Bloomsbury India pulls back book on 2020 Delhi riots, post backlash.
After a controversy created a storm online, accusing Bloomsbury India of furthering a communal agenda, the publication house withdrew the book on 2020 Delhi riots.
On Saturday, renowned publication house, Bloomsbury India withdrew their new book, Delhi Riots 2020: The Untold Story, following a backlash. The book is a factual report on the riots in Delhi, which occurred in February 2020, and is penned by Advocate Monica Arora, Sonali Chitalkar, and Prerna Malhotra.
Bloomsbury India withdrew the book launch and said it was their responsibility to do so:
Bloomsbury India released a statement regarding the pull-back of their new book, and said,” 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. However, because of very recent events including a virtual pre-publication launch organized without our knowledge by the authors, with participation by parties of whom the Publishers would not have approved, we have decided to withdraw publications of the book. Bloomsbury India strongly supports freedom of speech but also has a deep sense of responsibility towards the society.”
Right-wing affiliated speakers on the book launch triggered a controversy online:
The explosive book on the recent riots in the capital faced backlash after news of its launch being attended by BJP leader Kapil Mishra, OpIndia editor Nupur J Sharma, and filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri, circulated on the social media platforms. Many accused the renowned publication house of furthering a communal agenda with the presence of right-wing affiliated speakers in the launch. Many authors and actors like Swara Bhasker, Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan among others raised the issue, Bloomsbury India revealed in a statement that they were not associated with that event.
