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‘Books on Gandhi, Nehru not fit…’ Uttarakhand's central university cancels book fair
Kitab Kauthik, a literary event by Creative Uttarakhand, was set for January at Government Girls' Inter College but was later called off.
A book fair that was to be held on February 15 and 16 at Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University in Srinagar (Pauri Garhwal) has been cancelled, with organisers claiming interference from right-wing groups.
The event, Kitab Kauthik, is an annual literary gathering organised by Creative Uttarakhand. It was originally scheduled for January at Government Girls' Inter College but was later called off, The Times of India reported.
“We had received permission from the school, but the management later cancelled it without assigning a reason. Since elections were approaching, we postponed the event to Feb,” TOI quoted fair's coordinator, Hem Pant as saying.
The organisers initially sought permission from the central university to hold the event on its premises and claimed to have received approval, which they later said was revoked.
“Representatives of the students' union and ABVP told us that ‘books on Gandhi and Nehru were not fit to be sold’. They convinced the university to revoke the permission,” Hem Pant alleged.
University spokesperson Ashutosh Bahuguna dismissed claims that the permission was revoked due to pressure from any group. He said that the students' body suggested the book fair could disrupt ongoing exams and distract students, prompting the organisers to seek an alternative venue.
Ashish Pant, a student union representative from the RSS-backed ABVP, said the event was not cancelled due to ideological reasons.
He also denied claims that ABVP had objected to the nature of the books on sale. Meanwhile, the organisers attempted to relocate the fair to Ramlila Ground in Srinagar but faced another hurdle.
“The Ramlila Ground committee okayed holding the event but later we were told that RSS had already booked the venue for the same dates. We subsequently found that their application was dated Feb 10, while we had applied on Feb 9,” said Hem Pant.
He also claimed that the right-wing group put up their own posters over the book fair banners.
“When we sought clarification from the administration, we did not get a satisfactory response. This is a simple book fair designed for students and youngsters. We bring over 50,000 books to small towns and the last edition was held in Tehri. Even CM Pushkar Singh Dhami encouraged us to organise more of them. Against this backdrop, such politically motivated discouragement is disheartening,” he added.
The report added that SDM Srinagar, Nupur Verma, said, “No application came to me from the book fair organisers, and the RSS event was already scheduled much earlier.”
