Penguin India issued a statement earlier
today regarding its decision to pull Wendy Doniger's THE HINDUS from sale in
that country after a settlement that ended a four-year court battle.
"Penguin Books India believes, and has always believed, in every
individual's right to freedom of thought and expression, a right explicitly
codified in the Indian Constitution.
This commitment informs Penguin's approach
to publishing in every territory of the world, and we have never been shy about
testing that commitment in court when appropriate." But, the company said,
they have "the same obligation as any other organization to respect the
laws of the land in which it operates, however intolerant and restrictive those
laws may be. We also have a moral responsibility to protect our employees
against threats and harassment where we can."
While Penguin India said it stood by its
original decision to publish THE HINDUS, "just as we stand by the decision
to publish other books that we know may cause offence to some segments of our
readership," section 295A of India's Penal Code will, in Penguin India's
view, "make it increasingly difficult for any Indian publisher to uphold
international standards of free expression without deliberately placing itself
outside the law." They conclude the matter is "an issue of great
significance not just for the protection of creative freedoms in India but also
for the defence of fundamental human rights."
Tangentially, Penguin Random House is also
in the news over their Author Solutions subsidiary. UK trade magazine The
Bookseller has said that it will no longer accept advertising from ASI and its
network of affiliated entities. Editor Philip Jones told
David Gaughran that "The Bookseller is no longer taking advertising
from Author Solutions or its subsidiary companies. We've previously asked them
to update the information they display about us on their websites, and have now
asked them to remove it entirely."
Author Solutions had previously offered
ads in the Bookseller to their self-publishing customers for the hefty price of
up to £6,999, without making clear how much it paid The Bookseller for such
services.
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