Penguin India defends decision to recall book

In its first comments on the row Penguin said it had to respect the laws of land, such as those which make it a crime to offend religious feeling.Penguin also said it had a duty to protect its employees against threats.Wendy Doniger's book The Hindus: An Alternative History had been the subject of a legal challenge claiming the text was offensive to Hindus.Details of an apparent agreement between the Hindu campaign group Shiksha Bachao Andolan and Penguin India were circulated online earlier this week.Shiksha Bachao Andolan brought a civil case in 2011 against Penguin India arguing that the book was insulting to Hindus, containing what they described as "heresies".The group's president Dina Nath Batra said the book was focused on "sex and eroticism".Penguin's decision to withdraw the book sparked widespread criticism with many saying it was undermining free speech, the BBC's Andrew North reports from Delhi.Many asked why such a big company had apparently given in, after four years of legal wrangling, to the little-known Hindu nationalist group that brought the case against the book.The publisher has not directly answered that question, but in its statement it said it had an obligation to respect the laws of the land in which it operates, however intolerant and restrictive.Penguin took direct aim at a section of the Indian law which makes it a crime to offend or insult any religion - or what are called religious feelings.That, said Penguin, makes it increasingly difficult for any Indian publisher to uphold international standards of free expression without deliberately placing itself outside the law, our correspondent adds.Wendy Doniger said she did not blame Penguin but added that she was deeply angered and concerned for freedom of speech in India.Many in India criticised the decision amid growing concern that religious groups were stifling free speech and artistic expression in the country.Earlier this week, Booker prize-winning author Arundhati Roy wrote an open letter to Penguin asking it to explain why it "caved" in even though there "was no fatwa, no ban, not even a court order"."You must tell us what happened. What was it that terrified you? You owe us, your writers an explanation at the very least," she wrote.(BBC)ANN.Az