Five books banned by UP government since independence
11 Feb, 2013Reply to an application filed by Dr. Nutan Thakur, a RTI activist, has revealed that a total of five books have been banned by the government of Uttar Pradesh since August 15, 1947 till date. The reply by the home department of Uttar Pradesh government shows that out of the five, three books are related with Prophet Mohammad and Islam while two included improper comments against national leaders and personalities.
- 1. "Jati Raj" by former provincial civil services officer Lakshmi Kant Shukla was banned on May 5, 2008, for its alleged disrespectful comments on personalities of a certain faith.
- 2. "Udayiman Bhartiya Samaj me Shikshak" by Dr Karn Singh was banned on October 22, 2009, for publishing a picture of Prophet Mohammad.
- 3. "Carlyle-The Hero as Poet" by Manindra Nath was banned on March 11, 2010, for disrespectful comments on Prophet Mohammad.
- 4. "Digest English Literature Prose- First Paper for MA Previous Students" by Dr S D Sharma was banned on March 11, 2010, for disrespectful comments on Prophet Mohammad.
- 5. "Nehru Gandhi Parivar - Secular or Varn Sankar" by Hari Ram Gupta was banned on February 13, 2010, for improper comments on national leaders.
Proponents of the freedom of speech and expression has questioned the banning of books calling it an obstruction to the flow of ideas.