Authorities in the western Indian state of Gujarat state have banned a controversial book on Pakistan’s founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah. The book has been written by Jaswant Singh, an expelled leader of the Hindu nationalist main opposition party BJP.
The BJP government in Gujarat banned the book hours after Mr Singh was expelled from the party on Wednesday.
Mr Singh had praised Mr Jinnah in the book and said the latter had been “demonised in India”.
Mr Jinnah is a controversial figure in India and considered the architect of the partition.
The Gujarat government did not ascribe any reason behind banning Mr Singh’s book Jinnah: India-Partition - Independence.
The state government is headed by the controversial chief minister, Narendra Modi who was criticised for his poor handling of the 2002 riots in Gujarat in which more than 1,000 people, most of them Muslims, were killed.
The book was released earlier this week and immediately created a controversy with its comments on Mr Jinnah.
The BJP “dissociated” itself from the book and sacked Mr Singh from the party.
‘Anti-intellectual’
Jaswant Singh, a 71-year-old party veteran who has served as finance and external affairs minister in BJP cabinets, said he was “saddened” by his expulsion.
“It saddens me even more that I have been expelled on grounds of writing a book.”
“Jaswant Singh’s book is a serious academic exercise, one long overdue. A serious political party should have space for that”
Pratap Bhanu Mehta, analyst
Mr Singh has said that his book is a “purely academic exercise, which should be read and understood”.
Analysts have criticised the BJP for sacking Mr Singh over a book.
“Jaswant Singh’s book is a serious academic exercise, one long overdue. It is complicated, full of internal tensions. A serious political party should have space for that,” wrote political scientist Pratap Bhanu Mehta in The Indian Express.
“In expelling Jaswant Singh the BJP has confirmed the fears of its worst critics: that the party is nothing but a party founded on endless resentment that makes it inherently insecure and anti-intellectual.”
The Times Of India daily said Mr Singh’s expulsion raised questions about free thinking and free speech in cadre-based, ideology driven parties.
“Surely it is not impossible for a political outfit to function without asking members to always agree with party views,” the newspaper said.
The Hindu says it is for “historians to evaluate the scholarly merit of Mr Singh’s work”.
“But who is to say that a political figure, especially when he or she is out of power, not to dabble in such sensitive areas,” the newspaper wrote.