Two Authors Ask Indian Publisher to Pulp Their Books
NYTIMES | ARTSBEAT
By Jennifer Schuessler
BOOKSHELF---Penguin India drew strong criticism from authors earlier this month after it decided to withdraw and pulp the scholar Wendy Doniger’s book “The Hindus: An Alternative History,” thus ending a four-year legal battle with Hindu nationalists who argued the book violated Indian laws against giving religious offense. Now, two Penguin authors angered by the decision have written to the publisher demanding that it withdraw and pulp their own books. Jyotirmaya Sharma, the author of two books about Hindu nationalism, and Siddharth Varadarajan, the author of “Gujarat: The Making of a Tragedy,” in letters to Penguin cited in The Times of India, said the publisher’s decision to end its four-year defense of Ms. Doniger’s book had undermined their own faith in the publisher. [link]
By Jennifer Schuessler
BOOKSHELF---Penguin India drew strong criticism from authors earlier this month after it decided to withdraw and pulp the scholar Wendy Doniger’s book “The Hindus: An Alternative History,” thus ending a four-year legal battle with Hindu nationalists who argued the book violated Indian laws against giving religious offense. Now, two Penguin authors angered by the decision have written to the publisher demanding that it withdraw and pulp their own books. Jyotirmaya Sharma, the author of two books about Hindu nationalism, and Siddharth Varadarajan, the author of “Gujarat: The Making of a Tragedy,” in letters to Penguin cited in The Times of India, said the publisher’s decision to end its four-year defense of Ms. Doniger’s book had undermined their own faith in the publisher. [link]
