Ahmedabad: A book-reading session in Ahmedabad‘s Vastrapur area turned chaotic on August 27 after members of the Bajrang Dal and Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) allegedly disrupted the gathering, raised slogans and threatened participants. Copies of I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai and The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank were allegedly torn during the confrontation.
The session, organised by Students and Youth Collective, Ahmedabad (SYCA), was held at AUDA Garden and attended by around 40 to 50 people. SYCA alleged that around 30 to 50 people claiming to be associated with the two organisations arrived at the venue wearing saffron scarves and carrying sticks and baseball bats.
Malala and Anne Frank books allegedly torn
According to SYCA, the group objected to the books being read during the gathering. The activists allegedly tore copies of Malala Yousafzai’s I Am Malala and Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl before the situation escalated.
Participants alleged that slogans, abusive language and communal remarks were also used during the confrontation. A video circulating online appears to show one person making a communal remark about checking whether participants were Muslims.
SYCA members shared photographs showing the torn books and injuries, claiming that at least six people were hurt.
An FIR was later registered at Vastrapur Police Station, naming Bajrang Dal members Hiren Rabari and Jimit Rabari.
Row began over school library books
The confrontation followed a controversy at Anand Niketan School in Ahmedabad’s Shilaj area, where the same two books had become the subject of objections.
The dispute initially began after an eighth-grade student reportedly fell ill after allegedly swallowing an object resembling glass or fibre in food served at the school canteen on August 11.
The issue later expanded to the school’s library, with Hindutva organisations questioning the presence of I Am Malala and The Diary of a Young Girl.
School says books were not part of syllabus
The school said neither book was part of its formal curriculum. According to a school spokesperson, both had been selected for the reading list by the school’s book club.
The school said its library also contained books on figures including Swami Vivekananda, Veer Savarkar, the Dalai Lama, Dr S Radhakrishnan, Dr A P J Abdul Kalam and Rani Lakshmibai.
Following notices from the district education department, the two books were temporarily removed from the library and the book club supervisor was suspended.
The school also denied allegations that parents were charged extra for the books.
Dispute puts reading choices in spotlight
Teachers associated with the school said books were selected after review by a committee based on students’ age and suitability. They maintained that the school encouraged critical thinking and respect for different viewpoints.
With copies of I Am Malala and The Diary of a Young Girl allegedly torn during the Ahmedabad reading session, the controversy has now intensified, raising fresh questions over children’s reading choices, freedom of expression and the handling of disagreements surrounding books.