Thugs from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal launched a brutal attack, declaring that books like The Diary of Anne Frank and Malala Yousafzai’s I Am Malala could not be read. Miscreants from these two RSS-affiliated organizations severely beat the people who had gathered to read the books. The incident took place last Thursday in the Vastrapur area of Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The organizers had also brought along books by Bhagat Singh, Ambedkar, and Nehru for the reading session.Locals have also reported that Hindutva miscreants tore up the books. The incident sparked a strong reaction after coming to light on Saturday.
On August 11, some parents of students at Anand Niketan School in Ahmedabad alleged that a piece of glass had been found in a child’s food. Subsequently, a group of parents complained that religious discrimination was being practiced by compelling students to read books by Malala Yousafzai and Anne Frank.In light of this allegation, the school dismissed a curriculum consultant—a former student of the institution—who worked there as a curriculum developer and teacher trainer. He is a Muslim.
In protest against this incident, several citizens and two organizations—the Students and Youth Collective Ahmedabad (SYCA) and Gujarat Reads Anyway (GRA)—decided to read other books alongside the two in question. Consequently, citizens gathered at a park in Vastrapur, an upscale area of the city. Their objective was to read selected, globally acclaimed books and memoirs, including Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl and Malala Yousafzai’s I Am Malala.
Those two organizations made a conscious decision to read the books by Anne Frank and Malala Yousafzai. Frank’s diary contains an account of the atrocities committed by Hitler’s Nazi forces, highlighting the horrors of fascism; over the decades, countless people across the globe have read this book, which has been translated into numerous languages. Alongside this, the autobiography of Pakistan’s Malala—who survived an ordeal at the hands of religious fundamentalist Taliban militants—tells her story. This incident once again makes it clear who might seek to prevent people from reading about the horrors of fundamentalism and fascism.
Even before the book reading session could begin, 40 to 50 miscreants from the Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) gathered at the park. They began beating those present with sticks and clubs. The Hindutva activists also attacked the women; VHP and Bajrang Dal goons slapped and punched them.Those sitting quietly and reading books were attacked amidst chants of “Jai Shri Ram.” The attackers also branded the readers as anti-Kashmir. The violent mob brutally beat those who had come to read, using baseball bats, thick wooden clubs, and the iron rods attached to their saffron flags.
Jay Thakkar, a member of the group gathered in the park to read books, stated that the attack was a premeditated hate crime and that the assailants intended to beat the readers to death. Hindutva activists dragged three individuals away and assaulted them; they sought to kill them through the beating but failed to do so because the police arrived.However, members of the VHP and Bajrang Dal assaulted the book enthusiasts even in the presence of the police. The attackers labeled those who had come to read books as “extremists.” Thakkar stated that they even went so far as to suggest pulling down their trousers to check whether or not they were Muslim.
The incident, which came to light on Saturday, has sparked a strong reaction. Science communicator, poet, and social activist Gauhar Raza remarked that this is exactly what happened in Hitler’s Germany; fascism is rearing its head right before our eyes. The authorities at Anand Niketan School imposed a fine of ₹10,000 for keeping books by Anne Frank and Malala Yousafzai in the library.A Muslim curriculum developer has been dismissed. When citizens organized a peaceful book-reading event in protest, RSS-BJP goons attacked them. The police are refusing to register an FIR. Gujarat Congress MLA Jignesh Mevani asked: what is their crime? Reading I Am Malala and The Diary of Anne Frank.The Taliban shot Malala because she wanted to study. And these thugs beat up ordinary people in a public park for reading her life story. The same fear. The same hatred for education. The same cowardice. First, they forced a school to drop these books. Now, they are attacking citizens for reading them. Women have been assaulted. The books have been torn up.
Strongly condemning the incident, SFI General Secretary Srijan Bhattacharya stated that books used to be burned in Hitler’s fascist Germany. Books teach us to view and think independently; that is why they remain a source of dread for fascists. It is for this very reason that the RSS-BJP is targeting books and those who read them.Srijan stated that he hopes the progressive people of Ahmedabad will stand up against this attack. He added that, if necessary, these books would be read publicly in Ahmedabad under the initiative of the SII.
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