By book or by crook? Pune speaks out on 'The Hindu's'

DNA Pune speaks to authors and educationists about what they think about  all the controversy surrounding Wendy Doniger's Book

Apurv Nagpal, author

I had retailers refuse to promote my adult fiction for its ‘dark’ content
Overall, it is an issue of governance in our country. We seed everything and let hooligans take over. Artistes and artists often face this issue in India, take for example, MF Hussain. He was banned because no one understood his art. Similarly, for films, the Censor Board will okay a film but suddenly a group of lunatics will protest and get the film stalled. This will continue till people stand up for issues they care about. When I wrote my adult fiction I had retailers and etailers refuse to promote it for the ‘dark’ content. You can’t point at a singular party for such protests as all have a narrow-minded agenda. Today, we as adults can’t even watch a naked woman in a film so we can soon see that happening in books as well. I remember my chat with Leela Samson (Censor Board chief) when she said life should be of certification and not censorship.

Sonja Chandrachud, author

Indian authors have a limited right to freedom of speech
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but when addressing issues that are provocative — a certain amount of discretion is a must — which a great scholar like Doniger ignored. Controversy fuels interest and that is perhaps what she had in mind when she wrote her book through a westerner’s eyes. What irked many are the many unfounded presumptions she has made. But there is no doubt that Indians are extremely negatively sensitive about two main issues — religion and sexuality which always draw ire when one dares question and de-mystify them like Satanic Verses. Indian authors have a limited right to freedom of speech unlike their western counterparts and this does not augur well for our nation’s intellectual growth. Indian publishers already have an informal code of censorship especially in Young Adult literature and they play it safe with adult literature as well. By pulling Doniger’s book off the shelves, Penguin India has reacted rather wisely for its not easy to fight an illiterate, sword wielding mob when law enforcers are corrupt and impotent. The book will surely find its way to readers who earlier may have decided to give it a wise miss. 


Manjiri Prabhu, author

A publisher should stand by the book regardless of the controversy
There is absolutely no doubt that everybody has a right to freedom of speech, including those involved in expressing art. Writing is a very solitary affair and one cannot have a Censor Board dictating the style or the content of the piece. The writer is trying to express his/her perspective to the research put in and writes what s/he genuinely believes in. I have heard that the publisher has had an out of court settlement to pull off all copies from the market, I frankly believe that when a publisher has decided to publish a certain work, they should stand by it regardless of the controversy it creates, as they have already believed in the strength of the work. The best form of censorship is self censorship. A lot goes into what the objective of the writer was in writing a particular book. If the writer is touching a sensitive subject, it could/would invariably touch a few nerves, then s/he should be prepared for the reaction that could follow.

Mahrukh Bharucha, theatre personality

In the age of Internet and other sources banning a book won’t help 
I would like to remind people of Gandhi’s words when he said that he will defend rights till his dying breath. Today, people should have the tolerance and patience like him. In this day and age of Internet and other available sources online or offline, banning a book or stopping a publication won’t help. I don’t understand how taking a book off the shelf 
make a difference. It has been out there and read by all by now. It also becomes the case of forbidden fruit. For example, The Satanic Verses would not have been read without the fatwa issued on it. So, in a way it helped the book. Also, Hinduism nowhere teaches you to be intolerant and take away basic rights of living from people. It in fact lets you allow people to exist the way they wish and want to. You cannot force morality and standards on anyone. In a true democracry, I think everyone has the right to freedom of speech.