Hey netas, leave those books alone!

Once more, the Maharashtra government is poised to prove to us that it truly belongs to our glorious past where freedom of speech and expression were anathema to the ruling classes.

Books were to be burnt or banned and once again, the government remains true to itself. The current contentious issue is more probably not one at all. A review of a new book on Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi claims that not only was Gandhi a racist, he was also bisexual. Joseph Lelyveld, author of Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and his Struggle with India, has angrily and emphatically denied that he has made any such claims and that the reviewer (for the rightwing British newspaper The Daily Mail) had drawn his own conclusions.

Why then such a fuss in India and why is this book on the verge of being banned? The most obvious explanation is that no one in the government has read the book but someone has picked up on the controversy and licked their chops at this opportunity to once more demonstrate ignorance and illiteracy.

There are also several ironies here, which are lost on nobody. No government in India cares a toss for Mahatma Gandhi anymore and only lip service is paid to his memory. His ideas are perceived as brilliant by Indians and by the world, but the average Indian politician usually finds his high standards irksome and difficult to understand. It has been said before but is worth saying again - banning books is draconian and Gandhi’s memory has been damaged more by Indian politicians than by any negative scholarly exercises.

The Congress is enamoured of the “other” Gandhi family, the BJP and its rightwing friends never liked Gandhi anyway, and the Left has its own heroes, usually disconnected from the Indian freedom struggle.

Of course, the threat of banning the book is just humbug and a knee-jerk reaction. This outrage at a “perceived” insult is so put on that no one is taken in. Besides, the general public has lots more to be worried about - not least the outcome of the Cricket World Cup and also the extraordinary provisions of the latest budget put out by the government. There is also the fact that the last four chief ministers of the state have allegations of corruption hanging over their heads, adding to the visible struggle to administer what was once India’s most successful state.

I would recommend though that before they ban this book, members of this government make a little trip down to Mani Bhavan on Laburnam Road. It is a delightful museum and provides a moving and inspiring picture of the life of this Great Soul and of his relationship with this city. The trustees would tell them that foreign dignitaries - the last biggie being US president Barack Obama - and school children are regular visitors, Indian politicians are rare birds.

Actually I have one more task - that our ministers actually read this “controversial” book. And while they’re at it, why not pick up My Experiments with Truth as well. And then they can try and ban that.