On January 22, 2014, Penguin India released a statement that they have reached an out of court settlement and have agreed to withdraw the book “The Hindus, an Alternative History” by Wendy Doniger, from India and to destroy all the copies that have already been printed. This was the result of court cases launched against the publisher by Shiksha Bachao Andolan Committee led by Mr. Dina Nath Batra in a New Delhi court. The court battles between Penguin and Shiksha Bachao Andolan Committee including criminal complaints have been going on since 2010.
The publisher also stated that they respect all religions.
Before Shri Dina Natha Batra started court challenge in India, the support and efforts made by Hindus worldwide made it possible so that NBCC (National Book Critics Circle, New York, NY, USA) did not award Ms. Doniger its prestigious award in 2010.
After a Hindu group in Atlanta launched the campaign, in a very short period of time, about 30 letters were sent to NBCC protesting Wendy Doniger as an award recipient. Additionally about 10,000 signatures were collected, for a petition against NBCC award to Wendy. Finally, due to our collective efforts in USA, Wendy did not receive the award by NBCC.
HMSA warmly welcomes this decision taken by Penguin India. We are painfully aware that this news has contributed to the publicity of this erroneous and slanderous book. Nevertheless it is a great victory for Hindus that a book that aims to denigrate Hindus and tarnishes the image of Hinduism has been withdrawn. It is a testimony to the fighting spirit of the Hindus worldwide in defense of our religion.
Why this book is an affront to Hindusim?
This book’s cover has an erotic image. It states that Ramayana is fiction. It erroneously says that Mahatma Gandhi, a Hindu leader, used to sleep with under-age girls. It erroneously states that Swami Vivekananda preached that Hinds should eat meat including beef.
Mr. Batra said that the author of this book is a sex-hungry woman. By using an erotic mage as the book cover, and by dwelling on sex in this book, the author is trying to use the well-known technique of using sex to sell. The aim of the author is not only to destroy Hinduism but also to get rich and famous in the process.
It is clear that the aim of the author and her supporters in the academia is to denigrate Hinduism and thus contribute to the rejection of this oldest living religion by people. If Ramayana is a fiction then why would one believe in Lord Rama or in Lord Hanuman? If Swami Vivekananda preached beef eating then why would Hindus shun beef? If Hindus start eating beef, then what would be the distinction between Hindus versus the Christians and Muslims. The sinister aim of the enemies of Hinduism can be clearly seen.
We are also pained by the statement by an Indian cabinet minister who called this decision by Penguin India, ‘atrocious’. The leftist author, Arundhati Roy, also slammed this wise decision by the publishers. It is clear that the present Indian government, led by the Congress Party, instead of defending the religion of the majority population, sides with those who seek to destroy our religion.
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