Indian publisher withdraws book, stoking fears of nationalist pressure

All India | Ellen Barry, The New York Times | Updated: February 14, 2014 13:57 IST

Wendy Doniger's "The Hindus: An Alternative History," which was released five years ago in India and the United States has now been withdrawn from the market

In a fight with a major company, a frail 84-year-old retired headmaster would seem to be the David to India's publishing Goliath, Penguin Books.

But this week the headmaster, Dinanath Batra, achieved the crowning victory of his career as a right-wing campaigner, forcing Penguin to withdraw and destroy remaining copies of a scholarly work on Hinduism by an American professor that Batra has called "malicious," "dirty" and "perverse."

Indian Publisher Withdraws Book, Stoking Fears of Nationalist Pressure by nelvely