Understanding Islam Through Hadis - The Ban

The Ban

In 1983, a reprint of the book by Sita Ram Goel, Ram Swarup's long-time friend and collaborator, sold out quickly. In 1987 Goel printed another edition of the book, and tried to publish a Hindi translation which he had commissioned. The details are not known with certainty but, apparently on the basis of a complaint lodged with the police, all copies of the Hindi translation were seized from the printer's shop and Goel was arrested. He recounted the situation:

Soon after we reached the Police Station, he shouted at me, "tû kaun hai? yeh kyâ kiyâ? bahut baDi riot hote hote ruki hai (who are you? what have you done? A big riot almost broke out)." I told him that I was nobody, and did not understand the accusation. He barked, "musalmân ubal rahen haiN. unke gharoN kî chhatoN par behisâb îNt patthar rakkhâ hai, gharoN ke bhîtar golâ bârûd: wê jab châheN shahar meN âg lagâ sakte haiN (Muslims are excited. They have heaps of bricks and stones piled up on the roofs of their houses, and firearms within. They can set the city on fire whenever they want)." I asked him why the police had allowed them to collect and keep the arsenal. He snarled, "yeh bât to apne netâoN se pûcho, meN to ek garîb policeman huN, bacchon kâ pet pal rahâ huN (put this question to your leaders, I am only a poor policeman trying to feed my family)." I kept quiet.

Goel was bailed out after 18 hours in police custody, but the impounded copies of the Hindi translation were never returned to him. Later, public furore ensued after a claim in the Jamaat-e-Islami weekly Radiance that the book was offensive to Muslims. Finally, in 1990 the Hindi translation of the book was officially banned. In March 1991 the English original was also banned. The criminal case against Goel for printing the book was dismissed after some years on 5 May 1997, but the book still remained banned.