Saamna dig: No ban on Ghandy book, but Maharashtra govt scrapped award

MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena (UBT) on Friday slammed the Shinde-Fadnavis government for scrapping a prestigious literary award given to the Marathi translation of the English memoir of Kobad Ghandy. In an editorial in Saamna, the party mouthpiece, it said while the award had been withdrawn, the book had not been banned.
On December 6, the state’s Marathi language department had announced the Late Yashwantrao Chavan Literature Award for 2021 to Anagha Lele for her translation of Ghandy’s ‘Fractured Freedom: A Prison Memoir’. However, the state government scrapped the award on Monday.
Calling Ghandy a Maoist thinker, Saamna said, “Many of his ideas may not be acceptable. He was associated with the Naxalite movement. He was in jail for that. He wrote notes on his experiences in prison and published them as a book in English. In the book he has also criticised misguided Maoism. The book was discussed all over the world. Its Marathi translation was done by Lele. This book is available for sale worldwide. There is no ban on it, but the award has been withdrawn due to fear of glorification of Naxalism.” Many writers have returned their awards in protest, Saamna pointed out.