--- title: The Hindus: Penguin India Statement on Recall description: Publisher says it has a "moral responsibility" to protect its employees from threats and harassment canonical: https://time.com/7328/penguin-india-issues-statement-on-the-hindus-recall/ author: Krista Mahr article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-02-14T06:35:37.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T06:24:25.771Z article:section: World og:title: The Hindus: Penguin India Statement on Recall og:description: Publisher says it has a "moral responsibility" to protect its employees from threats and harassment og:url: https://time.com/7328/penguin-india-issues-statement-on-the-hindus-recall/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt54cc45d3b013eae9/6986825fe53abaed3f4d11ef/india_penguin_0214.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: india_penguin_0214 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Hindus: Penguin India Statement on Recall twitter:description: Publisher says it has a "moral responsibility" to protect its employees from threats and harassment twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt54cc45d3b013eae9/6986825fe53abaed3f4d11ef/india_penguin_0214.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Penguin India Issues Statement on 'The Hindus' Recall by [Krista Mahr](/author/krista-mahr/) ## Krista Mahr Feb 14, 2014 6:35 AM CUT  Indian women browse through Penguin edition books on display at the New Delhi World Book Fair in New Delhi in 2012 Indian women browse through Penguin edition books on display at the New Delhi World Book Fair in New Delhi in 2012Maral Deghati—AFP/Getty Images by [Krista Mahr](/author/krista-mahr/) ## Krista Mahr Feb 14, 2014 6:35 AM CUT Penguin India released a statement Friday on its decision to recall and destroy copies of _The Hindus: An Alternative History_ by U.S. scholar Wendy Doniger. Since news of the decision broke earlier this week, members of India’s literary circles and media have demanded that the renowned publisher explain why it agreed to an out-of-court settlement with a Hindu group that filed civil and criminal law suits against it, claiming the book was offensive. Arundhati Roy, one of India’s most celebrated writers and a Penguin author, wrote an [open letter](http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2014/02/13/in-full-arundati-roys-letter-to-penguin/ "undefined") to her publisher, asking, “Tell us, please, what is it that scared you so?” Here is Penguin India’s Feb. 14 statement in full: “Penguin Books India believes, and has always believed, in every individual’s right to freedom of thought and expression, a right explicitly codified in the Indian Constitution. This commitment informs Penguin’s approach to publishing in every territory of the world, and we have never been shy about testing that commitment in court when appropriate. At the same time, a publishing company has the same obligation as any other organisation to respect the laws of the land in which it operates, however intolerant and restrictive those laws may be. We also have a moral responsibility to protect our employees against threats and harassment where we can. (**MORE:** [Liberal India Feels Under Threat After Publisher Pledges to Pulp The Hindus](http://world.time.com/2014/02/13/wendy-doniger-hindus-recall-threatens-india-liberals/ "undefined")) The settlement reached this week brings to a close a four year legal process in which Penguin has defended the publication of the Indian edition of _The Hindus_ by Wendy Doniger. We have published, in succession, hardcover, paperback and e-book editions of the title. International editions of the book remain available physically and digitally to Indian readers who still wish to purchase it. We stand by our original decision to publish _The Hindus_, just as we stand by the decision to publish other books that we know may cause offence to some segments of our readership. We believe, however, that the Indian Penal Code, and in particular section 295A of that code, will make it increasingly difficult for any Indian publisher to uphold international standards of free expression without deliberately placing itself outside the law. This is, we believe, an issue of great significance not just for the protection of creative freedoms in India but also for the defence of fundamental human rights.” **MORE:** [Sex, Lies and Hinduism: Why a Hindu Activist Targeted Wendy Doniger’s Book](http://world.time.com/2014/02/12/sex-lies-and-hinduism-why-a-hindu-activist-targeted-wendy-donigers-book/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7328/penguin-india-issues-statement-on-the-hindus-recall/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7328/penguin-india-issues-statement-on-the-hindus-recall/"},"headline":"Penguin India Issues Statement on 'The Hindus' Recall","datePublished":"2014-02-14T06:35:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:24:25.771Z","description":"Publisher says it has a \"moral responsibility\" to protect its employees from threats and harassment","url":"https://time.com/7328/penguin-india-issues-statement-on-the-hindus-recall/","keywords":["India","Censorship"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt54cc45d3b013eae9/6986825fe53abaed3f4d11ef/india_penguin_0214.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/blt54cc45d3b013eae9/6986825fe53abaed3f4d11ef/india_penguin_0214.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"india_penguin_0214","caption":"Indian women browse through Penguin edition books on display at the New Delhi World Book Fair in New Delhi in 2012","creditText":"Maral Deghati—AFP/Getty Images","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/7328/penguin-india-issues-statement-on-the-hindus-recall/","name":"Penguin India Issues Statement on 'The Hindus' Recall"}}]}] ```