Book on Godse in trouble again

KANNUR, OCT 31: Nearly two decades after the Bombay High Court set aside a ban on Gandhi Hatya Ani Mee (Gandhi's Assassination and I), a ...

KANNUR, OCT 31: Nearly two decades after the Bombay High Court set aside a ban on Gandhi Hatya Ani Mee (Gandhi’s Assassination and I), a book published by Gopal Vinayak Godse, a regional version of it is in trouble again. A small publishing group based in Payyanur, Thapathi Pusthaka Prasadaka Sangham, is being hauled up in court for publication of Nathuram Godse’s deposition in the court in connection with Gandhiji’s assassination, titled Bahumanappetta Kotathi Mumbake (May It Please Your Honour).

The book has been brought out by Gopal Godse, brother of Nathuram Vinayak Godse, with a preface written by him. It was released almost at the same time as a Marathi play, Me Nathuram Godse Boltoy, touched off a controversy, prompting the Union Government to direct the then BJP-Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra to ban it.

In Payyanur, CPI(M) and Congress leaders and the Gandhians launched a tirade against the Thapathi Publishing Group. And, following orders from higher-ups, police raided the Thapathi premisesand seized copies of the book. It has also filed an FIR against P V Jayaparkash, managing partner of Thapathi, Nandakumar, a worker at the Thapathi printing press, and Sathyavrathan, who reportedly translated the original version of the book into Malayalam. Action has been initiated against them under Section 153 (A) of the IPC for insulting national leaders, causing enmity between religions and upsetting communal calm.

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However, Nandakumar being only a printing worker and Sathyvrathan just a pseudonym, how they could be implicated in the case remains a puzzle. Meanwhile, the charge-sheet the police and sent to the government is awaiting the latter’s approval. While the charge-sheet was sent to the government for approval only two months ago, why the police took a year to do is another puzzle.

Sources say, the government is not likely to give the green signal to file the charge-sheet as it would find itself in a soup. This is even as legal circles wonder how the government could take recourse to such anaction as the original or the translated versions of the book has not been banned in the country.