Meghalaya mulls blasphemy law in 'smoking Jesus' row

Christian outrage at a school book picture showing Jesus Christ holding a beer bottle and a cigarette has spurred authorities Meghalaya to draft an anti-blasphemy law for schools.

Police in Meghalaya state have seized the notebooks and are taking a New-Delhi based private publisher to court on accusations of offending religious sentiments.

In the notebooks, which were meant for handwriting classes, the Jesus picture accompanies the word "idol" and is used to illustrate the letter 'I'.

"The proposed law will help the government take action against such publishers," Ampareen Lyngdoh, the state of Meghalaya's education minister, told Reuters on Tuesday.

"In absence of such laws, officials are unable to take action against publishers who commit such offences, which leads to public outrage."

The publisher has apologised to the people of Meghalaya and recalled all copies of the notebook from the market. The picture has also enraged Christians in Punjab and sparked protests, local media said.

Christian organisations across the state have condemned the incident and demanded the government pass a law to monitor all school books for offensive content before they are circulated.

"The publication of the picture has deeply hurt our religious sentiments, and (the) publisher has violated the provisions of Constitution of India," said a statement by the Indian Catholic Youth Movement in Shillong.

Christians make up 2.3% of the country's 1.1 billion-plus population. Hindus make up 80%, followed by Muslims at 13%, Sikhs at 1.8% and Buddhists at 0.8%.

The country has witnessed sectarian-fuelled violence and protests in the past, usually between Hindus and Muslims.