Shikha Dalmia On Extremist Censorship in India
It turns out that Islamo-fascists are not the only ones banning books in the Indian sub-continent. Hindu fanatics have spawned their own version of the Taliban that goes after writers whose work challenges their dogmatic interpretation of their faith. The latest victim of their jihad is University of Chicago religion professor Wendy Doniger's The Hindus: An Alternative History. They used India's awful libel laws to force Penguin Books to "pulp" all unsold copies of the book in their country.
Such efforts won't hurt Doniger much and might even increase her book sales But Reason Foundation Senior Analyst Shikha Dalmia notes that they will, however, undermine the long-term health of this faith.