--- description: A reported settlement by Penguin India to recall and pulp copies of U.S. academic Wendy Doniger's "The Hindus" raises questions of freedom of speech in the world's largest democracy title: Wendy Doniger's The Hindus Recalled by Penguin India image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt89f30504fd0a42ea/69868285d0b6f25e23302ed1/9780143415343_0.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Indian Publisher to Recall and Destroy Copies of American's Book on Hinduism by [Krista Mahr](/author/krista-mahr/) ## Krista Mahr Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 11, 2014 7:28 PM CUT  Penguin India by [Krista Mahr](/author/krista-mahr/) ## Krista Mahr Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 11, 2014 7:28 PM CUT Penguin Books India has reportedly agreed to recall and destroy all copies in India of a book about Hinduism by a U.S. religious scholar, raising concerns over the increasing sway of interest groups over freedom of expression in the world’s largest democracy. In 2011, the Hindu nationalist group Shiksha Bachao Andolan filed a civil case against Penguin India over [_The Hindus: An Alternative History_](http://www.penguinbooksindia.com/en/content/hindus "undefined") by Wendy Doniger, a professor of religion at the University of Chicago. The group claims [the book offends Hindus](http://www.thehindu.com/books/books-authors/penguin-to-recall-donigers-book-on-hindus/article5677451.ece "undefined") by, among other things, inaccurately representing the religion and offering an overly sexual interpretation of Hindu texts. This, it contends, violates a section of the Indian penal code that prohibits “deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings or any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs.” The publisher has [reportedly agreed](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-19566894 "undefined") to a settlement with the group that includes withdrawing and destroy all published copies of the book. In a Feb. 11 [statement](https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story%5Ffbid=755643361112970&id=672735306070443&stream%5Fref=10 "undefined") posted on the Facebook page of PEN Delhi, Doniger expressed concern for what that portends. “I was, of course, angry and disappointed to see this happen, and I am deeply troubled by what it foretells for free speech in India in the present, and steadily worsening, political climate,” Doniger wrote, referring to the recent surge of Hindu nationalist sentiment ahead of national elections this spring. Penguin India has yet to issue comment on the matter. Many in New Delhi did not take kindly to the news either. Historian Ramachandra Guha called the decision “deeply disappointing” on Twitter. Union Minister Jairam Ramesh, speaking to[ the Press Trust of India, ](http://www.thehindu.com/books/books-authors/penguin-to-recall-donigers-book-on-hindus/article5677451.ece "undefined")called Shiksha Bachao Andolan “some Taliban-type outfit” that is “distorting and destroying our liberal traditions.” The development comes uncomfortably close on the heels of reports last month that Bloomsbury India was withdrawing another allegedly offending tome. According to [local media](http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/bloomsbury-withdraws-book-on-air-india-apologises-to-praful-patel/article5579288.ece "undefined"), the publishing house withdrew [_The Descent of Air India_](http://www.amazon.in/The-Descent-India-Jitender-Bhargava/dp/938295113X "undefined"), by Jitender Bhargava, after a defamation lawsuit was filed by former civil aviation minister Praful Patel, whom the book holds responsible for the airline’s financial losses. The publisher issued a public apology to Patel, who is currently minister of heavy industries and public enterprises. Bhargava stands by his book. India’s tough libel laws are often exploited by interest groups eager to silence or censor unwanted voices. India was [the first country to ban](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-19566894 "undefined") Salman Rushdie’s _The Satanic Verses_ in 1988; the country’s most famous artist, M.F. Husain, [died in exile in 2011](http://world.time.com/2011/06/09/m-f-husain-indias-picasso-dies-in-exile/ "undefined") after facing death threats from far-right Hindu groups angered by his paintings of Indian deities in the nude. As Doniger points out in her statement, readers in and outside India are still free to download _The Hindus_ on Kindle. But the buying a book online feels like something of a hollow victory if hard copies are being removed from the shelves of the local bookseller. Doniger writes that Penguin India tried to defend her work, but was “finally defeated by the true villain of this piece—the Indian law that makes it a criminal rather than civil offense to publish a book that offends any Hindu, a law that jeopardizes the physical safety of any publisher, no matter how ludicrous the accusation brought against a book.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6447/india-the-hindus-wendy-doniger-penguin/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6447/india-the-hindus-wendy-doniger-penguin/"},"headline":"Indian Publisher to Recall and Destroy Copies of American's Book on Hinduism","datePublished":"2014-02-11T19:28:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:22:11.279Z","description":"A reported settlement by Penguin India to recall and pulp copies of U.S. academic Wendy Doniger's \"The Hindus\" raises questions of freedom of speech in the world's largest democracy","url":"https://time.com/6447/india-the-hindus-wendy-doniger-penguin/","keywords":["India","penguin"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt89f30504fd0a42ea/69868285d0b6f25e23302ed1/9780143415343_0.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Krista Mahr","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/krista-mahr/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt89f30504fd0a42ea/69868285d0b6f25e23302ed1/9780143415343_0.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"The Hindus","caption":"","creditText":"Penguin India","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6447/india-the-hindus-wendy-doniger-penguin/","name":"Indian Publisher to Recall and Destroy Copies of American's Book on Hinduism"}}]}] ```