Right-Wing Groups Attack Book Reading Session in Ahmedabad
Bajrang Dal and VHP members assaulted activists during a public reading of Malala Yousafzai's memoir in Ahmedabad following a school's decision to ban the book.
Members of the Bajrang Dal and Vishva Hindu Parishad assaulted participants of a public book-reading session at AUDA Garden in Ahmedabad on August 27. The gathering served as a silent protest after a local private school removed Malala Yousafzai's memoir, 'I Am Malala', and Anne Frank's 'The Diary of a Young Girl' from its curriculum. The school administration had previously agreed to stop students from reading Yousafzai's work after right-wing activists objected to her stances on Kashmir.
During the protest, attackers armed with sticks confronted readers of works by Yousafzai, Mahatma Gandhi, and Jawaharlal Nehru, leading to a scuffle that left two people with minor injuries. Bajrang Dal leader Jwalit Mehta defended the protests, claiming the confrontation escalated after the national anthem was allegedly disrespected. In response, the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee and the Cockroach Janta Party condemned the violence as ideological policing.
Law enforcement intervened to control the situation and registered a case against 20 individuals for rioting, unlawful assembly, and assault. Police have identified six individuals and arrested three suspects in connection with the attack.
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