Banning books by governments does not surprise much since this has been going on across the world since long. But when publishers suddenly decide not to print books by high-profile writers even after their tomes are completed, it raises disturbing questions about the publishers & publishing industry, freedom of speech & expression and primarily about government control on reading. It sounds even more ominous when the same publisher figures in many recent cases in India. This time Sonia Gandhi becomes the casualty for her memoir – “Belonging: A Journey of Love”. Before her case, the publisher, Penguin Random House India (PRHI) decided not to publish the memoir of former Army Chief Manoj Mukund Naravane,“Four Stars of Destiny”, earlier this year. Naravane’s book first remained unpublished, but subsequently hard copies of the book as well as digital copies of the manuscript became available and created controversy about its exact status. The publisher then asserted its rights over the material, saying that the “book has not gone into publication.” Graphic novelist Joe Sacco’s book, The Once and Future Riot, based on the Muzaffarnagar riots of 2013, was also pulled out by PRHI, allegedly over the use of an “inaccurate” map of India.
However, the writer later said that the publisher was trying to find “excuses” to pull out of the project. He regretted that the publication faced the stumbling block because of “the current political climate in India.” One common thread that joins the memoirs of Naravane and Sonia Gandhi is their reference to China. Naravane dealt with the standoff between Indian and Chinese forces at Galwan in 2021 and described how he was let down by the country’s top political leadership when he awaited, in vain, orders to stop the intruding Chinese forces. Sonia Gandhi’s memoir traces her journey to India following her marriage with Rajiv Gandhi. As she said “much has been written about her family,” but few narratives, according to her, were able to fathom the truth of their motivations, actions and “even their human failings.”
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Calling her book a homage to their “humaneness,” she said her story offers readers a unique perspective of the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty and her own career in government. But trouble apparently started when she declined to alter or remove, as per purported suggestions by her publishers, three or four passages referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Chinese intrusions into Indian territory. Sonia Gandhi reportedly told the publisher that the memoir was her own account of her life and that she would not agree to the proposed changes.
The publishers, however, in a clarification, insisted “any suggestion that Penguin Random House India decided not to publish ‘Belonging’ because the author declined editorial changes does not accurately reflect the circumstances.” It went on to add “fact-checking manuscripts and making recommendations to authors were part of the normal publishing process.” In the same breath, it claimed throughout the discussions it remained “willing and keen” to publish the book, while declining to comment further on confidential discussions with the author. The explanation offered by the publisher strains credulity since its imprint in the US, Alfred A. Knopf, announced that it will publish the book on 10 November without editing any of the controversial references. Had it been an editorial choice or prerogative, the US publisher would have cited the same reason and pulled out the publication. It is not difficult to understand that the publisher would not have dared to mete out such an unprofessional treatment to a top politician of the country writing her memoir, had there not been extreme pressure from the ruling establishment. This raises questions as to why the party in power is seemingly so scared of narratives by an Army chief and a top Opposition leader.
Recently, VHP members were seen disrupting a book club in an Amdavad garden where members were reading books like the Diary of Anne Frank and Malala Yousafzai’s books. This level of intolerance for books is easy to understand if one glances back in history. Alfred Whitney Griswold, President of Yale University had said, “Books won’t stay banned. They won’t burn. Ideas won’t go to jail.
In the long run of history, the censor and the inquisitor have always lost.” Similarly, on the subject of banning books, English playwright and illustrator Laurence Houseman had said “Censorship is the offspring of prejudice and the father of ignorance.” In a plural polity, many narratives and opinions are thrown around. It is up to the people to decide what is acceptable to them. And many a times, these are purely subjective. BJP itself is known to have used the medium of cinema to push certain narratives since it has come to power. It is, however, wary of the literary medium, especially books in English. It is said people are mostly afraid of what they do not understand. The more attempts to cover up certain narratives, the more people will get interested in finding out about them.
