Penguin to recall Wendy Doniger’s The Hindus
12 Feb 2014 12:15 AM GMT
In the agreement with Shiksha Bachao Andolan Committee, Penguin reportedly had said it ‘shall with immediate effect recall and withdraw all copies of The Hindus: An Alternative History written by Wendy Doniger’ and ‘shall not publish or distribute the book’, according to details available on social media.
When contacted, Penguin officials declined to comment. The publisher reportedly agreed that it will pulp at its own cost ‘all recalled, withdrawn, unsold copies.’ It also reportedly agreed to ensure that the book is ‘completely withdrawn or cleared from the country at the earliest, within a period nor exceeding six months starting from the date on which this agreement is signed (February 4).’
In 2011, a civil lawsuit was filed against the publisher by Shiksha Bachao Andolan. The book also has two other criminal complaints against it. The petitioners alleged that the book – which focuses on different aspects of Hinduism – has lot of ‘inaccuracies and biases’ and was full of various sexual connotations. The 800-page book, published in 2009, is considered Doniger’s, one of the foremost scholars of Hinduism, definitive works.
When contacted, Penguin officials declined to comment. The publisher reportedly agreed that it will pulp at its own cost ‘all recalled, withdrawn, unsold copies.’ It also reportedly agreed to ensure that the book is ‘completely withdrawn or cleared from the country at the earliest, within a period nor exceeding six months starting from the date on which this agreement is signed (February 4).’
In 2011, a civil lawsuit was filed against the publisher by Shiksha Bachao Andolan. The book also has two other criminal complaints against it. The petitioners alleged that the book – which focuses on different aspects of Hinduism – has lot of ‘inaccuracies and biases’ and was full of various sexual connotations. The 800-page book, published in 2009, is considered Doniger’s, one of the foremost scholars of Hinduism, definitive works.
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