Narendra Modi, the demagogue who runs the Indian state of Gujarat, has banned Joseph Lelyveld’s new book about Gandhi, even though it has yet to be published in India.

“The writing is perverse in nature,” Narendra Modi, the chief minister of Gujarat, said of the book after the ban. “It has hurt the sentiments of those with capacity for sane and logical thinking.”

India’s law minister, M. Veerappa Moily, said on Tuesday that “the book denigrates the national pride and leadership,” which he said could not be tolerated. Officials “will consider prohibiting the book,” he added.

[snip]

In the interview Mr. Lelyveld said the information about Gandhi’s relationship with Mr. Kallenbach was not his own discovery and was never intended to be the main focus of his book.

“All I can claim is that I dealt with that material more extensively with an eye to the general public than anyone previously,” Mr. Lelyveld said. “But it’s not a central preoccupation. My book is about Gandhi’s struggle for social justice, not his intimate relationships. But he was a complicated man, and the two are linked.”

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This entry was posted on Friday, April 1st, 2011 at 8:00 pm.