Book Review
Dr.Sushil Rudra March, 2023
Today I am going to depict some books which are controversial and banned by legal verdict. Hence the post title is ” The Art Of Love & Other 7 Awesome Controversial Books”.
Introduction: The Art of Love & Other 7 Awesome Controversial Books
The writer Ovid was exiled to a dark village on the Black Sea by the Roman emperor Augustus Caesar, simply for writing a book. Ovid’s book ‘The Art of Love’ was also removed from the library.
The history of banning books is not new, it is very old. Writers also did not have to endure less burning for writing books. The writer Ovid was exiled to a dark village on the Black Sea by the Roman emperor Augustus Caesar, simply for writing a book. Ovid’s book ‘The Art of Love’ was also removed from the Roman library.
In 1121, under pressure from the Catholic Church, logician Peter Abelard was forced to burn his books.
And Salman Rushdie is probably the only writer in the modern age whose book has endured endless suffering as well as the fame of being banned.
His book ‘Satanic Verses’ was banned in 1989. The book is still banned in at least 12 countries, from Senegal to Singapore.
Banning books is considered a favourite tool of dictators. Some books have been banned in the history of the world, which is shocking to see.
The British magazine The Economist published a report on seven such books.
7 Banned Books: The Art of Love & Other 7 Awesome Controversial Books
Projapoti ( Butterfly) : The Art of Love & Other 7 Awesome Controversial Books
” Projapoti” ( Butterfly), a modern Bengali Novel was banned on the grounds of obscenity. On Samaresh Bose’s birthday, he was banned by the court on the grounds of obscenity
The novel ‘Butterfly’.
Advocate Amal Mitra filed this case in 1968
An obscenity case against Samares Bose’s novel ‘Butterfly’ reached the High Court. It was in the headlines day after day in the media.
History says, because of some books, people have crossed the road forward for centuries, that is the way their society, civilization has progressed.
Again, some books are accepted by people as the only truth and they have joined the game of destruction. Some people have demanded that a book be banned, the author punished or exiled.
As a result of this, we got several books called the best, great works, as well as some books that were labelled as invalid, harmful.
The novel in question was published in 1374 in Shardia Desh Patrika. In 1968, advocate Amal Mitra filed a case to ban the novel Prajapati on the grounds of obscenity.
The petitioner named 8 witnesses on his behalf. Among which were the names of author Tarashankar Banerjee and Calcutta University professor Ashutosh Bhattacharya. But none of the two came to testify.
Allegation that ‘Butterfly’ is an obscene novel
Samaresh Bose and Desh Patrika publisher and mint Seethanshukumar Dasgupta appeared in the court of Calcutta Chief Presidency Magistrate as accused.
The witnesses for the accused were Buddhadev Bose, Naresh Guha. Allegation against author Samaresh is that ‘Prajapati’ is a vulgar novel, which is destroying the sanctity of literature and young readers.
They are getting excited by reading the novel. That fall issue of It Happened Country was bought online by 15- to 23-year-olds. Literature creates morals in society but ‘butterflies’ are creating sexual desire in men and women instead.
Complaint’s question then: where is the literary value of this novel?
“The Second Death of the Author”
Witness Buddha Basu said that he had a picture of society’s reality instead of indecency in this writing. His question is, where is the shameless stabbing of literature? If there is a complaint against many classics like Ramayana-Mahabharata.
The statement of Naresh Guha was almost same. But the complainant of service in the ban of ‘butterflies’ won.
The verdict was released on 11 December 1968. That is, the novel ‘Butterfly’ was banned for obscenity on that day.
According to the verdict, the writer Samaresh Basu can not be exempt for writing pornographic novels. That’s why he is the biggest writer.
According to section 292 of the Indian Penal Code, he was convicted. The court fined the Writer of the book and ordered two months imprisonment for two months.
The publisher is also the same opinion. And the country is asked to waste the number of Sharadi (1374) from 174 to 226 pages. Very surprised incident it was a 44th birthday of Samaresh Basu.
On September 24, 1985, the Supreme Court’s verdict said that the money was submitted on that day, the ‘Butterfly’ is noted that the money was submitted on that day and the process of taking the case to the High Court.
Although the Kolkata High Court also continued the verdict of the Banshal court of Calcutta in his verdict after 5 years.
The Justice rejects the permission of taking the case to the highest court of the country. But the author and some influencial authorities do not leave.
In 1979, the case filed in the Supreme Court. The following year the Supreme Court wants to translate butterfly. The translation was submitted, but unfortunately it was lost in the fire.
In that year, the Supreme Court verdict said on 24 September, butterflies are not porn. The case was the first to suit any novels of Bangali literature.
China in Ten Words: The Art of Love & Other 7 Awesome Controversial Books
Yu Hua is a popular Chinese writer. His book ‘China in Ten Words’ was translated by Alan H. Barr. This is a non-fiction book. It is a collection of essays written by him at various times. The book contains various memoirs of past and present.
The first essay of the book is called ‘Manush’. It describes the bloodshed in Tiananmen Square in 1989. This book could not be published in China.
The Chinese government has imposed strict controls on printed books. The country does not issue ISBN numbers for books other than state publishers. Books undergo extensive vetting before publication.
Piccolo Uovo and Tango Makes Three: The Art of Love & Other 7 Awesome Controversial Books
‘Piccolo Uovo’ was written by Italian author Francesca Pardi and ‘And Tango Makes Three’ was written by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson. Both are children’s books.
In 2015, Luigi Brugnaro banned at least 49 books from Venice’s nursery schools after he was sworn in as mayor of Venice. Piccolo Uovo is on that list. The mayor said the book was a threat to Italy’s traditional family.
After this incident, when widespread criticism began in Venice, Luigi Brugnaro lifted the ban on all but two books. The banned book is called Piccolo Uovo.
The word piccolo uovo means ‘little egg’. The book revolves around a penguin egg. The egg is afraid to hatch because it thinks what its family will be like. Such thoughts are called unconventional thoughts. The book is still on the banned list due to fears that it will affect the psychology of children.
And Tango Makes 3 is written with almost a similar story. It is also banned in US libraries.
The Bluest Eye : The Art of Love & Other 7 Awesome Controversial Books
The novel is written by American author Toni Morrison. It was published by Vintage International. The novel is banned in many US schools. The definition of beauty and racial hatred are the epitome of the book.
US parents have complained that the novel contains sexual violence. It can lead children astray.
An organization of writers called PEN America says that banning the book is undoubtedly an interference with freedom of speech.
The American Library Association (ALA) says most requests come from libraries to remove the book.
In 2016, the Legislature of Virginia passed the ‘Beloved Bill’ with another novel by Toni Morrison, ‘Beloved’. It is said in that bill, parents can prevent their child from teaching that book if they want. Because the book contains sexual content.
Shame ( Lajja) by Taslima Nasreen :The Art of Love & Other 7 Awesome Controversial Books
Taslima Nasreen is the author of the book titled Shame. It was translated from Bengali to English by Anchita Ghatak. The 337-page book is published by Penguin India.
In 1992, Hindus demolished a mosque in Ayodhya, India. That incident had an impact in Bangladesh as well.
The Muslim population of Bangladesh attacked the minority Hindus in their country as revenge for that incident. Taslima Nasreen wrote ‘shame’ about that incident. The government of Bangladesh has banned the book.
Even then, hundreds of photocopies of the book were circulated in India and Bangladesh.
Taslima Nasreen said, ‘The book is a story of humanity and brutality. A story of those who value freedom and those who don’t.’
After the novel was banned, Taslima Nasreen left the country and moved to Sweden. In 1994, he won the European Parliament Shakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. Later he settled in India.
Friend by Paek Nam Nyong : The Art of Love & Other 7 Awesome Controversial Books
North Korean writer Paek Nam Nyong’s book ‘Friend’ has been translated from English by Emmanuel Kim. It was published by Columbia University Press.
Friend is the first novel to be published in English by the North Korean government. The book was published in North Korea in 1988. This book has got the status of classic novel in the country.
What is the story of the novel? Its epitaph is the account of the deep despair of a few people caught in a marital conflict.
Writer Paek Nam Nyong had the experience of watching a divorce hearing in court. He wrote the novel in the light of that experience.
Surprising as it may sound, the book was banned not by the North Korean government, but by the South Korean government, known as a democratic country.
South Korea has banned 23 books for military personnel, including this book. The country’s defense ministry believes the book could make South Korean soldiers sympathize with North Korea.
The Devil’s Dance : The Art of Love & Other 7 Awesome Controversial Books
Uzbekistan writer Hamid Ismailov wrote ‘The Devil’s Dance’. It was translated into English by Donald Rayfield. Published by Tilted Axis Press.
The Uzbek government accused him of ‘unacceptable democratic tendencies’. Later in 1992 he was forced to flee to the UK.
He wrote more than a dozen books during his exile. All his books are banned in Uzbekistan. The Devil’s Dance is his first novel translated into English.
WORLD SLEEP DAY 2023:
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