Several authors threaten to boycott Bloomsbury India after it decides to withdraw book on Delhi riots

Bloomsbury creates controversy:

Bloomsbury made the announcement on the cancellation of the publication of the book after a massive outcry over the inclusion of BJP leader Kapil Mishra in one of the promotional events related to the book.

Mishra is accused by some sections of making incendiary speeches that triggered the riots in Delhi in February 2020.

Mishra tweeted and said ' Leftist Terrorists' wants a ban on the book.

In a surprise twist to the development, several authors have now warned they were withdrawing their books which were to be published by Bloomsbury India.

India’s Principal Economic Advisor Sanjeev Sanyal, who has published several books, tweeted: "A few weeks ago, I had raised the issue of how a tiny cabal controls Indian publishing and constantly imposes ideological censorship. We have just witnessed one example of how this insidious control is wielded."

"I have have not read the book in question & have no idea if it is good or bad. However, this is obviously not a quality control problem but about censorship.

I commit to never publish a book with @BloomsburyIndia," he said.

Retired Indian Administrative Service officer and author Sanjay Dixit said he has terminated his contract for the publication of his upcoming book ‘Nullifying Article 370 and Enacting CAA’.

"Announcement: I have terminated my contract with@BloomsburyIndia for my due to be released book ‘Nullifying Article 370 and Enacting CAA’ (20.09.2020 release), and assigned it to@GarudaPrakashan- please do not place pre-orders on the@BloomsburyBooks title now," he tweeted.

Jawaharlal Nehru University professor and author Anand Ranganathan went ahead and said he will pay back the advance paid by Bloomsbury for his next book titled 'Forgotten Heroes of Indian Science'. 

" I am appalled to see @BloomsburyIndia, publisher of two of my books, buckle under threats by fascists and withdraw the book Delhi Riots - 2020. I stand in complete solidarity with the authors. This is an assault on Freedom of Expression and on those who cherish this freedom," he said.

"If Bloomsbury does not retract its decision, my co-author and I have decided that we will return the substantial advance paid to us by Bloomsbury for our forthcoming book. We cannot allow our book to be published by a house that does not respect Freedom of Expression," he said.

Kanchan Gupta, a  fellow at the Observer Research Foundation,  added: "The English language publishing industry was never fair. It was always biased towards politically correct books by #LeftLiberal authors. @BloomsburyIndia has now shown the English-language publishers for what they are: a spineless lot willing to crawl and be used as doormats."

Journalist Aditya Raj Kaul said he condemned the group of hypocrites who threatened and intimidated a publisher to withdraw publication of a book on Delhi riots.

Reacting to the development, writer Amish Tripathi tweeted: "If you are an author who believes that only books of your ideological side should get published, then you are an extremist. If you control the platform, then deplatforming is as bad as burning books. The answer to a book is another book. Deplatforming is sophistry."

Author David Frawley posted: "As an author of several books published by @BloomsburyIndia , I am saddened to see this lack of integrity in Bloomsbury's withdrawal of Delhi Riots 2020. They are blatantly going against freedom of expression and balanced presentation. @BloomsburyBooks."

Author Shefali Vaidya said she will not get her books published from a publishing house which humiliates a fellow writer.

"I have decided I will not get my book published by a publishing house that humiliates a fellow writer @advmonikaarora and does not respect the freedom of speech. I will return the advance paid to me by @BloomsburyIndia
for my forthcoming book," she said.

William Dalrymple:

Meanwhile, writer Aatish Taseer has claimed that historian William Dalrymple was behind the stopping of the publication of the book.

"This is great news. This book was not so much the work of an individual as it was a coercive attempt by the ruling party (and its thugs) to write history. It deserves to be pulped. Congratulations ⁦@BloomsburyIndia ⁩ ⁦@BloomsburyPub," he tweeted.

In another tweet, he said: "PS: I know we haven’t always got on, but I’m extremely grateful to @DalrympleWill for his efforts in putting a stop to this shameful bit of state propaganda. It could not have happened without him."

The book is written by Monika Arora, Sonali Chitalkar and Prerna Malhotra.

According to media reports, the publisher known worldwide for releasing Harry Potter series of books said the event was organised without its knowledge and it has decided not to go ahead with the publishing of the book "purportedly giving a factual report on the riots in Delhi in February 2020".

"Bloomsbury India had planned to release Delhi Riots 2020: The Untold Story in September, a book purportedly giving a factual report on the riots in Delhi in February 2020, based on investigations and interviews conducted by the authors," the company said in a statement.

"However, in view of very recent events including a virtual pre-publication launch organised without our knowledge by the authors, with participation by parties of whom the Publishers would not have approved, we have decided to withdraw publication of the book," it said.

"Bloomsbury India strongly supports freedom of speech but also has a deep sense of responsibility towards society," it added.