A discussion on a book titled ‘Babur: The Quest for Hindustan’, which was scheduled to take place at the Bhopal Literature and Art Festival (BLF), was cancelled after concerns of protests over it.
Following this, architect-turned-author Aaabhas Maldahiyar, in a post on social media platform X, said the session had been cancelled after some organisations issued serious threats “on the basis of baseless allegations". The organisations had allegedly issued threats to burn the book and damage the shops selling it.
The book is second in a series, with the first volume titled ‘Babur: The Chessboard King’. While the first book had looked into the Mughal emperor's early life and Central Asian campaigns, the second one focuses on his “tenure in Hindustan”, the author said. Maldahiyar said the book documents “the violence, terror, and destruction inflicted upon the people of this land".
In an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the author said the session had been cancelled after a newspaper wrongly accused him of trying to glorify Babur.
Following this, the organisers arranged a session on ‘Ancient Architecture’, the author added.
According to organisers of the festival, which was held from January 9 to January 11, police apprehended that right-wing organisations would oppose the event and there would be vandalism, PTI reported.
Meanwhile, the editor of the newspaper which had published the article told PTI that they did not object to the book or author. “What is or is not there in the book, is not an issue for us. Our protest is that Ram Mandir is already established. The flag has been hoisted. And this year, as Modi ji says, is for taking forward positive issues. This is the 150th year of Vande Mataram. It is the centenary year of the Sangh. So there should be many positive issues,” editor Atul Tare said.
Tare added that the newspaper had raised questions “on the relevance of that issue for us and also on the entire working system of BLF".
Curated by Dr. Elena Rodriguez
