intention of outraging

the religious feelings” of that class) (Noorani, 2007).

7

The government, however use these provisions to serve its political intentions. There are many

instances of book banning, where the governments have banned the books invoking the above

mentioned sections of Indian Penal Code and subsequently, the judiciary has also quashed these

unqualified bans, securing the freedom of expression of the citizens.

Section 11 (1) of the Customs Act, 1962 reads:

If the Central Government is satisfied that it is necessary so to do for any of the purposes

specified in sub-section (2), it may, by notification in the official gazette, prohibit either

absolutely or subject to such conditions (to be fulfilled before or after clearance) as maybe

specified in the notification, the import or export of any specified description.”

Sub-section (2) says:

The purposes referred to in sub-section (1) are the following:

(a) The maintenance of the security of India

(b) The maintenance of public order and standards of decency or morality

(i) The prevention of dissemination of documents containing any matter which is

likely to prejudicially affect friendly relations with any foreign state or is

derogatory to national prestige

(ii) The prevention of the contravention of any law for the time being in force; and

(iii) Any other purpose conducive to the interests of the general public

This provision is patently unconstitutional for the following reasons (Noorani, 2007):

First, the grounds go far beyond those mentioned in Article 19(2) of the Constitution on which

alone the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression may validly be restricted.

Neither "national prestige" nor "the interests of the general public" figure there. As the Supreme

Court pointed out in the Sakal Papers Case (1962), this precious right "cannot, like the freedom

to carry on business, be curtailed in the interests of the general public". Secondly, Article 19(2)

says that the restrictions must be "reasonable". The court has ruled repeatedly that a provision

which confers unfettered power or which does not provide for appeal to an independent body is

unreasonable. Section 128 of the Act provides for appeal from Caesar to Caesar; from the

8

collector to the board of revenue and from an official of lower rank to the appellate collector of

customs. Thirdly, it is manifestly unreasonable that even after its clearance, the book's

circulation should de- pend on the will of the customs.

But, the trend of banning of book in India is decreasing with the passage of time. This

welcoming decrease in the trend shall be attributed to the active role of Judiciary in India, which

has presented a liberal outlook towards book banning and limited the scope of grounds of book

banning.

9

Methodology

The method of doctrinal research has been applied, which implies the collection and analysis of

data from secondary research materials such as books, articles, etc. The research is not based on

empirical method of research which includes surveying, collection of primary data through

questionnaires, etc.

The project has been prepared with the dual approach of analysing the legality of book banning.

The dual approach of the project includes a study and analysis of general articles on book

banning (either in favour of or against) and the study of specific instances of book banning.

A table is a collection of related data held in a structured format within a database. It consists

of fields (columns), and rows.

An observation table has been prepared for crisp presentation of the data. Our learned teacher, Dr

Prassananshu’s brainchild, the observation table, is an effective way to prepare and present our

research projects, and presents the following advantages:

It makes a greater impact on the reader than full sentences.

It enables relationships between the observation, comments and keywords.

It condenses detailed information and thus, avoids complexity and redundancy

It acts as a summary of detailed information

In the observation table, the researcher has mentioned, observed and analysed all those articles,

which have been studied for the purpose of this research project. The observation table includes

six columns viz. serial number, source, observation, comments of the researcher, keyword 1 and

keyword 2. Under the column of observation, some excerpts of the mentioned article in the

respective source column have been taken. Having taken the observations from an article, the

researcher has given his comments on that excerpt or on the article. The column of key words is

significant in giving a direction to the observation table and the project as a whole. The basis for

the first keyword is reasons that can be inferred from the observation as being in favour of

banning books; the basis for the second keyword column is the reasons which can be inferred

from the observation as being against the practice of banning books.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_(information)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Database

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_(computer_science)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Column_(database)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Row_(database)

10

The various categories of classification on both basis have been listed below, so that the reader

can conveniently identify the nature of observation and the reason of it being classified under a

specific category.

Reasons in Favour of Book-Banning:

1. Political Issue

2. Social Issues – It is a broad category, which has been sub-categorized into:

exertion of external influence

behavioural norms and public morality

communalism

public sentiment with respect to obscenity and vulgarity

racial issues

perpetuation of enmity and inequality between various social classes

3. Religious Issues – This is the broadest category. It has been sub-categorized as:

offending the sensibilities of a particular religious group

making a mockery of a revered religious figure

blasphemy

fundamentalism/extremism

influence of the dominant religious group

4. Historical Issues

5. Legal Issues

Reasons against Book-Banning:

1. Democratic Values (Freedom of Speech and Expression) as guaranteed by Article 19(1) of

the Constitution of India.

2. Spreading Awareness

3. Academic Development

4. Misinterpretation and Fear of ‘Possible’ Consequences

5. Legal Aspect

11

Observation Table

S.No SOURCE

Include name

of the

author(s),

year, title,

publisher and

page number.

OBSERVATION

Include the excerpt

that the researcher

finds interesting for

his study

COMMENTS OF

RESEARCHER

KEY

WORD 1

(Reason

for

Banning

the Book)

KEYWOR

D 2

(Reasons

against

Banning

the Book)

1 Clause 2,

Article 19,

Indian

Constitution

"in the interests of the

sovereignty and

integrity of India, the

security of the State,

friendly relations with

foreign States, public

order, decency or

morality or in relation

to contempt of court,

defamation or

incitement to an

offence"

These are the

reasons laid out by

the Indian

Constitution on

which the state

might restrict the

Right to Freedom of

Speech and

Expression.

Legal

Aspect

2 Clause 2,

Article 19,

Indian

Constitution


sovereignty and





order, decency or



These are a wide

variety of reasons,

and with suitable

interpretation, this

can be used to ban a

number of books on

the whims of the

government.

Legal

Aspect

12

defamation or

incitement to an

offence"

3 Clause 2,

Article 19,

Indian

Constitution


sovereignty and





order, decency or



defamation or

incitement to an

offence"

The phrase 'friendly

relations with

foreign States'

implies that the

Indian Government

has the authority to

ban a book even if it

does not humiliate

anyone inside Indian

borders, but hurts

the sentiments of

any group within

any foreign State

Legal

Aspect

4 Clause 2,

Article 19,

Indian

Constitution


sovereignty and





order, decency or



defamation or

incitement to an

offence"

The Constitution

thus gives it

considerably wide

censorship powers.

In practise however

these are subject to

the opinions and the

responses of the

civil society, as

stated in the

comment above.

Freedom

of Speech

and

Expressio

n

5 Noorani, A.G.,

“Book

Banning”,

Books are banned by

recourse to two

statutes. One method

In this article, the

author has explained

the due legal process

Legal

Issues

13

Economic and

Political

Weekly,

December 1,

2007, pp. 10-

11.

is to prevent their

import from outside;

another is to

confiscate books

published or sold

here….. The other

method is to use

Section 95 of the

Criminal Procedure

Code, 1973……. It

empowers the state

government to declare

“forefeited to the

government” any

newspaper, document

or book which, in its

opinion, offends

against the following

provisions of the

penal code; namely, S

124-A (“sedition”), S

153-A (promoting ill

will “between

different…groups”

based on religion,

language, caste, etc),

S 153-B (imputing

disloyalty to the

country to any such

group); S 292

(obscene literature); S

that the government

adopts to ban a

book. He has also

identified the

loopholes through

which book banning

can be enforced by

the government for

its selfish motives.

The author has

discussed the

validity of law

through a series of

cases, in which the

provisions regarding

the book banning

have been

interpreted.

14

293 (sale of obscene

literature to the

young); or S 295-A

(insult to religious

feelings of any group

of citizens with

“deliberate and

malicious intention of

outraging the religious

feelings” of that class

6 Chandran,

Mini, “The

Democratizati

on of

Censorship:

Books and the

Indian

Public”,

Economic and

Political

Weekly,

October 2,

2010, pp. 27-

31

The alarming trend in

India today is

censorship by the

mob, or in other

words, the true

democratisation of

censorship, where it

has ceased to be a

punitive measure

wielded by the

government. The

trajectory of literary

censorship from the

days of the British Raj

to the present shows

that even as the courts

have increasingly

stood for free

expression, the mob

demands the

suppression of

Social

Issues:

External

Influence

(Mobocrac

y)

15

material antithetical to

its views… However,

it is this culture of

responsible reading

that the mob or the

amorphous public

seems to have

abdicated willingly

when it comes to the

offence of blasphemy

in literature. There

seems to be an extra-

judiciary censorship

in place in such cases,

for most of these

books have never

reached the courts in

India.

7 Banning

History

Economic and

Political

Weekly, Vol.

39, No. 3 (Jan.

17-23, 2004),

pp. 212-213

History, as has been

claimed by several of

its practitioners, can

only form an interim

report. It is ever open

to interpretation, to

'revision' and

alteration based on

constantly emerging

new

evidence/learning.

Here, the author

condemns the

banning of Shivaji:

Hindu King in

Islamic India, on the

grounds that history

becomes both a

crutch for those who

want status quo and

a site for exploration

for those who seek a

socio-historical

Academic

Developm

ent

http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/4414509?Search=yes&resultItemClick=true&searchText=shivaji&searchText=hindu&searchText=king&searchText=in&searchText=islamic&searchText=india&searchText=banning&searchText=history&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dshivaji%2Bhindu%2Bking%2Bin%2Bislamic%2Bindia%2Bbanning%2Bhistory%26amp%3Bacc%3Doff%26amp%3Bwc%3Don%26amp%3Bfc%3Doff


16

grounding for new

ideas, concepts and

developments.

While the political

class tries to capture

these developments

as and when it is of

consequence, it is

important that

academia

consistently keeps

the discipline open

to any and all

academic

exploration and

interpretation.

8 Banning

History

Economic and

Political

Weekly, Vol.

39, No. 3 (Jan.

17-23, 2004),

pp. 212-213

History, as has been

claimed by several of

its practitioners, can

only form an interim

report. It is ever open

to interpretation, to

'revision' and

alteration based on

constantly emerging

new

evidence/learning.

For academic

development, it is

important to not

only preserve

historical resources

but allow free access

to it.

Freedom

9 Chandran,

Mini, “The

Democratizati

on of

The Satanic Verses

created a controversy

in England where it

was launched in 1988

It was felt that The

Satanic Verses

would offend the

sensibilities of

Religious

Issues:

Offending

Sensibiliti



17

Censorship:

Books and the

Indian

Public”,

Economic and

Political

Weekly,

October 2,

2010, pp. 27-

31

…There were riots in

Bombay that left 14

people dead, and

finally Prime Minister

Rajiv Gandhi was

forced into imposing a

ban, “because it was

felt that it might hurt

the feelings of certain

groups of people”

(quoted by Shourie

1993: 327).

Muslims which

could lead to

violence and riots.

es

10 Chandran,

Mini, “The

Democratizati

on of

Censorship:

Books and the

Indian

Public”,

Economic and

Political

Weekly,

October 2,

2010, pp. 27-

31

This growing public

intolerance should be

seen in juxtaposition

with that other hand

of censorship, namely,

the judiciary.

Interestingly, here we

see a complete turn-

around from the

period immediately

after independence.

Hence, the

unexpurgated novel

was banned in India in

1964. The court gave

a landmark definition

to define the term

obscenity. The

Falling back on vari-

ous judgments in

other countries, his

final decision was

that (quoted in Shah

1968: 101):

“obscenity without a

preponderating

social purpose or

profit cannot have

the constitutional

protection of free

speech”. Moreover,

it would not be an

ideal role model for

the regional

literature of India

that was finding its

Legal

Aspect

18

significant part is that

the court has very

successfully related

the term obscenity

with society, though it

becomes subjective.

own feet.

11 Chandran,

Mini, “The

Democratizati

on of

Censorship:

Books and the

Indian

Public”,

Economic and

Political

Weekly,

October 2,

2010, pp. 27-

31

One of the first books

to be banned by the

Supreme Court of

India was D H

Lawrence’s Lady

Chatterley’s Lover in

1964.... Chief Justice

Hidayatullah, who

pronounced the

verdict, was

confronted with the

vexing issue of the

legal definition of

obscenity. The

questions were: (1)

whether the unexpur-

gated novel, when

taken as a whole,

contained obscenity

that could de prave

and corrupt readers,

and (2) whether the

constitutional

protection provided to

The judge’s

observation was that

the obscenity in the

novel did appeal to

the baser instincts of

readers and could

have a corrupting

influence.

Social

Issues:

Obscenity

and

Vulgarity

19

free speech could be

extended to obscenity

as well.

12 Chandran,

Mini, “The

Democratizati

on of

Censorship:

Books and the

Indian

Public”,

Economic and

Political

Weekly,

October 2,

2010, pp. 27-

31

The courts, however,

did not maintain this

rigidity of stance vis-

a-vis literature in the

years to come. Very

often, they have

become the protectors

of free speech in cases

where charges were

levelled against

writers. Although

books have been

brought to court on

obscenity charges,

there are very few that

have been legally

banned.

The judiciary in

India is now

increasingly moving

towards protecting

the fundamental

right of Freedom of

Speech and

Expression over

protecting the

sentiments, religious

or otherwise, or

selected groups of

people.

Legal

Aspect

13 Banerjee,

Sumanta,

‘Fahrenheit

451’: Empty

Bookshelves

and Closed

Minds,

Economic and

Political

Weekly,

The two events – and

the reactions from the

political bigwigs – not

only indicate the

pathetic level of

enlightenment and

intellectual

understanding among

our public and

politicians, but also

In this extract, the

author refers to the

instances of banning

of Dwikhandito(

autobiographical

work of Tasleema

Nasrin, which was

banned in West

Bengal ) and

Shivaji: Hindu King

Political

Issues

20

January 24,

2004, pp. 318-

319.

raise important

questions about the

wisdom of arbitrary

official ban on

dissenting literature in

general, and the

validity of

manipulated popular

campaigns against

such literature that

often prompt the

banning, in particular

in Islamic

India(book by James

Laine). The author

argues that these

bans were preceded

by a series of

agitations by the

interested pressure

groups and the

government

conceded to such

demands just

because of its

political interests..

The author calls it

stupidity on the part

of the governments

to concede to such

demands and

unfortunately

governments do

concede to such

demands.

14 Banerjee,

Sumanta,

‘Fahrenheit

451’: Empty

Bookshelves

and Closed

Minds,

But, if it is a

demonstration by

religious bigots –

whether Hindus or

Muslims, however

violent they might be,

and however

The political parties

always concede to

the demands of

every religion

irrespective of its

rationale and

intellectual

Religious

Issues (

Demands

of Specific

Dominant

Groups)

21

Economic and

Political

Weekly,

January 24,

2004, pp. 318-

319.

monstrous their

demands could be –

these same state

governments

(irrespective of their

political hues) are all

too eager to placate

them

understanding. In

simple words, the

author tries to say

that the banning of

books by the

governments is an

effort to placate the

religious and

regional demands of

various pressure

groups, who even

lack intellectual

understanding of

their demands of

banning the

dissenting literature

and are ignorant

about the content

and implications of

the literature.

15 Banerjee,

Sumanta,

‘Fahrenheit

451’: Empty

Bookshelves

and Closed

Minds,

Economic and

Political

Weekly,

But, if it is a

demonstration by

religious bigots –

whether Hindus or

Muslims, however

violent they might be,

and however

monstrous their

demands could be –

these same state

This ‘giving in’ to

demands of

dominant religious

groups by political

parties is mostly to

secure their vote

bank, and guarantee

votes form a

particular section of

society for elections.

Political

Issues

22

January 24,

2004, pp. 318-

319.

governments

(irrespective of their

political hues) are all

too eager to placate

them

16 Banerjee,

Sumanta,

‘Fahrenheit

451’: Empty

Bookshelves

and Closed

Minds,

Economic and

Political

Weekly,

January 24,

2004, pp. 318-

319.

The Left Front

government’s

acquiescence in the

politics of the Islamic

clergy in West

Bengal, only goes to

show that stupidity

does not belong to a

single party or regime.

The use of book

banning as a tool to

serve the political

interests of a party is

not confined to one

parties but as it is

said all the dogs in

the street are dirty,

all the politicians

have the same

tendency to serve

their interests.

Political

Issues

Banerjee,

Sumanta,

‘Fahrenheit

451’: Empty

Bookshelves

and Closed

Minds,

Economic and

Political

Weekly,

January 24,

2004, pp. 318-

Vandalism and

violence are being

endowed with a self-

righteous religious

value by politicians of

all hues.

Violence is being

justified by all the

political parties by

overshadowing it

with a religious

canvas.

Political

Issues

23

319.

17 On Banning

Books

Shahana

Bhattacharya

Economic and

Political

Weekly, Vol.

39, No. 6

(Feb. 7-13,

2004), pp.

510+600

Since few people

would have occasion

to read the book, the

government's decision

to consider banning

the book under Cr PC

for "provoking public

sentiment and creating

tensions in society"

and contemplating

legal action against

the author is clearly

motivated for

electoral purposes.

The author states

that books are

banned based mostly

on people’s

reactions to it. The

authorities mostly

don’t even read the

text in question, but

ban the books to

muster political

support.

Political

Issues

Misinterpr

etation

18 On Banning

Books

Shahana

Bhattacharya

Economic and

Political

Weekly, Vol.

39, No. 6

(Feb. 7-13,

2004), pp.

510+600

Banning a book is not

just arbitrary but goes

against the very

democratic right to

freedom of speech and

expression

irrespective of

political beliefs. The

recent ban on Taslima

Nasrin's book by the

West Bengal

government in

November 2003 and

the present one raise

serious questions

The writer questions

the validity of

banning books with

regard to the Right

of Free Speech and

Expression.

Freedom

of Speech

and

Expressio

n

24

about the protection of

these rights by the

state and its

institutions.

19 Vjpeyi,

Ananya,

“Rejecting

Politics of

Injury”,

Economic and

Political

Weekly,

January 31,

2004, p. 412

The work on Shivaji

by the American

professor James Laine

must be judged on the

cogency of its

arguments and the

propriety of its

methodology. Instead

we are asked to judge

it on the basis of the

nationality of its

author.

The author through

this article asks the

common people of a

democracy to judge

an issue from

empirical and

logical point of view

rather than from a

prejudicial one. For

the development of

the society, it should

be liberal enough to

accommodate the

justified dissenting

changes.

Social

Issues:

Democrati

c Values

of

Freedom

20 Vjpeyi,

Ananya,

“Rejecting

Politics of

Injury”,

Economic and

Political

Weekly,

January 31,

2004, p. 412

A claim about

Shivaji’s parentage,

made by anyone and

put into the public

domain, should be

judged for the degree

to which it is or isn’t

grounded in

empirically verifiable

historical sources, not

for its emotional

In the book on

Shivaji, if there is

any new fact about

the life of Shivaji, it

shall be judged from

a broader

perspective

excluding the

inherent emotional

attachment to the

character. The

Historical

Issues

25

effect on those who

might cling to

baseless myths about

the great king’s

antecedents.

violent agitation by

the Sambhaji

brigade is a symbol

of the undeveloped

and un mature

society.

21 Vjpeyi,

Ananya,

“Rejecting

Politics of

Injury”,

Economic and

Political

Weekly,

January 31,

2004, p. 412

It must be judged for

the quality of the book

it has put out, not for

the feelings its

publication may

arouse in some

individuals or

communities.

The central idea is

that the society

should not judge the

book based on the

prejudices but it

should also take into

consideration the

new facts and see if

the facts are

justifiable

Fear of

‘possible’

consequen

ces

22 Sanders,

Mark, “J.M.

Coetzee on

Censorship

and

Apartheid”,

Law and

Literature,

Vol. 18, No. 1

(Spring 2006),

pp. 101-114.

The real quarry of the

censor is thus not the

desired object but the

desiring subject, and,

in the end, the very

desire that attaches to

that subject. To the

extent that it is, as

Coetzee formulates it,

also a counterattack

on desire, censorship

shares a basic impulse

with apartheid

The author has

shown a study on

the articles of

Coetzee and how he

relates the apartheid

and censorship.

Coetzee defines

apartheid as the way

by which desires of

blacks are attacked

by the whites.

Censorship is thus

analogical to

apartheid since

Social

Issues:

Racial

Issues

26

thinking. censorship is also a

means to suppress

the desires of those

who want to express

and those who wants

to read some new

literature.

23 Blume, Judy,

“Places I

Never Meant

to Be: Original

Stories by

Censored

Writers.”,

What I worry about

most is the loss to

young people. If no

one speaks out for

them, if they don't

speak out for

themselves, all they'll

get for required

reading will be the

most bland books

available. And instead

of finding the

information they need

at the library, instead

of finding the novels

that illuminate life,

they will find only

those materials to

which nobody could

possibly object.

The author in this

article quotes Judy

Blume, who

considers that by

censoring the

publication of the so

called dissenting

literature, we are

depriving the young

people from

attaining a

comprehensive

understanding of the

real world and its

working.

Academic

Developm

ent

Blume, Judy,

“Places I

Never Meant

All of which brings

me to the question

What is censorship?

Judy Blume through

this article hints at

the negative effects

Freedom

of Speech

and

27

to Be: Original

Stories by

Censored

Writers.”

When I actually

looked up the word I

found this definition:

"[The] official

restriction of any

expression believed to

threaten the political,

social, or moral

order." My thesaurus

lists the following

words that can be

used in place of ban

(as in book banning):

Forbid. Prohibit.

Restrict. But what do

these words mean to

the stories they choose

to tell? And what do

they mean to the

books they choose to

read?

of book banning and

ends her statement

with a question to

leave the topic open

to discussion.

Expressio

n

24 Blume, Judy,

“Places I

Never Meant

to Be: Original

Stories by

Censored

Writers.”

So now we had

individual parents

running into schools,

waving books,

demanding their

removal; books they

hadn't read except for

certain passages. Most

often their objections

Several books which

come into question

because of their

content aren’t even

read, and the entire

situation is blown

out of proportion by

word of mouth.

Social

Issues:

Obscenity

and

Vulgarity

Misinterpr

etation

28

had to do with

language, sexuality,

and something called

"lack of moral tone."

25 Jenkins,

Iredell, “ The

Legal Basis of

Literary

Censorship”,

Virginia Law

Review, Vol.

31, No. 1

(Dec., 1944),

pp. 83-118.

Should the citizen be

protected in his

individual freedom of

choice and action, or

should society be

protected against the

possibly vicious

influences resulting

from the exercise of

this freedom?

This question was

raised in a court of

law in a case of

censorship of a book

on grounds of

obscenity. The court

answered it in

favour of the greater

interest of the

society and held that

the public moral

should be upheld.

Social

Issues:

Obscenity

and

Vulgarity

26 Jenkins,

Iredell, “ The

Legal Basis of

Literary

Censorship”,

Virginia Law

Review, Vol.

31, No. 1

(Dec., 1944),

pp. 83-118.

The attitudes of men

can move backward as

well as forward; the

attainment of a high

level in some phase of

social conduct does

not guarantee that it

will be maintained. A

social advance, to be

made permanent, must

be embodied in some

in-stitution. And we

should take advantage

of our present temper

The author talks

about the need of the

codification of laws

in this regard so that

the law may provide

a standard of

judgment. This is

the appropriate time

to codify

considering the

more significant

level of tolerance

than that of past.

Legal

Aspect

29

of artistic tolerance to

objectify it in sound

laws that will assure

its preservation

27 Banning

Books,

http://www.in

diacurrents.co

m/articles/201

1/06/02/banni

ng-books,

Indeed, a large portion

of our intellectual

heritage comes from

books, art, movies,

artifacts, and word-of-

mouth stories and

anecdotes. They

provide shades to our

concepts, outlines to

our ideas, and color to

our thoughts. Yet,

countries, states and

governments exercise

censorship, some

more violently than

others.

This article is a

precise study on the

history of censorship

but do give a

historical

background of

censorship of books.

This article is

helpful in analyzing

the justifications

been given for

banning the books as

it gives various

instances of book

banning and so on.

Legal

Issues

28 Banning

Books,

http://www.in

diacurrents.co

m/articles/201

1/06/02/banni

ng-books,

In the United States,

Sept 24 to Oct 1,

2011, has been

designated the Banned

Books Week. This

yearly event

celebrates the freedom

to read and, during

this commemorative

period, libraries and

The celebration of

Banned book week

is an important

symbol of the

increasing tolerance

of the modern world

towards dissenting

literature.

Academic

Developm

ent

http://www.indiacurrents.com/articles/2011/06/02/banning-books










30

book stores put

together a display of

books that have been

“challenged”.

29 Banning

Books,

http://www.in

diacurrents.co

m/articles/201

1/06/02/banni

ng-books,

Since the British era,

several Indian writers

have faced the wrath

of authority. The great

Hindi writer and

social thinker,

Premchand, came

under literary scrutiny

in 1910, when the

British government

banned his collection

of short stories, Soz-e-

Watan, claiming it

was seditious in

content. The book

consisted of five

stories that sought to

inspire patriotism and

political freedom.

During the British

rule, Sedition was

the most dominantly

used justification for

banning the books or

works of literature,

which aroused

nationalistic feelings

among the people of

India. Again, the

justification itself is

not justifiable but

only serves political

interests.

Political

Issues

30 Guha,

Ramchandra,

“Ban The

Ban- The

republic of

India bans

books with the

Lower courts and

even some high courts

have been

accomplices in this

process of the stifling

of free speech. So too

have been politicians

The author is of the

view that lower

judiciary is also

following the same

trend by not being

liberal in its outlook.

Though the higher

Legal

Issues






31

depressing

frequency”, in

Politics and

Play

of all parties and

governments. Indian

democrats may take

solace in the few

exceptions: these

being the institution of

the Supreme Court,

and those public-

spirited public figures,

Rajmohan and

Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

judiciary is liberal

while considering

the issue of book

banning.

31 Guha,

Ramchandra,

“Ban The

Ban- The

republic of

India bans

books with the

depressing

frequency”, in

Politics and

Play

Lower courts and

even some high courts

have been

accomplices in this

process of the stifling

of free speech. So too

have been politicians

of all parties and

governments. Indian

democrats may take

solace in the few

exceptions: these

being the institution of

the Supreme Court,

and those public-

spirited public figures,

Rajmohan and

Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

The author says that

some politicians

may not support

Freedom of Speech

and Expression and

may be in favour of

banning books, but

seek solace behind a

few decisions of the

Supreme Court

rejecting book

banning to disguise

their stand.

Political

Issues

32

32 Guha,

Ramchandra,

“Ban The

Ban- The

republic of

India bans

books with the

depressing

frequency”, in

Politics and

Play

A marked feature of

advocates of book-

banning is a

reluctance to join in

reasoned refutation.

Until and unless the

individuals of the

society are not ready

to do a reasoned

debate on the issue

of book banning, the

judiciary would be

incapable of clearly

outlining its stand in

the society.

Legal

Aspect

33 Guha,

Ramchandra,

“Ban The

Ban- The

republic of

India bans

books with the

depressing

frequency”, in

POLITICS

AND PLAY.

Advocates of book-

banning have no

patience with the legal

route. They prefer,

instead, to whip up

mass frenzy and take

the law into their own

hands.

Having studied the

cases like Laine’s

book being banned

after series of

protests, it is evident

that supporters of

book banning do not

want to follow the

established process

of law.

Legal

Aspect

34 Book-

Banning: A

Form of Book-

Burning

Author(s): A.

G. Noorani,

Economic and

Political

Weekly, Vol.

It is preposterous and

presumptuous to

identify iving persons

or persons in recent

politics with the great

and historic figures of

religion. Several

writings have been

published recently

The author makes

this statement with

regard to banning of

Mihir Bose’s book

“The Agha Khans”

which deals with

both the personal

lives of the Aga

Khans and with their

Religious

Issues:

Mockery

of Revered

Figure

Freedom

of

Expressio

n

33

20, No. 14

(Apr. 6, 1985),

p. 572

http://www.jst

or.org/stable/4

374241

about several religious

personalities

popularly dubbed as

"god man". One

weekly ran a series

about them.

public conduct,

especially the

politics of the

present Agha Khan's

predecessor and his

support to the

British ruler. He

feels that the

government should

not have the power

to stop the masses

from learning the

details.

35 The American

Library

Association

Definition of

‘Challenged

Books’

‘Challenge’ is an

attempt to remove or

restrict books based

on the contentions of

certain people or

groups. Banning is the

removal of those

materials. Challenges

do not simply involve

a person expressing a

point of view, rather

they are an attempt to

remove materials

from circulation

thereby restricting the

access of others.

The American

Library Association

clarifies the steps in

the process of

banning a book.

First, the text is

challenged by a

group of people who

protest against it,

then the machinery

of the state is used to

ban the book. It is a

process influenced

mostly by social

factors.

Social

Issues

34

36 The Banning

Of "E For

Ecstasy" By

Nicholas

Saunders,

http://www.12

3HelpMe.com

/view.asp?id=

88703

As I read this book, at

first I felt a temptation

to try ecstasy due to

the positive way in

which the drug was

described. After

reading further into

the text, however,

much more detailed

information about the

drug is brought

forth. In my opinion,

the ban should be

lifted because

provides all kinds of

interesting

information and

education including

negative data about

the drug.

If information about

drugs is kept in the

dark, people will be

tempted to seek

information in

potentially harmful

ways.

E for Ecstasy is a

book depicting the

information about

drugs. The

Australian

government banned

this book as it found

that the book

promotes drug

ecstasy. The banning

in this case is

susceptible to

interpretation by

different persons. As

this article argues

that if a person

doesn’t know about

the ill-effects of

drugs then it is more

probable that he

would try the drugs.

Spreading

Awareness

The Satanic Verses: Salman Rushdie

37 Hussain,

Amir,

The Satanic Verses

reviles and defames

This observation

was made by

Religious

Issues:

http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=88703




35

Misunderstand

ings and Hurt:

How

Canadians

Joined

Worldwide

Muslim

Reactions to

Salman

Rushdie's

"The Satanic

Verses"

Journal of the

American

Academy of

Religion, Vol.

70, No. 1

(Mar., 2002),

pp. 1-32

the Prophet of Islam,

the wives of the

Prophet and his

leading Companions.

The book also

contains

contemptuous

passages concerning

the Holy Qur'an and

some of the cardinal

values and principles

of the Islamic faith.

Mohammad Hashim

Kamali, a professor

of law at the In-

ternational Islamic

University in

Malaysia. It

provides a succinct

explanation of why

The Satanic Verses

offended the

sensibilities of

Muslims all over the

world.

Offending

Sensibiliti

es

38 The Satanic

Verses,

Salman

Rushdie

"Mahound" was the

name given to the

fictional prophet in

the book, who is seen

as a representation or

comparison to the

Prophet Muhammad

The term Mahound

was used by

Europeans to refer

derogatorily to the

Prophet. Salman

Rushdie was himself

born a Muslim and

the usage of this

word portrays him

as a non-

Religious

Issues:

Offending

Sensibiliti

es

http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/1466367?Search=yes&resultItemClick=true&searchText=banning&searchText=of&searchText=satanic&searchText=verses&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dbanning%2Bof%2Bsatanic%2Bverses%26amp%3Bacc%3Don%26amp%3Bwc%3Don%26amp%3Bfc%3Doff












36

fundamentalist and

his views were

deemed as

‘Islamophobic’.

39 The Satanic

Verses,

Salman

Rushdie

The Holy City of

Mecca is refered to as

'Jahilia'

This refers to a time

of ignorance and

darkness in pre-

Islamic Arabia. This

was seen as an insult

to the Holiest City

of Islam, which

houses its holiest

site, the Kaa’ba.

Religious

Issues:

Offending

Sensibiliti

es

40 The Satanic

Verses,

Salman

Rushdie

Gibreel, Saladin and

Ayesha as names of

characters

The characters were

named after

important

individuals from the

history of Islam,

often portraying

them in an

unflattering light.

Religious

Issues:

Offending

Sensibiliti

es

41 The Satanic

Verses,

Salman

Rushdie

Gibreel, Saladin and

Ayesha as names of

characters

The characters were

named after

important

individuals from the

history of Islam,

often portraying

them in an

unflattering light.

Religious

Issues:

Mockery

of a

Revered

Figure

42 The Satanic

Verses,

Gibreel Gibreel, in Islamic

tradition, is the

Religious

Issues:

37

Salman

Rushdie

Archangel who

reveals the Quran as

the Word of Allah to

Muhammad. In the

book, Gibreel is the

name of an Indian

film star, who

develops psychotic-

schizophrenic

tendencies. The

character

experiences a

number of

hallucination like

episodes concerning

Allah and Islamic

theological symbols.

Blasphem

y

43 The Satanic

Verses,

Salman

Rushdie

Saladin Saladin was the

name of the famous

Muslim hero of the

Crusades, seen by

Muslim historians as

the champion of

Islam against hordes

of invading infidels.

A formidable leader

and general, Saladin

led his fierce

warriors in battle

against the

Europeans in the

Religious

Issues:

Mockery

of a

Revered

Figure

38

Holy Land. In the

book, a character

who goes on to be

characterized as the

Devil is named

Saladin, seen as an

insult to an Islamic

hero.

44 The Satanic

Verses,

Salman

Rushdie

Ayesha Ayesha was the

name of the wife of

the Prophet

Muhammad, in

many accounts his

favourite wife. She

was a woman of

extreme piety and

devotion, and was

respected

enormously as the

ideal Muslim

woman. In the book,

Ayesha is the name

given to an Indian

village girl who

assumes the role of a

messiah to her

village people and

ultimately leads

them to their doom

in the sea. This can

again be interpreted

Religious

Issues:

Mockery

of a

Revered

Figure

39

as the author's

negative views

about Islam as a way

of life – following it

blindly might lead

people into the

metaphorical sea.

45 The Satanic

Verses,

Salman

Rushdie

The prostitutes in

Jahilia are named after

the Prophet's wives

Women seen as

pious and married to

the most revered

man in Islam

compared to or

equated with

prostitutes was

insulting and

enraged many.

suggests that the

customers of the

prostitutes get

additional sexual

excite- ment out of

pretending to make

love to the prophet's

wiv

Religious

Issues:

Offending

Sensibiliti

es

The Satanic

Verses,

Salman

Rushdie

The portrayal of Allah

as "not abstract in the

least. He saw, sitting

on the bed, a man of

about the same age as

himself", balding,

wearing glasses and

It is forbidden in

Islam to portray

even human beings

and animals in art,

and thus a

description of Allah

Himself is

Religious

Issues:

Blasphem

y

40

"seeming to suffer

from dandruff"

unthinkable

46 Statement

made by the

Ayatollah on

Iranian Radio,

14th Feb 1989

"I am informing all

brave Muslims of the

world that the author

of The Satanic Verses,

a text written, edited,

and published against

Islam, the Prophet of

Islam, and the Qur'an,

along with all the

editors and publishers

aware of its contents,

are condemned to

death"

The Ayatollah here

is establishing that

every single person

associated with

making the

blasphemous book

available, including

the editors and

publishers, were to

be sentenced to

death.

Religious

Issues:

Fundamen

talism and

Expremis

m

47 The

Ayatollah's

response to

Rushdie's

apology

"Even if Salman

Rushdie repents and

become the most

pious man of all time,

it is incumbent on

every Muslim to

employ everything he

has got, his life and

wealth, to send him to

Hell."

This, again, shows

the hardline views of

the Iranian

Ayatollah as the

representative of the

Muslim Orthodoxy.

This was perhaps the

first time in the

modern world that

one individual was

made a target for an

entire community

for a work of art or

literature.

Religious

Issues:

Fundamen

talism and

Extremism

41

48 The Satanic

Verses

(Poem), Tony

Harrison

I shall not cease from

mental strife

nor shall my pen sleep

in my hand

till Rushdie has a right

to life

and books aren't

burned or banned

The author here

defends Rushdie's

right to life. It is

important to note,

however, that

underlying this right

to life is also the

right to free speech

and expression.

Freedom

of Speech

and

Expressio

n

49 Hussain,

Amir,

Misunderstand

ings and Hurt:

How

Canadians

Joined

Worldwide

Muslim

Reactions to

Salman

Rushdie's

"The Satanic

Verses"

Journal of the

American

Academy of

Religion, Vol.

70, No. 1

(Mar., 2002),

pp. 1-32

The book was banned

from India by the

government of Prime

Minister Rajiv Gandhi

at the urging of

several Indian Muslim

politicians like Syed

Shahabuddin … His

call for a ban was to

assert his own power

as a political

representative of the

Muslim minority in

India. Shahabuddin

was a member of the

Janata Party, in

opposition to Rajiv

Gandhi's Congress

Party, and a general

election was

scheduled for later

that year. Gandhi

This paragraph

clearly depicts how

the situation in the

political arena

influences banning

of books. ,

Shahabuddin was

not objecting to the

words that Rushdie

had written, for he

had not read them.

Instead, his call for a

ban was to assert his

own power as a

political represen-

tative of the Muslim

minority in India.

The book was

eventually banned in

India to further

Rajiv Gandhi’s own

political interests.

Political

Issues













42

allowed the book to

be banned in an

attempt to win the

Muslim vote.

50 "THE

SATANIC

VERSES"

AND

DEMOCRATI

C

FREEDOMS

Edward W.

Said, The

Black Scholar,

Vol. 20, No. 2,

BLACK

CULTURE

(MARCH/AP

RIL 1989), pp.

17-18

Satanic Verses is an

astonishing and

prodigiously inventive

work of fiction. Yet it

is, like its author, in

history, the world, the

crowd and the storm.

It is, in all sorts of

ways, a deliberately

transgressive work. It

par- allels and mimics

the central Islamic

narratives with bold,

nose-thumbing, post-

modern daring. In so

doing, it demonstrates

another side of its

author's unbroken

engagement with the

politics and history of

the contempo- rary

scene.

In this excerpt,

Edward W. Said

appreciates Salman

Rushdie’s work and

says that it is in tune

with the political

and cultural scenario

existing at that point

of time.

Political

Issues

51 "THE

SATANIC

VERSES"

AND

DEMOCRATI

What shocks Moslems

is Satanic Verses'

knowing intimacy

with the religious and

cultural material with

The author provides

the gist of what the

Muslims objected to.

The religious and

cultural setting was

Religious

Issues:

Blasphem

y








http://www.jstor.org/action/doBasicSearch?acc=on&wc=on&fc=off&Query=au:%22Edward+W.+Said%22&si=1







43

C

FREEDOMS

Edward W.

Said

The Black

Scholar, Vol.

20, No. 2,

BLACK

CULTURE

(MARCH/AP

RIL 1989), pp.

17-18

which it so comically

and resourcefully

plays. There is also

the further shock of

seeing Islam

portrayed irreverently

and - although as a

secularist I have

difficulty in using this

word - blasphemously

by a Moslem who

writes both in and for

the West. The cultural

context is horrifically

and even ludicrously

inhospitable.

considered

‘blasphemous’.

52 The Satanic

Verses or a

Satanic

Novel? Moral

Dilemmas of

the Rushdie

Affair

Ali A. Mazrui

Alternatives:

Global, Local,

Political, Vol.

15, No. 1

(Winter 1990),

pp. 97-121

Salman Rushdie has

been perceived by

many Muslims as

being guilty of

cultural treason for

writing The Satanic

Verses. They consider

that Rushdie has not

merely rejected or

disagreed with Islam:

almost unanimously

Muslims who have

read the book have

concluded that

Rushdie has abused

Islamic

fundamentalists

considered Salman

Rushdie as being

‘Islamophobic’ and

labelled him as a

traitor to their

religion, who was

being bribed by

‘enemies’ of Islam.

Religious

Issues:

Demands

of Sepcific

Dominant

Religious

Groups





http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/40644672?Search=yes&resultItemClick=true&searchText=moral&searchText=dilemmas&searchText=of&searchText=the&searchText=rushdie&searchText=affair&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dmoral%2Bdilemmas%2Bof%2Bthe%2Brushdie%2Baffair%26amp%3Bacc%3Don%26amp%3Bwc%3Don%26amp%3Bfc%3Doff







http://www.jstor.org/action/doBasicSearch?acc=on&wc=on&fc=off&Query=au:%22Ali+A.+Mazrui%22&si=1

44

Islam. They were

further outraged by

the fact that he had

been lionised, praised,

and lavishly rewarded

and financed by

enemies and critics of

Islam.

53 The Satanic

Verses or a

Satanic

Novel? Moral

Dilemmas of

the Rushdie

Affair

Ali A. Mazrui

Alternatives:

Global, Local,

Political, Vol.

15, No. 1

(Winter 1990),

pp. 97-121

In the eyes of

Muslims, Salman

Rushdie's blasphemy

does not lie in his

saying that the Koran

is the work of

Muhammad, but in his

suggestion that it is

the work of the Devil.

By using the term

'Satanic Verses' he

refers to more than an

alleged incident in the

history of Islamic

revelation. Rushdie

suggests that

Muhammad is

incapable of dis-

tinguishing between

inspiration from an

angel and inspiration

from a devil.

The Term

‘Manhound’ which

was used by Rushdie

for Prophet

Mohammed was the

subject for several

debates which fed

into the

‘Islamophobic’

notion which

Islamic

fundamentalists had

created for him

(Rushdie).

Religious

Issues:

Blasphem

y

54 The Satanic In the eyes of The Term Religious










45

Verses or a

Satanic

Novel? Moral

Dilemmas of

the Rushdie

Affair

Ali A. Mazrui

Alternatives:

Global, Local,

Political, Vol.

15, No. 1

(Winter 1990),

pp. 97-121

Muslims, Salman

Rushdie's blasphemy

does not lie in his

saying that the Koran

is the work of

Muhammad, but in his

suggestion that it is

the work of the Devil.

By using the term

'Satanic Verses' he

refers to more than an

alleged incident in the

history of Islamic

revelation. Rushdie

suggests that

Muhammad is

incapable of dis-

tinguishing between

inspiration from an

angel and inspiration

from a devil.

‘Manhound’ which

was used by Rushdie

for Prophet

Mohammed was the

subject for several

debates which fed

into the

‘Islamophobic’

notion which

Islamic

fundamentalists had

created for him

(Rushdie).

Issues:

Mockery

of a

Revered

Figure

55 The Satanic

Verses or a

Satanic

Novel? Moral

Dilemmas of

the Rushdie

Affair

Ali A. Mazrui

Alternatives:

Another example of

the clash of cultures at

the centre of the

Rushdie debate is the

question of

comparative

defamation. Salman

Rushdie's novel raises

the question of

whether he has

A prominent debate

centred around

whether Rushdie

had attempted to

insult all Muslims

and Islam as a

religion, or Prophet

Mohammed as the

founder of Islam.

Religious

Issues:

Offending

Sensibiliti

es
















46

Global, Local,

Political, Vol.

15, No. 1

(Winter 1990),

pp. 97-121

libelled whole classes

of Muslims, ranging

from Shiite believers

(as symbolised by

Rushdie's character

'the Imam') to the

wives of the Prophet

Muhammad.

56 The Satanic

Verses or a

Satanic

Novel? Moral

Dilemmas of

the Rushdie

Affair

Ali A. Mazrui

Alternatives:

Global, Local,

Political, Vol.

15, No. 1

(Winter 1990),

pp. 97-121

But Salman Rushdie

and his publishers had

been warned about the

explosive nature of

The Satanic Verses by

Indian advisors before

the book was

published…Even

without being

published in India,

The Satanic Verses

has already killed

more than a dozen

people there. It has

also caused deaths in

Pakistan. Had it

actually been

published in India,

casualty numbers

would have increased

tenfold.

Sometimes, wirters

are warned about the

negative social

impact their work

could have on their

audience. Most

authors choose to

disregard this and go

ahead with the

project anyway.

Social

Issues:

Morality

57 The Satanic

Verses or a

At the centre of the

debate about The

The author points

out that writers

Academic

Developm











47

Satanic

Novel? Moral

Dilemmas of

the Rushdie

Affair

Ali A. Mazrui

Alternatives:

Global, Local,

Political, Vol.

15, No. 1

(Winter 1990),

pp. 97-121

Satanic Verses are

two cultural forces

which have helped to

create the 'global

village': language and

religion. The

emergence of world

languages has

certainly created new

opportunities for

writers writing in

those tongues. When

the authors are

successful the

potential returns are

immense. The

question which arises

is whether authors

writing in world

languages also have

very special

responsibilities.

should exercise

certain responsibility

while writing their

books. At the same

time, his tone

condemns the

practice of banning

books.

ent

Shivaji-Hindu King in Islamic India: Prof. James Laine

58 Banning

History

Economic and

Political

Weekly, Vol.

39, No. 3 (Jan.

17-23, 2004),

Laine's book Shivaji:

A Hindu King in

Islamic India was

released last June. In

his preface, Laine

thanked several

Sanskrit scholars

affiliated with the

One issue Laine

explores is the fact

that Shivaji's parents

did not live together

for much of his life;

that his father

moved south and

had another family;

Social

Issues









48

pp. 212-213

institute for their

assistance. In

November an un-

named group of

historians protested

over references in the

book to the question

of Shivaji's parentage.

That same month, the

book's publishers

withdrew the book.

that there could have

been 'father

substitutes' in

Shivaji's life. This

did not fare well

with ardent

followers of Shivaji

in Maharashtra.

59 Banning

History

Economic and

Political

Weekly, Vol.

39, No. 3 (Jan.

17-23, 2004),

pp. 212-213

The so-called

upholders of the

Shivaji legacy via

their vandalism are

seeking to claim all

rights to interpret and

portray his history.

The attack was a

means of mobilising

political support.

In this excerpt, the

author examines the

political isuue

behind banning of

the book. Miscreants

belonging to the

Sambhaji Brigade,

inflicted damages to

Pune's well known

Bhandarkar Oriental

Research Institute

for allowing James

Laine access to its

collection of

1,50,000 books and

80,000 rare

manuscripts. Shiv

Sena supporters also

humiliated historian

Shrikant Bahulkar, a

Political

Issues



49

member of the

Bhandarkar

Institute's governing

council whose help

has been acknow-

ledged in the book.

60 Banning

History

Economic and

Political

Weekly, Vol.

39, No. 3 (Jan.

17-23, 2004),

pp. 212-213

The so-called

upholders of the

Shivaji legacy via

their vandalism are

seeking to claim all

rights to interpret and

portray his history.

The attack was a

means of mobilising

political support.

In this excerpt, the

author examines the

external influence

behind banning of

the book. Miscreants

belonging to the

Sambhaji Brigade,

inflicted damages to

Pune's well known

Bhandarkar Oriental

Research Institute

now estimated at

over Rs 1 crore, for

allowing James

Laine access to its

collection of

1,50,000 books and

80,000 rare

manuscripts. Shiv

Sena supporters also

humiliated historian

Shrikant Bahulkar, a

member of the

Bhandarkar

Institute's governing

Social

Issues:

External

Influence



50

council whose help

has been acknow-

ledged in the book.

61 Chandran,

Mini, “The

Democratizati

on of

Censorship:

Books and the

Indian

Public”,

Economic and

Political

Weekly,

October 2,

2010, pp. 27-

31

Laine’s suggestion

was that myth, rather

than historical facts,

might have played a

more important role in

the making of the

image of the valorous

Hindu king who

successfully resisted

Mughal rulers. This

was seen as a

conspiracy to

demystify the ruler

whom the Hindu

fundamentalists have

foregrounded as the

icon of Hindu

resistance to Muslim

rule. Mob outrage was

not confined to

demands for

suppression of Laine’s

book…The

government was

forced to ban Laine’s

work on Shivaji.

The author here

mentions that the

book was interpreted

in a Hindu

Fundamentalist

light, and this

caused mass

outrage.

Religious

Issues:

Fundamen

talism and

Extremism

62 Chandran, Laine’s suggestion Eventually, the mob Social

51

Mini, “The

Democratizati

on of

Censorship:

Books and the

Indian

Public”,

Economic and

Political

Weekly,

October 2,

2010, pp. 27-

31

was that myth, rather

than historical facts,

might have played a

more important role in

the making of the

image of the valorous

Hindu king who

successfully resisted

Mughal rulers. This

was seen as a

conspiracy to

demystify the ruler

whom the Hindu

fundamentalists have

foregrounded as the

icon of Hindu

resistance to Muslim

rule. Mob outrage was

not confined to

demands for

suppression of Laine’s

book…The

government was

forced to ban Laine’s

work on Shivaji.

forced the

government to place

a ban on the book.

Issues:

External

Influence

63 Politics of

Shivaji: The

James Laine

Affair,

Vidyadhar

Shivaji is very crucial

to the interests of a

certain class of

politicians in

Maharashtra.

The author refers to

the fact that the

myth of Shivaji,

fired as it has the

popular imagination,

Political

Issues

52

Economic and

Political

Weekly, Vol.

42, No. 20

(May 19-25,

2007), pp.

1812-1814,

http://www.jst

or.org/stable/4

419597

Especially important

is the image of an

invincible Shivaji.

That is why there was

such uproar in the

state in response to

James Laine's book,

Shivaji: Hindu King

in Islamic India.

has been exploited

for political

purposes all along.

The issue was fully

exploited by the

Shiv Sena, the

Bhartiya Janata

Party and the

Nationalist Congress

Party, in the run-up

to the general

elections in 2004.

64 Politics of

Shivaji: The

James Laine

Affair,

Vidyadhar

Economic and

Political

Weekly, Vol.

42, No. 20

(May 19-25,

2007), pp.

1812-1814,

http://www.jst

or.org/stable/4

419597

Bal Thackeray knows

how to exploit history.

He entered

Mantralaya amidst the

blowing of trumpets

on the anniversary of

Shivaji's coronation

soon after the Shiv

Sena-BJP won power

in Maharashtra in

1995. The coalition

rule was loudly

proclaimed as Shiva

Shahi, in the style of

Shivaji, though in

effect it left a legacy

of a huge debt for the

state. On May 1 the

Shiv Sena daily

The author points

out that political

parties often leave

out crucial issues,

and focus their

activities on areas

where they can

muster support and

gather votes. The

excerpt sheds light

on the irony,

because the ban on

Shivaji: Hindu King

in Islamic India

would have no effect

whatsoever on the

conditions of the

working class.

Political

Issues

http://www.jstor.org/stable/4419597



53

mouthpiece Saamna,

in a three-column

headline on page one

proclaimed Oxford's

surrender to Shiv

Sena, while alongside

Bal Thackeray

expressed a pious

hope of better days for

the working class.

65 Politics of

Shivaji: The

James Laine

Affair,

Vidyadhar

Economic and

Political

Weekly, Vol.

42, No. 20

(May 19-25,

2007), pp.

1812-1814,

http://www.jst

or.org/stable/4

419597

In the Laine

controversy, the

police in Pune did not

even have a copy of

the offending book

when they registered

an FIR (first

information report)

against James Laine.

Soli Sorabjee, the

noted lawyer, argued

that the police had not

read even the one

crucial paragraph on

which the

government's case

rested.

The author sheds

light on the acute

political

involvement in

influencing the

police and other

authorities, which

are generally

deemed to be free of

such influence.

Political

Issues

66 Politics of

Shivaji: The

James Laine

Affair,

Maratha politicians

have exploited the

Shivaji myth since

independence but

There is sufficient

evidence of the

political exploitation

of the story of

Social

Issues:

Perpetuati

ng Social




54

Vidyadhar

Economic and

Political

Weekly, Vol.

42, No. 20

(May 19-25,

2007), pp.

1812-1814,

http://www.jst

or.org/stable/4

419597

brahmins have

substantially built up

the cult since much

earlier, portraying him

as 'Go Brahman

Pratipalak' (defender

of cows and

brahmins). It was

because of Lokmanya

Tilak's launching of

the Ganapati and

Shivaji festivals

towards the end of the

19th century and his

other activities that

author Valentine

Chirol labelled him

the father of Indian

unrest.

Shivaji, but the

Brahmans also had a

role to play,

perpetuating and

glorifying the myth

which further

propagated social

inequalities.

Inequalitie

s

67 Politics of

Shivaji: The

James Laine

Affair,

Vidyadhar

Economic and

Political

Weekly, Vol.

42, No. 20, pp.

1812-1814,

http://www.jst

or.org/stable/4

Inconvenient history

is always sidetracked.

The exploitation of

the worker in Indian

history under a dual

burden of caste and

class can’t long

remain buried under

vain- glorious praise

of Indian culture and

philosophy.

The author

emphasises that in

India, a more

realistic

interpretation of

history is needed.

Academic

Developm

ent




55

419597

68 The Laine

Controversy

and the Study

of Hinduism

Christian Lee

Novetzke

International

Journal of

Hindu Studies,

Vol. 8, No. 1/3

(Jan., 2004),

pp. 183-201

http://www.jst

or.org/stable/2

0106888

The scholars and

politician pointed to a

passage in Laine's

book where he cites

an oral "joke" that

Shivaji’s biological

father was his tutor.

Laine never questions

the veracity of

Shivaji’s parentage.

Yet, this was

adjudged by the group

of five historians to be

sufficient evidence of

bad historiography

that was unnecessarily

defamatory towards

Shivaji and Jijabai.

Oxford withdrew the

book on November 22

from the Indian

market.

The author

emphasises that

Laine never

intended to defame

or mock Shivaji but

merely mentioned

the passage as an

anecdote. It was

misinterpreted and

blown out of

proportion, which

was eventually used

by politicians to

their advantage.

Social

Issues

Misinterpr

etation

69 The Laine

Controversy

and the Study

of Hinduism,

Christian Lee

Novetzke

International

Journal of

In the Indian media, in

both Marathi and

English, the problem

was analyzed on many

levels, from anti-

Brahminism to

political wrangling to

fascist censorship, all

The author has

analysed the

situation from a

neutral standpoint,

and observed that

the issue was mostly

being perpetuated by

the Shiv Sena and

Political

Issues

56

Hindu Studies,

Vol. 8, No. 1/3

(Jan., 2004),

pp. 183-201

cast in the light of the

upcoming elections in

the spring of 2004 in

India.

the Sambhaji

Brigade.

70 The Laine

Controversy

and the Study

of Hinduism

Christian Lee

Novetzke,

International

Journal of

Hindu Studies,

Vol. 8, No. 1/3

(Jan., 2004),

pp. 183-201

http://www.jst

or.org/stable/2

0106888

Several Euro-

American scholars

and journalists

attributed the violence

and censorship to the

"Hindu Right" or to

the defense of

Hinduism. This may

have happened

because Laine's book

is so explicitly pitched

as an antidote to the

discourse of religious

communal difference

in historiography or

because of the

violence against

Muslims in Bombay

and Gujarat with

which the Hindu

Right has been

associated in the last

decade.

Some Hindu

fundamentalist

political group

depended on the

image of Hinduism

being a superior

religion to further

their own interests.

Social

Issues:

Communa

lism

71 The Laine

Controversy

and the Study

of Hinduism

Laine made plain in

the text that his

audience is made up

of "those who study

This was the very

image some Hindu

fanatics and parties

like the Shiv Sena,

Religious

Issues:

Fundamen

talism and

57

Christian Lee

Novetzke,

International

Journal of

Hindu Studies,

Vol. 8, No. 1/3

(Jan., 2004),

pp. 183-201

http://www.jst

or.org/stable/2

0106888

religion and religious

identity" and who

seek a "thicker

description of South

Asian Islam" and a

"richer portrait of

medieval Hinduism".

He hoped to "rescue"

Shivaji’s biography

"from the grasp of

those who see India as

a Hindu nation at war

with its Muslim

neighbours".

which had been

targeting Muslims

specifically in the

last three decades,

depended on for

furthering their own

selfish interests.

Extremism

72 Politics of

Shivaji: The

James Laine

Affair,

Vidyadhar

Economic and

Political

Weekly, Vol.

42, No. 20

(May 19-25,

2007), pp.

1812-1814,

http://www.jst

or.org/stable/4

419597

It is worth

remembering that this

is the first time that a

centre for learning

widely regarded for its

classical scholarship

and valuable archives

has been so targeted.

It is ironic that

‘followers’ of

Sambhaji, a great

Sanskrit scholar,

should in the process

of ‘upholding’ the

dignity of their icon,

desecrate a painting of

Saraswati, loot and

In this article, the

author has raised a

question on the dual

face of the then

government and

criticized the violent

acts of the Sambhaji

brigade and the

subsequent banning

of the book..

Social

Issues:

External

Influence

58

destroy rare

manuscripts and even

deface texts on

Shivaji.

73 Politics of a

Ban,

http://www.hi

ndu.com/fline/

fl2303/stories/

200602240026

09300.htm

The ban was enforced

after Udhayanraje

Bhonsle, the 13th

descendent of Shivaji

and a former

Bharatiya Janata Party

legislator, filed a case

in the Satara court

against Laine for an

allegedly offensive

remark.

This article in an

explicit manner

explains the political

game behind the

violent agitations

against James

Laines’s book on

Shivaji and the

political agenda

behind banning this

book. This article

also confronts a

question “Is book

banning a political

tool to garner

advantage by

arousing religious

sentiments among

the people?

Political

Issues

74 Politics of a

Ban,

http://www.hi

ndu.com/fline/

fl2303/stories/

200602240026

09300.htm

It is believed that

Bhonsle, who

considers himself to

be the original

protector of Shivaji's

legend by virtue of his

lineage, is going

The instance of

banning the book of

Laine was a pure

political drama in

order to uplift the

image of a

politically defeated

Political

Issues

http://www.hindu.com/fline/fl2303/stories/20060224002609300.htm










59

through a political

slump. He lost the last

Assembly elections to

a cousin and got a bad

image after he was

arrested in connection

with the murder of an

NCP activist in 1999.

person.

75 Politics of a

Ban,

http://www.hi

ndu.com/fline/

fl2303/stories/

200602240026

09300.htm

At least the previous

time elections were

around the corner and

in an issueless

election this

controversy was

useful. Of course, the

government has a

responsibility to

ensure peace and

prevent a law and

order situation, he

says. But to ban a

book is an extreme

step and they have to

use this authority

carefully. In this case

they have not used

their discretion well,

Palshikar adds.

The coincidence of

mass mobilization

against Laine’s book

and the election in

the near future was a

situation of utter

benefit for the

politicians. In that

state the government

had a duty to

maintain peace and

order but it failed to

do so.

Political

Issues

76 Notification

issued by the

And Whereas, the said

author has in his said

The notification

issued by the

Social

Issues






60

Government

of

Maharashtra

dated 20th

December,

2006.

Book, made several

derogatory references

specified in the

Schedule appended

hereto regarding Shri

Chhatrapati Shivaji

Maharaj, in particular

about his parentage

and the Bhosale

family to which he

belonged; And

Whereas, publication

of the said Book

containing the said


is prejudicial to the

maintenance of

harmony between

different groups and

has disturbed the

public tranquillity;

And Whereas, the

publication and

circulation of the said

Book, has not only

already resulted in

causing enmity

between the persons

who revere Shivaji

and other persons who

may not so revere; but

Government of

Maharashtra stated

that the book should

be banned as it

could ‘potentially’

hurt the sentiments

of different social

and cultural groups

and ‘promote

enmity’ between

them.

61

is likely to

continuously cause

such enmity.

77 Supreme

Court

Judgement,

State of

Maharashtra

and Ors. vs.

Sangharaj

Damodar

Rupawate and

Ors.

(09.07.2010 -

SC)

In view of the said

development, with the

leave of the Court, the

petition was amended

and challenge to

notification dated 20th

December, 2006 was

laid mainly on the

grounds that: (1) there

was no material to

show that the

publication of the

book had resulted in

disturbance of public

tranquillity or

maintenance of

harmony between

various groups as set

out therein, and (2)

the publication does

not disclose any

offence under Section

153A of the IPC.

Finding substance in

both the grounds, as

stated above, by the

impugned judgment,

the High Court has

The High Court had

taken a stand

quashing the

notification of the

Maharashtra state

government. The

Hon’ble court held

that there was no

legal basis

whatsoever to justify

the forfeiture of the

printed copies of

Shivaji: Hindu King

in Islamic India.

This decision of the

High Courts was

appealed by the

State of Maharashtra

in the Supreme

Court.

Legal

Aspect

62

quashed and set aside

the notification dated

20th December, 2006.

78 Supreme

Court

Judgement,

State of

Maharashtra

and Ors. vs.

Sangharaj

Damodar

Rupawate and

Ors.

(09.07.2010 -

SC)

Prefacing his

arguments with the

historical perspective

of rivalry between

Brahmins and

Marathas, both at the

social and the political

level, Mr. Naphade

submitted that some

of the words used in

the book and culled

out in the notification

under different items

clearly try to resurrect

the social and political

tensions between

Brahmins and

Marathas and try to

drive a wedge

between the said two

communities.

Learned counsel for

the petitioner

submitted that the

provocative

statements in the

book might unearth

the historical

political rivalry

between the

Brahmins and

Marathas and lead to

disturbance of peace

and tranquillity in

the society.

Political

Issues

79 Supreme

Court

Judgement,

State of

Maharashtra

and Ors. vs.

Sangharaj

Prefacing his

arguments with the

historical perspective

of rivalry between

Brahmins and

Marathas, both at the

social and the political

Learned counsel for

the petitioner

submitted that the

provocative

statements in the

book might unearth

the rivalry between

Social

Issues:

Promoting

Enmity

between

Social

Groups

63

Damodar

Rupawate and

Ors.

(09.07.2010 -

SC)

level, Mr. Naphade

submitted that some

of the words used in

the book and culled

out in the notification

under different items

clearly try to resurrect

the social and political

tensions between

Brahmins and

Marathas and try to

drive a wedge

between the said two

communities.

the Brahmins and

Marathas and lead to


and tranquillity in

the society.

80 Supreme

Court

Judgement,

State of

Maharashtra

and Ors. vs.

Sangharaj

Damodar

Rupawate and

Ors.

(09.07.2010 -

SC)

Learned Counsel also

urged that the

conditions requisite

for invoking Section

95 of the Code are not

fulfilled inasmuch as

apart from the fact

that detailed grounds

have not been

provided to the

respondents, it is

evident from the

notification that all

that has been stated

therein is that the

book contains

scurrilous and

Mr Prashant

Bhushan appearing

for the respondents

argues that the

content of the book

is meant as a tribute

and a detailed study

into the life of

Shivaji.

Misinterpr

etation

64


and that any further

circulation of the book

is likely to result in

The notification is

neither based on

grounds that offence

under Section 153A of

the IPC was made out

nor it has been shown

that how the

references are

derogatory or

scurrilous and above

all, even the

communities, who

were alienated from

each other or whose

religious beliefs were

hurt, have not been

named or identified.

81 Supreme

Court

Judgement,

State of

Maharashtra

and Ors. vs.

Sangharaj

Damodar

Rupawate and

Ors.


urged that the





apart from the fact


have not been

provided to the

The Government’s

notification is very

‘vague’ and does not

clarify whose

sentiments will be

hurt, and a mere

possibility of such

hurt is not enough

ground to ban the

book altogether.

Legal

Aspect

65

(09.07.2010 -

SC)

respondents, it is

evident from the



therein is that the

book contains

scurrilous and





The notification is

neither based on





that how the

references are

derogatory or


all, even the

communities, who

were alienated from

each other or whose


hurt, have not been


82 Supreme

Court

Judgement,


urged that the


Mr Prashant

Bhushan appearing

for the respondents

Freedom

(of Speech

and

66

State of

Maharashtra

and Ors. vs.

Sangharaj

Damodar

Rupawate and

Ors.

(09.07.2010 -

SC)




apart from the fact


have not been

provided to the

respondents, it is

evident from the



therein is that the

book contains

scurrilous and





The notification is

neither based on





that how the

references are

derogatory or


all, even the

communities, who

were alienated from

argues that the

content of the book

is meant as a tribute

and a detailed study

into the life of

Shivaji. The

Government’s



clarify whose

sentiments will be

hurt, and a mere

possibility of such

hurt is not enough

ground to ban the

book altogether.

Expressio

n

67

each other or whose


hurt, have not been


83 Supreme

Court

Judgement,

State of

Maharashtra

and Ors. vs.

Sangharaj

Damodar

Rupawate and

Ors.

(09.07.2010 -

SC)

It cannot be found out

from the notification

as to which

communities got

outraged by the

publication of the

book or it had caused

hatred and animosity

between particular

communities or

groups. We feel that

the statement in the

notification to the

effect that the book is

"likely to result in

breach of peace and

public tranquillity " is

too vague a ground to

satisfy the afore-

enumerated tests.

The Hon’ble

Supreme Court,

while quashing the

Maharashtra state

Government’s

petition against the

decision of the High

Court, said that the

Government’s



clarify whose

sentiments will be

hurt, and a mere

possibility of such

hurt is not enough

ground to ban the

book altogether.

Legal

Aspect

Ramayana/ Rama Retold: Aubrey Menen

84 Chandran,

Mini, “The

Democratizati

on of

Censorship:

Books and the

Communal harmony

had been the thorniest

issue in colonial India

and remained such

even after India’s

liberation.

Most books in India

have been banned

based on the issue of

communalism. The

prospect of


Social

Issues

(Commun

alism)

Freedom

of Speech

and

Expressio

n

68

Indian

Public”,

Economic and

Political

Weekly,

October 2,

2010, pp. 27-

31

and tranquillity

between social

groups is held more

scared then the

Right to Free Speech

and Expression. The

validity of this

arrangement is now

being brought into

question.

85 Chandran,

Mini, “The

Democratizati

on of

Censorship:

Books and the

Indian

Public”,

Economic and

Political

Weekly,

October 2,

2010, pp. 27-

31

One of the first books

to be suppressed in

independent India was

Aubrey Menen’s

Ramayana, also

known as Rama

Retold in the United

Kingdom (UK), in

1956. The novel, a

secular retelling of the

Hindu epic was

banned for the offence

it might cause to the

religious feelings of

Hindus.

Aubrey Menen’s

Ramayana was one

of the first books to

be banned in India,

for the fear it may

incite violence in

new-born India by

offending religious

sentiments of

Hindus.

Religious

Issues:

Offending

Sensibiliti

es

86 Chandran,

Mini, “The

Democratizati

on of

Censorship:

Books and the

Apparently a few

upper caste Hindus

had expressed

displeasure. India then

was less than 10 years

old, and had not fully

The India-Pakistan

partition has resulted

in a lot of bloodshed

for the Hindu and

Muslim

communities and it

Social

Issues

(Commun

alism)

69

Indian

Public”,

Economic and

Political

Weekly,

October 2,

2010, pp. 27-

31

recovered from the

trauma of the

communal riots that

marked the painful

separation from

Pakistan.

was seen fit to ban

the book to prevent

any further rift

between the two

religious groups.

87 Chandran,

Mini, “The

Democratizati

on of

Censorship:

Books and the

Indian

Public”,

Economic and

Political

Weekly,

October 2,

2010, pp. 27-

31

Prime Minister

Jawaharlal Nehru took

immediate steps to

restrain the novel

before it went on to

cause another

communal

conflagration.

Several scholars feel

that the Indian

Government’s

decision to ban the

‘Ramayana’ was a

politically motivated

move to gather and

retain support of

both the dominant

religious groups in

India.

Political

Issues

88 Aubrey

Menen’s

statement (as

quoted by

Elias 1986:

28)

The fact was that my

book, which was the

retelling of the

Ramayana in secular

terms, had caused no

riot. What had

happened was that a

party of Brahmin

priests in Bombay had

Nehru had not read

Menen’s book

before banning it,

and it was banned

only for ‘fear of

possible communal

riots’.

Fear of

‘possible’

consequen

ces

70

decided to burn the

book. Like Nehru,

they hadn’t read it.

89 Aubrey

Menen’s

statement (as

quoted by

Elias 1986:

28)

The fact was that my

book, which was the

retelling of the

Ramayana in secular

terms, had caused no

riot. What had

happened was that a

party of Brahmin

priests in Bombay had

decided to burn the

book. Like Nehru,

they hadn’t read it.

Nehru had not read

Menen’s book

before banning it,

and it was possible

that the hue and cry

had been caused due

to misinterpretation.

Misinterpr

etation

90 Chandran,

Mini, “The

Democratizati

on of

Censorship:

Books and the

Indian

Public”,

Economic and

Political

Weekly,

October 2,

2010, pp. 27-

31

Menen seems to be

justified in saying

this, for there is no

evidence to indicate a

public protest against

his Ramayana. The

novel remains banned

to this day, and the

text and its writer are

largely forgotten,

despite the fact that

Menen was a prolific

writer.

Till date, there is no

evidence to suggest

that there was mass

disapproval against

Menen’s book and

banning a book like

this causes insult to

the writer, his work

and calls into

question the

credibility of his

entire body of work.

Fear of

‘possible’

consequen

ces

91 Chandran,

Mini, “The

It is a secular retelling

of the scriptures and

Several religious

groups often elevate

Religious

Issues:

71

Democratizati

on of

Censorship:

Books and the

Indian

Public”,

Economic and

Political

Weekly,

October 2,

2010, pp. 27-

31

offers flippant and

tongue-in-cheek

evaluation of revered

religious figures.

Menen has brought

them under the

scrutiny of the non-

believer’s candid and

not very sympathetic

eyes. The result is that

divinities have been

humanised, and their

frailties and follies

have been

accentuated.

religious figures to a

pedestal, and cannot

bear to see them

insulted or seen as

vulnerable to the

same mistakes that

‘petty humans’

make.

Mockery

of Revered

Figure

92 Chandran,

Mini, “The

Democratizati

on of

Censorship:

Books and the

Indian

Public”,

Economic and

Political

Weekly,

October 2,

2010, pp. 27-

31

It is a secular

retelling of the

scriptures and offers

flippant and tongue-

in-cheek evaluation of

revered religious

figures. Menen has

brought them under

the scrutiny of the

non-believer’s candid

and not very

sympathetic eyes. The

result is that divinities

have been humanised,

and their frailties and

follies have been

Several religious

groups often elevate

religious figures to a

pedestal. Any

attempt to humanize

them is viewed as

insulting the very

roots of the religion

itself.

Religious

Issues:

Fundamen

talism and

Extremism

72

accentuated.

93 Menen’s

Statement

justifying the

book

I wrote my book

Rama Retold because

I found to my dismay

that the west knew

absolutely nothing of

the rich literary past

of India. The

Ramayana is a

magnificent tale, and I

retold it as such. The

result was that for the

first time in western

cultural history an

Indian classic became

widely read.

Seen from this

standpoint, the west

acknowledged and

appreciated India’s

rich historical past

through Menen’s

book, which can be

but a positive thing

for Indian culture.

Spreading

awareness

94 Chandran,

Mini, “The

Democratizati

on of

Censorship:

Books and the

Indian

Public”,

Economic and

Political

Weekly,

October 2,

2010, pp. 27-

31

Menen’s claim of

having authentically

reproduced the epic

appears to be rather

suspect as the novel’s

resemblance to the

epic is superficial.

There are major

departures from the

epic in terms of

narrative style, the

range and breadth of

philosophy and the

conception of charac-

ters.

Proponents of the

ban on Menen’s

Ramayana state that

the book hardly

resembles the epic

and depicts the

characters in an

unflattering light.

Religious

Issues:

Offending

Sensibilies

73

95 Chandran,

Mini, “The

Democratizati

on of

Censorship:

Books and the

Indian

Public”,

Economic and

Political

Weekly,

October 2,

2010, pp. 27-

31

Rama in the epic is

the maryada

purushottam, an

incarnation of god

born on earth with the

specific purpose of

eradicating the evil

that was the ten-

headed demon king

Ravana. Menen’s

Rama, is “a prince of

India, who lived his

life according to the

best advice”, had “in-

tellectual betters who

were called Brah-

mins, and did what

they told him to do”.

Rama is mentored

intellectually by

Valmiki, the lower

caste author of the

epic. Menen’s Rama

is young, gullible,

idealistic and prone to

making stupid

mistakes in his zeal to

do the right thing.

This depiction of

Rama supports the

ctitics’ claim that

Menen has taken

uncalled-for liberties

with the epic which

lies at the very core

of Hindu religion.

Religious

Issues:

Mockery

of a

Revered

Figure

96 Chandran,

Mini, “The

Democratizati

His wife Sita is also

the incarnation of the

goddess of wealth. In

This instance has

also been targeted

by many critics. In

Religious

Issues:

Mockery

74

on of

Censorship:

Books and the

Indian

Public”,

Economic and

Political

Weekly,

October 2,

2010, pp. 27-

31

her human form, she

is the em- bodiment of

ideal wifely qualities,

like steadfastness in

devotion to her

husband. But Menen’s

Sita says: He [Ravan]

just said that he loved

me above everything

in the world and that

he would never force

me to do anything I

did not want. I was

pleased at first. Then I

was sorry for him.

Then he kissed me.

Then I wasn’t a her-

oine anymore.

Hindu religion,

wives are seen as

symbols of devotion

to their husbands,

shame and chastity,

and Sita is seen as

the epitome of an

idea wife. Menen’s

description of Sita

was offensive to this

image.

of a

Revered

Figure

97 Chandran,

Mini, “The

Democratizati

on of

Censorship:

Books and the

Indian

Public”,

Economic and

Political

Weekly,

October 2,

2010, pp. 27-

His wife Sita is also

the incarnation of the

goddess of wealth. In

her human form, she

is the em- bodiment of

ideal wifely qualities,

like steadfastness in

devotion to her

husband. But Menen’s

Sita says: He [Ravan]

just said that he loved

me above everything

in the world and that

In Hindu religion,

wives are seen as

symbols of devotion

to their husbands,

shame and chastity.

Menen’s description

of Sita as such turns

this image on its

head, as she comes

across as uncouth

and brazen.

Social

Issues:

Obscenity

and

Vulgarity

75

31 he would never force

me to do anything I

did not want. I was

pleased at first. Then I

was sorry for him.

Then he kissed me.

Then I wasn’t a her-

oine anymore.

98 In his answer

to the question

whether a

democratic

country like

India should

ban a book,

Aubrey

Menen who

himself was at

the receiving

end for his

retelling of the

Ramayana,

made this

statement.

India is a difficult

country to

understand…I fully

understand why the

book was banned. I

am no reformer, only

a writer…. I recognise

certain things to

which the poor people

hang on. They are not

merely superstitious.

If that faith can give

them a little courage

why deny it?

Aubrey Menen here

says that if the book

hurt the religious

sentiments of people

and questioned their

beliefs and faith,

then its banning is

justified.

Religious

Issues:

Offending

Sensibiliti

es

99 Chandran,

Mini, “The

Democratizati

on of

Censorship:

Menen’s systematic

demystification does

not stop with the

characters; he goes on

to methodically take

Critics feel that it is

as if Menen is

mocking all the

principles of

acceptable and

Social

Issues:

Behaviour

al Norms

76

Books and the

Indian

Public”,

Economic and

Political

Weekly,

October 2,

2010, pp. 27-

31

apart the philosophy

on which the epic is

built.

respectable conduct

that Indian society

holds sacred.

100 Review of the

Ramayana by

Aubrey

Menon: G. L.

Anderson

New York

University

The traditional Hin-

du notions of perfect

obedience to parents,

unquestioning

acceptance of the

teachings of your

guru, renunciation of

material pleasures,

and achievement of

spiritual en-

lightenment are all

shown to be pure

hum- bug.


as if Menen is

mocking all the

principles of

acceptable and

respectable conduct

that Indian society

holds sacred.

Social

Issues:

Obscenity

and

Vulgarity

101 Review of the

Ramayana by

Aubrey

Menon: G. L.

Anderson

New York

University

The traditional Hin-

du notions of perfect

obedience to parents,

unquestioning

acceptance of the

teachings of your

guru, renunciation of

material pleasures,

and achievement of


as if Menen is

mocking all the

principles of

acceptable and

respectable conduct

that Indian society

holds sacred.

Social

Issues:

Behaviour

al Norms

77

spiritual en-

lightenment are all

shown to be pure

hum- bug.

102 Chandran,

Mini, “The

Democratizati

on of

Censorship:

Books and the

Indian

Public”,

Economic and

Political

Weekly,

October 2,

2010, pp. 27-

31

Menen seems to be

identifying himself

with Valmiki (who is

seen as a fellow

writer) who prefers

the company of the

“gluttons” in the

forest who spend

more time eating than

talking: “If all

profound thinkers did

that, how tranquil the

world would be!”

Valmiki ruminates

(Menen 1954: 97).

Guru Valmiki is one

of the most

respected Gurus of

Hindu Mythology.

Menen’s attempt to

compare himself to

Valmiki and depict

him as a shallow

human being did not

fare well with

people.

Religious

Issues:

Mockery

of a

Revered

Figure

103 Chandran,

Mini, “The

Democratizati

on of

Censorship:

Books and the

Indian

Public”,

Economic and

Political

Weekly,

October 2,

Contrary to what he

professed, Menen

appears to be

undermining the

ethical and moral

concepts on which the

edifice of the Hindu

code of conduct is

built up.

It is as if Menen is

mocking all the

principles of

acceptable and

respectable conduct

that Indian society

holds sacred.

Social

Issues:

Morality

78

2010, pp. 27-

31

104 Review of the

Ramayana by

Aubrey

Menon: G. L.

Anderson

New York

University

He ends the novel

(Menen 1954: 231)

with Valmiki’s

declaration that the

only three things in

life that can be seen as

constant are “God,

human folly and

laughter”

Guru Valmiki is one

of the most

respected Gurus of

Hindu Mythology.

Menen’s attempt to

depict him as a

shallow human

being did not fare

well with religious

groups.

Religious

Issues:

Mockery

of a

Revered

Figure

105 Review of the

Ramayana by

Aubrey

Menon: G. L.

Anderson

New York

University

But his Rama is an

all-too-human hero

and is not likely to

inspire the reader to

austerity and virtue.

An enjoyable and

intellectually

rollicking redaction,

but to the Hindu it

will have the same

relation to the original

that Robert Graves's

King Jesus has to the

gospels. Banned in

New Delhi.

Foreign critics have

termed the book as

‘enjoyable and

intellectually

rollicking redaction’

but acknowledges

that it is not

authentic.

Religious

Issues:

Mockery

of a

Revered

Figure

79

Results and Analysis

5.1. Frequency Table Based on Observation Table

Reasons in Favour of Book Banning:

Reasons in Favour of Book Banning

No. of

Observations

Political Issues 18

Social Issues

External Influence 4

Communalism 5

Obscenity and Vulgarity 5

Behaviour and Morality 4

Promoting Enmity between Social

Groups 2

Miscellaneous 5

Total 25

Religious Issues

Offending Sensibilities 10

Demand of Specific Religious Groups 2

Mockery of a Revered Figure 11

Blasphemy 4

Fundamentalism/Extremism 5

Total 32

Legal Issues 10

Historical Issues 1

Reasons against Book Banning:

Reasons Against Book Banning No. Of Observations

Democratic Principles (Freedom of Speech and Expression) 8

Spreading Awareness 2

Academic Development 4

Misinterpretation and Fear of 'Possible' Consequences 7

Legal Stand 3

80

5.2.Reasons in Favour of Book-Banning:

The following keywords emerged while studying the column for ‘Reasons in Favour of

Book-Banning’. Their interpretation has been given below as well.

1. Political Issues – Under this category, those observations have been classified, which

hints at book banning being used as a political tool by the politicians to serve their

political interests or where a political connotation has been attached to the issue of book

banning.

2. Social Issues – It is a broad category, which has been sub-categorized into:



communalism


racial issues


3. Religious Issues – This is the broadest category and includes those observation in which

the religious sentiments or the allegiance of people towards a specific historical hero is

taken into consideration while reflecting upon the issue of book banning. It has been sub-

categorized as:



blasphemy



4. Historical Issues – This category includes those deliberations on book banning which

takes into consideration the significance of historical facts. Misinterpretation of historical

facts and events, insults to revered historical figures (as reflected in Shivaji: Hindu King

in Islamic India) etc. are covered under this category.

81

5. Legal Issues – The judiciary often takes a stand in banning books on several basis, and

sometimes even defines vague terms which generally influence the decision to ban books

all over the country. For example, in 1964, when the issue of banning D H Lawrence’s

Lady Chatterley’s Lover came to the Hon’ble Supreme Court, the court took a stand to

define the term ‘obscenity’ with regard to public sentiment and societal perception.

18

25

32

10

1

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

POLITICAL ISSUES

SOCIAL ISSUES

RELIGIOUS ISSUES

LEGAL ISSUES

HISTORICAL ISSUES

Reasons in Favour of Book Banning

82

10

2

11

45

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Religious Issues

Offending Sensibilities Demand of Specific Religious Groups

Mockery of a Revered Figure Blasphemy

Fundamentalism/Extremism

4

5 5

4

2

5

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

ExternalInfluence

Communalism Obscenity andVulgarity

Behaviour andMorality

PromotingEnmity between

Social Groups

Miscellaneous

Social Issues

External Influence Communalism

Obscenity and Vulgarity Behaviour and Morality

Promoting Enmity between Social Groups Miscellaneous

83

The study reveals that ‘Religious Issues’ is the most common reason for banning books,

followed closely by ‘Social Issues’.

Religious Issues is the broadest category and has been sub-categorized as:



blasphemy



Out of these groups, ‘Mockery of a Revered Figure’ seems to be the primary issue behind

banning books on religious grounds, followed by ‘Fundamentalism/Extremism’.

Social Issues is also a broad category, which has been sub-categorized into:



communalism


racial issues


Under ‘Social Issues’, ‘Communalism’ followed by ‘Obscenity/Vulgarity’ are the most

common reasons for book-banning.

5.3. Reasons against Book-Banning:

The following keywords emerged while studying the column for ‘Reasons against Book-

Banning’. Their interpretation has been given below as well.

1. Democratic Values (Freedom of Speech and Expression)- The central argument against

the banning of books is that the practice is in contravention of the fundamental right of

Freedom of Speech and Expression as guaranteed by Article 19(1) of the Constitution of

India, and does not fall within the ambit of ‘reasonable restrictions’ as defined by Article

19(1)(a).

84

2. Spreading Awareness- Banning of books prevents dissemination of knowledge about a

particular cultural or social issue which may be of significance. For example, Aubrey

Menen’s Ramayana (banned in India till date) was read widely and spread a positive

awareness about the rich Indian culture and tradition in the Western world, which had

remained uninformed for the longest time. Also, "E for Ecstasy" by Nicholas Saunders

provided detailed information about the drug ecstasy which prevented several of the

book’s readers from indulging in abuse of this drug.

3. Academic Development- It is important that academia consistently keeps disciplines like

history, sociology etc. open to any and all academic exploration and interpretation. For

this it is important to not only preserve resources but allow free access to it, along with

the freedom to interpret and express.

4. Misinterpretation and Fear of ‘Possible’ Consequences- Most of the books that are

banned aren’t even read by the authorities. FIRs are registered based on public hue and

cry and cases are carried forward based on the objections of certain societal groups,

which often arises from misinterpretation of the text in question. Also, fear of ‘possible’

consequences such as communal riots and violence also influences decisions to ban

books. It is now being recognised that this is not sufficient reason to ban literature.

5. Legal Aspect- The judiciary in India is increasingly adopting a more liberal approach

with respect to interpretations of challenged books. This keyword deals with this very

aspect.

85

The most popular reason against book banning is that the practice is not in consonance with the

democratic ideal of Freedom of Speech and Expression, as guaranteed by Article 19 of the

Constitution of India.

Also, several times, the meaning of the text in question may be misconstrued, leading to

misinterpretation of the book and the intent behind it. Many a times, the authorities banning the

book do not read it, and it is withdrawn form circulation only due to the fear of ‘possible’

consequences. For example, The Ramayana by Aubrey Menen was banned was fear of

communal riots, but till date, there is no evidence that any riots actually took place.

8

2

4

7

3

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES (FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND EXPRESSION)

SPREADING AWARENESS

ACADEMIC DEVELOPMENT

MISINTERPRETATION AND FEAR OF 'POSSIBLE' CONSEQUENCES

LEGAL STAND

Reasons Against Book Banning

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Discussion

a. The Satanic Verses- Salman Rushdie

One of the most well-known and widely discussed instances of book censorship of our time is

that of The Satanic Verses, a novel by Salman Rushdie, the celebrated British author of Indian

origin. The novel, published in 1988 was a work of fiction which was inspired partly by the life

of Muhammad, the Holy Prophet of Islam, a figure revered greatly by millions of Muslims

across the globe.

At the centre of this controversy was the mention and discussion of the titular Satanic Verses:

verses praising the pagan goddesses of Mecca that had allegedly been incorporated in the Quran

initially before being subsequently deleted. The debate over the existence and authenticity of

these Satanic Verses, as they came to be named by Scottish Orientalist Sir William Muir in 1858,

had been one that has been raging for years and has involved both Muslim and secular historians

and scholars.

These verses were allegedly included in the original Quran as recited by the Prophet Muhammad

and sanctified or legitimized the worship of Al-Lat, Al-Uzza and Manat, the three goddesses of

Mecca. This is a controversial issue in Islam, which is extremely emphatic about monotheism:

the existence of one God, and one God only, as embodied in the declaration of faith (shahada).

Islam also expressly forbids the worship of idols in any form whatsoever, and thus the alleged

inclusion of these verses extolling these pagan idol-gods was an idea that was extremely

inflammatory to devout Muslims. It dilutes the sanctity of the Quran as revealed to Muhammad

by the Archangel Gabriel, and is the cause of much theological discomfort. A number of

Muslims interpreted this work, right from its title, to be an insult to Islam: the perception held

was that the author (Rushdie) was referring to the Holy Quran as a book influenced by Satan.

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Moreover, many of the characters and themes in this novel were seen as blasphemous. Scholar

Anthony McRoy enumerated the various parts of the book that could be seen as blasphemous or

insulting to Islam1:

The use of the name Mahound, said to be a derogatory term for Muhammad used by the

English during the Crusades.

The use of the term Jahilia, denoting the 'time of ignorance' before Islam, for the holy city

of Mecca.

The use of the name of the Angel Gabriel (Gibreel) for a film star, of the name of

Saladin, the great Muslim hero of the Crusades, for a devil, and the name of Ayesha the

wife of Muhammad for a fanatical Indian girl who leads her village on a fatal pilgrimage.

Moreover, the brothel of the city of Jahilia was staffed by prostitutes with the same

names as Muhammad's wives.

Thus, the novel was seen as blasphemous by a large section of the Muslim population around the

world. Protests rocked the UK, as well as many Muslim countries. Ayatollah Khomeini, the

religious and political leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, issued a fatwa obligating Muslims

to kill Rushdie and his publishers for the unthinkable sin of producing this work, which he saw

as unforgivably evil and blasphemous. The judgement, issued on Iranian radio on 14th

February1989,read:

"We are from Allah and to Allah we shall return. I am informing all brave Muslims of the world

that the author of The Satanic Verses, a text written, edited, and published against Islam, the

Prophet of Islam, and the Qur'an, along with all the editors and publishers aware of its contents,

are condemned to death. I call on all valiant Muslims wherever they may be in the world to kill

them without delay, so that no one will dare insult the sacred beliefs of Muslims henceforth. And

whoever is killed in this cause will be a martyr, Allah Willing. Meanwhile if someone has access

to the author of the book but is incapable of carrying out the execution, he should inform the

people so that [Rushdie] is punished for his actions. Rouhollah al-Mousavi al-Khomeini. "2

1 Anthony McRoy (1 July 2007). "Why Muslims feel angry about the Rushdie knighthood" 2 "Ayatollah sentences author to death". BBC. 14 February 1989.

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This was the first time in the modern world that the head of state of a nation had openly declared

an individual residing in another as a target for elimination. Despite an apology from Rushdie,

the Ayatollah held the fatwa as irrevocable, saying:

"The imperialist foreign media falsely alleged that the officials of the Islamic Republic have said

the sentence of death on the author of The Satanic Verses will be retracted if he repents. Imam

Khomeini has said: This is denied 100%. Even if Salman Rushdie repents and become the most

pious man of all time, it is incumbent on every Muslim to employ everything he has got, his life

and wealth, to send him to Hell."

The fatwa was widely accepted by Muslims, even in liberal western democracies like the UK.

Salman Rushdie was forced to go into hiding under protection of the UK government. Incidents

of violence relating to the book became common: assassination attempts on Rushdie occurred

with disturbing regularity but were always foiled. The Japanese translator of the book, Hitoshi

Igarashi, was murdered in 1991, and Ettore Capriolo, the Italian translator, was attacked and

stabbed. William Nygaard, the publisher in Norway, was shot at thrice by a would-be assassin,

but survived. Consequently, a number of nations banned the book. India was the first one to do

so. The import of the book was banned, though possession wasn't punishable. Subsequently,

Bangladesh, Sudan, South Africa, Thailand and Sri Lanka, among other nations, also banned the

book.

b. Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India- Prof James Laine

This book has been written by James W. Laine and published in India in 2004. This book is a

historical analysis of the various narratives – folklore and official – surrounding the

Maharashtrian hero, Shivaji.

In the course of his book, Laine had noted that Shivaji’s parents “lived apart for most if not all of

Shivaji’s life” (p 91), adding that “Maharashtrians tell jokes naughtily suggesting that his

guardian Dadaji Konddev was his biological father” (p 93). This was interpreted as Laine

suggesting that Shivaji was illegitimate, and after a horrified review was published in a Marathi

weekly magazine, a succession of protests began. In October an elderly Sanskrit scholar whom

Laine had thanked in his acknowledgements, was roughed up and had his face smeared with tar.

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To forestall further violence, in November the book was withdrawn from the Indian market by

the Oxford University Press, and an apology for causing offence was issued by the author.(Guha,

2011)

Subsequently, the Gujarat government had to ban the book, considering the wide spread agitation

and it issued an official notification banning the book. The notification was issued by the

government under section 95 of Cr.P.C., which declared forfeiture of every copy of the book and

publication of the book is punishable under section 153A of Indian Penal Code. Section 153A of

the Indian Penal Code, requires that the words must promote or attempt to promote on grounds

of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste or community or any other ground

whatsoever, disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between different religious,

racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities. The book, however arouse feeling

of insult among one group but it doesn’t promote or attempt to promote ill-will, enmity or hatred

between different groups. Thus, the honourable High Court of Bombay, in its judgment on April

26 2007, quashed the notification banning the book and ordered to release all the forfeited copies

of the book. Subsequently, the Gujarat government filed an appeal to the Supreme Court of India

against the judgment of Bombay High Court. The Supreme Court in its judgment on July 9 2010

upheld the decision of Bombay high court. Thus, the ban on the book exists quashed. By this

ruling, the judiciary has proved itself as the champion of free expression in an intolerant system.

The controversial paragraph in the book outraged the feeling of insult for their hero in the

followers the Shivaji. Mob (the Sambhaji Brigade) outrage was not confined to demands for

suppression of Laine’s book; it extended to scholars who had extended help with his research

work, and the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute and Library at Pune from where he got a

major part of his material. The library was vandalised and precious manuscripts destroyed.

As mentioned, Shivaji is considered a hero among the Marathis and in other parts of India, thus,

it followed an outrageous agitation spread throughout the Maharastra. However, Laine just

quoted the folklore prevalent in the Maharastrian society without any intention to hurt the

feelings of anybody and later he apologised for the same but the followers considered it as

derogatory to the life of their hero. The protest against the book aroused out of the emotional

attachment to the content of the book. It aroused a feeling of insult in one group but didn’t

promote feeling of hatred between different groups.

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The ban was enforced after Udhayanraje Bhonsle, the 13th descendent of Shivaji and a former

Bharatiya Janata Party legislator, filed a case in the Satara court against Laine for an allegedly

offensive remark the scholar made on Shivaji's parentage. Laine uses the term "Oedipal rebel" in

the context of Shivaji's relationship with his father.

It is believed that Bhonsle, who considers himself to be the original protector of Shivaji's legend

by virtue of his lineage, was going through a political slump. He lost the then last Assembly

elections to a cousin and got a bad image after he was arrested in connection with the murder of

an NCP activist in 1999. It is believed that he used this issue to revamp his political image.

(Politics Of a Ban, The Hindu article)

The ban was supported by all the political parties so as to gain the support of the whole of the

community of followers of the Shivaji.

c. Ramayana/ Rama Retold- Aubrey Menen

Communal harmony had been the thorniest issue in colonial India and remained such even after

India’s liberation. One of the first books to be suppressed in independent India was Aubrey

Menen’s Ramayana, also known as Rama Retold in the United Kingdom (UK), in 1956. The

novel, a secular retelling of the Hindu epic was banned for the offence it might cause to the

religious feelings of Hindus (Chandran, 2011).

Apparently a few upper caste Hindus had expressed displeasure. India then was less than 10

years old, and had not fully recovered from the trauma of the communal riots that marked the

painful separation from Pakistan. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru took immediate steps to

restrain the novel before it went on to cause another communal conflagration.

In a later interview, Menen refuted Nehru’s explanation that the book was banned for fear of

causing a riot (quoted by Elias 1986: 28): The fact was that my book, which was the retelling of

the Ramayana in secular terms, had caused no riot. What had happened was that a party of

brahmin priests in Bombay had decided to burn the book. Like Nehru, they hadn’t read it. Menen

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seems to be justified in saying this, for there is no evidence to indicate a public protest against

his Ramayana.

However, Menen’s claim of having authentically reproduced the epic appears to be rather

suspect as the novel’s resemblance to the epic is superficial. There are major departures from the

epic in terms of narrative style, the range and breadth of philosophy and the conception of

characters. Proponents of the ban on Menen’s Ramayana state that the book hardly resembles the

epic and depicts the characters in an unflattering light.

Menen’s Rama is “a prince of India, who lived his life according to the best advice”, had

“intellectual betters who were called Brahmins, and did what they told him to do”.

He is a well-intentioned youth who is completely out of depth when it comes to the sly political

games played by his father, the king, and his ruthless courtiers. Rama is mentored intellectually

by Valmiki, the lower caste author of the epic. Menen’s Rama is young, gullible, idealistic and

prone to making stupid mistakes in his zeal to do the right thing.

This portrayal of Rama in a humanized form did not go down well with several Hindus. Lord

Rama has always been placed on a pedestal and this image of him being gullible, and vulnerable

to the same mistakes as petty humans goes against Hindu belief. This depiction of Rama supports

the critics’ claim that Menen has taken uncalled-for liberties with the epic which lies at the very

core of Hindu religion.

Sita in the novel is much more practical and worldly-wise than her husband. What becomes

blasphemous is her willingness to be abducted by Ravana. She later also admits to a breach of

the code of chastity, which is outrageous to a believing Hindu. In Hindu religion, wives are seen

as symbols of devotion to their husbands, shame and chastity. Menen’s description of Sita as

such turns this image on its head, as she comes across as uncouth and brazen.

Menen seems to be identifying himself with Valmiki. Guru Valmiki is one of the most respected

Gurus of Hindu Mythology. Menen’s attempt to compare himself to Valmiki and depict him as a

shallow human being did not fare well with people.

It is as if Menen is mocking all the principles of acceptable and respectable conduct that Indian

society holds sacred. The novel remains banned to this day, and the text and its writer are largely

forgotten, despite the fact that Menen was a prolific writer.

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Conclusion

The legality of book banning can be attributed to the outlook of the society, prevailing law in the

society, political maturity and the intellectual understanding of the society, towards the

dissenting literatures. If a society has liberal outlook, the law in that society is not authoritative,

the political system is mature and developed and the society is intellectually developed the

practice of banning dissenting literature would be alien.

The wide scope for censorship given to the government is perhaps a product of the extreme

diversity of India – with its large variety in terms of races, creeds, religious and cultural groups,

it is extremely vital not to antagonise any particular section of society. We have seen the

volatility of the Indian masses when it comes to their religion, and this has caused a considerable

amount of violence and suffering in the history of this nation. Indeed, the very birth of this nation

was accompanied by its vivisection on the basis of religion. The horrifying effects of Partition

undoubtedly led our founding fathers to the realisation that the interests and sentiments of all

religions, especially religious minorities, had to be protected in the secular democratic state that

India aspired to be. Thus, in the larger interest of national harmony and security, the government

has been willing to curtail the Right to Expression of the individual in some instances. This

seems to be the pragmatic and practical thing to do: the ideal of Freedom of Expression would

mean nothing if we were constantly involved in communal clashes or riots on the basis of

offensive material. The actual exercise of this right is possible only in a civilised society which

makes certain allowances in exchange for complying with its rules. Thus, one must commend the

farsightedness of the framers of the Indian Constitution in their decision to allow this power to

the Government.

Nevertheless, this has been questioned by many proponents of free speech. They say that it

makes it extremely easy for the government to ban books and practise censorship, thus crippling

democracy. Each book that is banned or censored is done so for the content within the pages.

There are a few common reasons that books have been banned or censored in schools, libraries,

and book stores. Many books have been banned or censored in one or more of these categories

due to a misjudgment or misunderstanding about the books contents and message. Although a

book may have been banned or labeled a certain way, it is important that the reader makes

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his/her own judgments on the book. Many books that have been banned or censored later were

dropped from banned books lists and were no longer considered controversial.

However, banning a work of literature or art is not something that the government of a

democracy like ours would do lightly: it is a move that is open to the scrutiny of the public, and

often invites a lot of criticism from the masses, from intellectuals, the media and journalists. It is

a curtailment of a right that, in the eyes of many, must not be curtailed unless absolutely

unavoidable. This inherent safeguard: that of public opinion and intellectual discourse, restricts

the arbitrary exercise of this censoring power.

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References

(for Introduction)

Chandran, Mini, “The Democratization of Censorship: Books and the Indian Public”,

Economic and Political Weekly, October 2, 2010, pp. 27-31

Noorani, A.G., “Book Banning”, Economic and Political Weekly, December 1, 2007, pp.

10-11.

Tracy, Robert. (1965). Literature and Obscenity. Christian Century. 82(24), 769-772

Noorani, A.G, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 42, No. 48 (Dec. 1 - 7, 2007), pp.

10-11

McLintock, A.H., An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand: Censorship of Books.

Teara.govt.nz (2009-04-23)

Judy Blume, Places I Never Meant to Be: A Personal View, American Libraries, Vol. 30,

No. 6 (Jun. - Jul., 1999), pp. 62-67, Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25637200 .

Accessed: 09/09/2014 10:04

Jennifer Rossuck, Banned Books: A Study of Censorship, The English Journal, Vol. 86,

No. 2, Censorship (Feb., 1997), pp. 67-70, Stable URL:

http://www.jstor.org/stable/819679 . Accessed: 09/09/2014 09:5

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