'Don't buy or read the book': Delhi HC refuses to ban Salman Khurshid's book on Ayodhya

Amid the furore over Congress leader Salman Khurshid's new book, Delhi High Court on Thursday, dismissed a petition seeking direction to stop the circulation, sale, purchase, and publication of the book 'Sunrise Over Ayodhya'. Responding to the plea, Justice Yashwant Varma frowned at people's sensitivity, urging them to not buy the book if hurt. Khurshid kicked up a controversy comparing Hindutva to radical jihadist groups like ISIS and Boko Haram in his new book 'Sunrise over Ayodhya'.

Delhi HC: 'Don't buy or read the book'

“There’s nothing we can do if people are so sensitive. Tell everyone the book is badly authored. Ask people not to buy the book or read it,” said Justice Varma.

The petitioner Vineet Jindal claimed that Khurshid had insulted the religious sentiments of a large number of Hindus by comparing Hindutva to ISIS and Boko Haram. He claimed in his plea, "This is causing breach of public peace. Everywhere it is going on. Something happened in Nainital also. Every Communal riot in this country has such kind of backing. This part from the must go". Previously, a court in Delhi refused to stop the sale and impose on the book, while Madhya Pradesh govt has vowed to stop distributing the book in the state. 

What has Khurshid written in his book?

The contentious part is in the 'The Saffron Sky' chapter of Salman Khurshid's book 'Sunrise over Ayodhya: Nationhood in our times'. Set in the 'Mandir movement', Khurshid argued that the Ayodhya dispute was about supremacy of one faith. Likening Hindutva, which was on the rise then, to hardline outfits like ISIS and Boko Haram he lamented the sidelining of Hinduism.

It reads, "Whatever rationalization might have been offered, the Ayodhya saga was throughout about one faith trumping the methods of another. But the former faith itself was experiencing a contest of interpretation. Sanatan dharma and classical Hinduism known to sages and saints was being pushed aside by a robust version of Hindutva, by all standards a political version similar to the jihadist Islam of groups like ISIS and Boko Haram of recent years". 

Later, miscreants allegedly belonging to a right-wing organization barged into Salman Khurshid's house in Satkhol village of Nainital district, vandalised the windows and flowerpots before setting the gate on fire. Sources revealed that protesters burned the former Union Minister's effigies and were seen holding the BJP flag. An FIR against 20 unknown persons has been filed by Nainital police, while 4 are arrested.