Wendy Doniger's The Hindus: An Alternative History isn't a brand new book, but it is back in the news as, shamefully, Penguin India have given up the fight and given in to some locals who claim to be offended by the book (to the extent that they believe no one should be able to read it) and so, as for example Krista Mahr puts it in Time, Indian Publisher to Recall and Destroy Copies of American's Book on Hinduism.
This is hardly the first time there have been issues in India with books touching on religion -- recall the mess surrounding James Laine's Shivaji -- but this kind of intolerance is a bad, bad sign for India.
Disappointing, too, is that Penguin India has not even issued any public statements, much less released a press release (come on, guys, this is: "the latest news from Penguin Books India" and we want to hear your feeble excuses and explanations for your cowardly kowtowing). (Interestingly, while they've already withdrawn the book from local online sellers, the publicity page for it is still up.)
Local prohibitions of this sort are of course pretty useless, fortunately (though they send one hell of a bad message), and you can readily get a copy at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.
It'll be interesting to see what happens now with Doniger's forthcoming volume On Hinduism -- where touchy opportunists will no doubt readily find some sort of offense as well (see already the 'reviews' at Amazon.com), but for now that volume is available at, for example, Indian outlet Flipkart (or get your copy at Amazon.co.uk).
Fortunately, this has gotten a lot of attention in India, and maybe it will eventually do some good, with the laws changed so this kind of nonsense won't happen any longer. Until then: for shame, all around.
(I've never understood laws against blasphemy and the like: if you believe in that sort of nonsense, how can you take offense when someone belittles/denounces/insults those beliefs ? Surely your deity, whatever it may be, is all-mighty enough to be entirely beyond petty mortal doubt/censure/insult. (Oh, of course it isn't -- because the foundations of your belief-system are built on a web of feeble fantasies that can't withstand the slightest scrutiny; the only way to defend it is to silence any voice that casts even the slightest doubt on any part of, or else, you fear (probably correctly -- just look at that graveyard of belief-systems from the past no one takes seriously any longer), the whole house of cards will come a'tumbling down ....))
This is hardly the first time there have been issues in India with books touching on religion -- recall the mess surrounding James Laine's Shivaji -- but this kind of intolerance is a bad, bad sign for India.
Disappointing, too, is that Penguin India has not even issued any public statements, much less released a press release (come on, guys, this is: "the latest news from Penguin Books India" and we want to hear your feeble excuses and explanations for your cowardly kowtowing). (Interestingly, while they've already withdrawn the book from local online sellers, the publicity page for it is still up.)
Local prohibitions of this sort are of course pretty useless, fortunately (though they send one hell of a bad message), and you can readily get a copy at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.
It'll be interesting to see what happens now with Doniger's forthcoming volume On Hinduism -- where touchy opportunists will no doubt readily find some sort of offense as well (see already the 'reviews' at Amazon.com), but for now that volume is available at, for example, Indian outlet Flipkart (or get your copy at Amazon.co.uk).
Fortunately, this has gotten a lot of attention in India, and maybe it will eventually do some good, with the laws changed so this kind of nonsense won't happen any longer. Until then: for shame, all around.
(I've never understood laws against blasphemy and the like: if you believe in that sort of nonsense, how can you take offense when someone belittles/denounces/insults those beliefs ? Surely your deity, whatever it may be, is all-mighty enough to be entirely beyond petty mortal doubt/censure/insult. (Oh, of course it isn't -- because the foundations of your belief-system are built on a web of feeble fantasies that can't withstand the slightest scrutiny; the only way to defend it is to silence any voice that casts even the slightest doubt on any part of, or else, you fear (probably correctly -- just look at that graveyard of belief-systems from the past no one takes seriously any longer), the whole house of cards will come a'tumbling down ....))