As we all watch Hindu nationalists burn effigies of foreign women...
It seems a relevant moment to bring up a light change, made on a legal advice, to The Language of History (my most recent book). Take a look for yourself. I had to take out "Hindutva" here to publish in India:
It seems a relevant moment to bring up a light change, made on a legal advice, to The Language of History (my most recent book). Take a look for yourself. I had to take out "Hindutva" here to publish in India:
Background knowledge --
India censors stuff all the time -- books, movies, news, etc. This isn't new, but it has ramped up with the BJP in power since 2014. They use colonial-era laws that were designed to restrict Indian freedoms and extrajudicial means (e.g., violence).
India censors stuff all the time -- books, movies, news, etc. This isn't new, but it has ramped up with the BJP in power since 2014. They use colonial-era laws that were designed to restrict Indian freedoms and extrajudicial means (e.g., violence).
Largely because of a high-profile lawsuit concerning an academic book in India several years ago, publishers now act with caution.
In my case, this has meant that all 3 of my books have been subject to a legal read prior to publication in India. The lawyer recommends changes, both to comply with good-faith and bad-faith applications of Indian law and also to avoid threats of violence.
Let's pause and appreciate how extraordinary this is.
In the United States, the idea that a lawyer would need to vet an academic's publications on premodern India... well, it's laughable. I remain enraged that the Indian government treats its own citizens this way.
In the United States, the idea that a lawyer would need to vet an academic's publications on premodern India... well, it's laughable. I remain enraged that the Indian government treats its own citizens this way.
I wrote about the censorship of my book on Aurangzeb here. I actually had to take out historical information there about Shivaji (which is, ironically, largely included in The Language of History)... censorship can be haphazard. historytoday.com/history-matter…
For anyone wondering -- the self-censorship of The Language of History is light; it isn't worth paying more for the US/Worldwide edition (unless you like maps, which the Indian government really does not).
But I found it notable that a key issue was talking about #Hindutva.
But I found it notable that a key issue was talking about #Hindutva.
A reminder: Hindutva is a hateful ideology, a type of ethno-nationalism; it is distinct from Hinduism, a diverse religion.
Criticizing Hindutva is beyond fair game, it is the right thing to do given the intolerance and violence stemming from this ideology.
Criticizing Hindutva is beyond fair game, it is the right thing to do given the intolerance and violence stemming from this ideology.
So, I'm going to persist in both my scholarship on premodern India and my accurate, timely criticisms of Hindutva. Just, increasingly, not in India.
Most recently, not even virtually: thewire.in/education/univ…
End of #THREAD
Most recently, not even virtually: thewire.in/education/univ…
End of #THREAD
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