Form of words:
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed Congress leader and former Union minister Salman Khurshid’s plea seeking a ban on the new book.Sunrise over Ayodhya: Nationalism in our times,
Hearing the petition, Justice Yashwant Verma remarked, “Don’t ask people to buy the book or read it… Tell everyone that the book is badly written. Ask them to read something better. So what can we do if they are so sensitive? No one has asked them to read it.”
“What can we do if people are feeling that way? If they don’t like the passage they can skip the chapter. If they are feeling hurt they could have closed their eyes,” the judge said.
The court was hearing a plea filed by Delhi-based lawyer Vineet Jindal through advocate Raj Kishor Choudhary, seeking a direction to ban the sale, purchase and circulation of the book and stop its publication in any form – Print or digital. The book reportedly compares the “stronger version” of Hindutva to Islamic State and Boko Haram.
‘Disrespectful to Hindu community’
The petition, filed earlier this month, alleged that the statements made in the book were defamatory to the Hindu community.
“This is a very offensive and derogatory statement to the entire Hindu community and also raises questions about their values and virtues about a society. The similarity of Hinduism to ISIS and Boko Haram is perceived as a negative ideology that Hindus are following and Hinduism is violent, inhuman and oppressive,” the petition said.
During the hearing on Thursday, Choudhary also referred to an excerpt from a chapter in the book. Chapter titled ‘saffron sky’, there was a line which stated that “Sanatan Dharma and classical Hinduism known for saints and sages were being pushed aside by a stronger version of Hindutva, such as ISIS and Boko Haram of recent years.” Political versions of groups similar to jihadist Islam.”
He then insisted that such lines were “disturbing public peace” and added, “It may be possible that nothing is happening today but may happen tomorrow. Every communal riot in this country has such support.” This part of the book is a must-visit.”
(Edited by Neha Mahajan)
Read also: Hindu Rashtra cannot be our reaction: Salman Khurshid
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