Ahmedabad: Students and young people attending a public reading programme in Ahmedabad were allegedly attacked by Bajrang Dal activists for reading books by Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai and Holocaust diarist Anne Frank, with the group claiming that Malala’s writings promote “anti-India” ideas.
The incident took place at a park in Ahmedabad’s Vastrapur area on Thursday evening. Police have registered an FIR based on a complaint filed by businessman Jay Thakkar, who had organised the reading gathering.
Although the Bajrang Dal is not named as an organisation in the FIR, 18 people have been named as accused, including two local Bajrang Dal leaders, Hiran Rabari and Jimit Rabari. The complaint states that the attackers were wearing saffron scarves.
The youngsters had assembled for the reading programme, organised through social media. At around 6 pm, a group allegedly arrived carrying sticks and questioned the participants over why they were reading Malala’s book before allegedly assaulting them. Some participants were reportedly beaten, while women were allegedly subjected to humiliation and threats over their choice of reading material. Police reached the spot after receiving information and shifted the injured persons to the hospital.
Bajrang Dal local leader Jwalit Mehta later defended the opposition to Malala’s book, alleging that she had taken an anti-India position on Kashmir.
The incident comes amid an earlier controversy at a private Ahmedabad school over the inclusion of Malala’s autobiography I Am Malala and Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl in its library. Some parents and Hindutva organisations had protested against the books. Police have begun investigating the latest incident.