Under fire from authors and the publishing fraternity for giving up easily in the legal battle over American Indologist Wendy Doniger's book The Hindus: An Alternative History, Penguin Books India on Friday said it stood by its decision to publish her book but maintained that the British-vintage Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) made it very difficult for any Indian publisher to uphold international standards of free expression.
Breaking its silence three days after word spread that it had entered into an out-of-court settlement with Shiksha Bachao Andolan Samiti — which had moved the court against the book on grounds of "distortion" aimed at "denigrating Hindu traditions" — Penguin India said: "We stand by our original decision to publish 'The Hindus', just as we stand by the decision to publish other books that we know may cause offence to some segments of our readership".
Flagging the problems arising out of certain laws, Penguin India said: "The IPC, and in particular section 295A of that code, will make it increasingly difficult for any Indian publisher to uphold international standards of free expression without deliberately placing itself outside the law. This is, we believe, an issue of great significance not just for the protection of creative freedoms in India but also for the defence of fundamental human rights."
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