As part of a campaign to ensure illiteracy, a second Indian state is moving to preemptively ban the Mahatma Gandhi biography that claims the civil disobedience champion had a thing for a hot German male bodybuilder. Gujarat, in western India, has already blocked the book from sale. Now here comes the state of Maharashtra, south of Gujarat, hoping to keep Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle from lining the commoners’ bookshelves. And they want Pulitzer-Prize winning author Joseph Lelyveld to keep out, too.
After Congress members voiced strong objections in the Council, Industries Minister Narayan Rane, referring to the book’s claims, said: “Such remarks against Gandhiji would not be tolerated. He was the Father of the Nation. The government will take steps to ban the publishing of the book in the State. The State would write to the Centre to that effect.” Congress MLC and Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Manikrao Thakre said the book maligned the Mahatma. Condemning the book, MLA Krishna Hegde said the biography was “the figment of a sick mind’s imagination.”
“It has become a fashion to tarnish the image of great Indian leaders for self publicity and sale of books. The government should evoke a law to severely punish anyone who tarnishes the image of the Father of the Nation as in England where no one can speak against the Queen,” Mr. Hegde said. In the suburb of Mulund, Congress workers burnt Mr. Lelyveld’s posters “for writing derogatory remarks about the great Mahatma’s sexual orientation,” said Congress member Rajesh Ingle. He called for a worldwide ban of the book and warned “the author should not dare enter India as Congress workers will not spare him for his misdeed.”
Now how about we round up the kids, throw some dal makhani on the pot, and have a good old fashioned neighborhood book burning?
Pete
Gandhi looks ready for the first White Party in history.
jason
Can’t these stupid Indians accept that their esteemed leader may have been gay or bisexual? It seems pathetic that they would consider his same-sex attractions to be an affront to India. They ought to be celebrating his life AND his sexuality.
Message to stupid Indians: grow the hell up.
David Ehrenstein
@jason: Stupid Americans don’t want toa accept the fact that Abraham Lincoln was gay either.
Zed
Ghandi would be almost as upset about this whole thing as Jesus would be about Christianity
divkid
queerty quotes: “The government should evoke a law to severely punish anyone who tarnishes the image of the Father of the Nation as in England where no one can speak against the Queen,”
who?… do you mean that tupperware favouring dullard hausfrau, daughter of a st..st..st..stuttering idiot from an i.q challenged inbred german kleptocracy; whose corrupt son consorts with pedophiles and dodgy foreign businessmen…
no, i couldn’t possibly say bad things about that bitch…what with me being in unfree britain…
yikes! is that a authorities knocking on my door!?
these peeps need to grow up — no person/ideology should be above scrutiny. if you disagree with a book don’t read it, or refute it; or else become an infantilised and unfree people.
The sane Francis
In the eyes of a large portion of these Indians, the facts coming out of Gandhi, none of which have even asserted he was gay, embarrass and publicly shame and mock their country and mock Gandhi and take away from what made him the icon he is. So therefore, of course they are going to try to shut Mr. Lelyveld up. Basically, their hatred of homosexuality is stronger than their love of Gandhi, or really anything. That’s the backwards mentality we are up against in many of these countries.
Shannon1981
@David Ehrenstein: anyone with eyes knows Lincoln was a ‘mo. But, its revised, whitewashed history they teach in schools.
Ghandi would be outraged that people are seriously acting like what he had with this man was shameful. They are acting like the author wrote porn stories, when all he did was detail a beautiful romance.
Oprah
“objections in the Council, Industries Minister Narayan Rane, referring to the book’s claims, said: “Such remarks against Gandhiji would not be tolerated. He was the Father of the Nation.”
Well, just because he was the father of the nation dont mean he couldnt be gay! HA HA HA HA HA HA
To be gay, or not to be gay, that is the question of the day! LOL
David Ehrenstein
http://fablog.ehrensteinland.com/2011/04/04/fait-diver-mohandas-gandhis-big-gay-tickle-party/