• ISBN13: 9788126939992
• Binding: Hardcover
• Subject: English Literature
• Publisher: Atlantic Publishers & Distributors (P) Ltd
• Publisher Imprint: Atlantic
• Publication Date: December 26, 2024
• Pages: 226
• Original Price: INR 995.00
• Language: English
• Edition: N/A
• Item Weight: 420 grams

The Writer, the Reader and the State: Literary Censorship in India offers a comprehensive account of the censorship of literature in India since Independence and the recent trends in literature banning. The author recalls the literary censorship of books in India, both in English and in regional languages, and the impact of Emergency on banned books. The book highlights recent trends and current challenges to free literary expression in the country and attempts to locate it in the tradition of Indian literary history. The term ‘censorship’ used in the book is a rubric that includes various repressive measures, both governmental and non-governmental, in banning a book after publication, withdrawing a book using coercive tactics or suppression of a work on other grounds. It is a comprehensive examination of the politics of access through a literary lens.

Mini Chandran is Professor of English in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Kanpur. She has published numerous academic articles in journals, besides popular writings in newspapers and magazines. Besides literary censorship, her areas of research interest are Indian Literature and Literary Theory, and Translation Studies. Her other books are An Introduction to Indian Aesthetics: History, Theory, Theoreticians (co-authored with Sreenath V S) and Textual Travels: Theory and Practice of Translation in India (co-edited with Suchitra Mathur). She also translates between English and Malayalam, and the notable translations are Ormakkurippukal (Lakshmi Sahgal's A Revolutionary Life) and Autumnal Memories (Joseph Mundassery's Kozhinja Ilakal).

• Contents
• Preface…vii
• Introduction: Besieged Words and Strategies of Control…xi
• 1 The Writer and the State: The Indian Literary Tradition…1
• 2 Censorship Laws and Colonial Roots…34
• 3 Banned in India: Books Denied to Indian Readers…61
• 4 The Bhasha Fights: Censorship in Regional Languages…89
• 5 Of Shame and Silence: The Emergency 1975–77…120
• 6 The ‘Democratization’ of Censorship: Books and the Indian Public…149
• Index…185
• About the Author…191