Billion's Verdict Team
We have a history of banning controversial & famous books by the government since British India. Books with inflammatory viewpoints about a particular society/religion/race usually become the victim of such cases of the book ban. Books that pose a threat to the contemporary government could easily invite them to ban them. These types of books may be a result of honest research in order to uncover the truth or such books may ride on baseless lies and be written to malign them. We have thoroughly researched the topic, in order to identify the list of the most controversial & famous banned books in India.
You may also read 10 Must-Read Inspiring Indian Biographies & Autobiographies.
We are enlisting the major controversial and famous banned books in India and all of these mentioned books are noteworthy.
Link of the source is being provided for every book mentioned below. Most of these books are not available at -commerce portals like Amazon India & Flipkart as still banned in India and due to this Amazon Global (US) link is also being provided for ready reference. So, enjoy reading & exploring these rarely available books!
Controversial & Famous Banned Books in India
#1. The Hindus – Wendy Doniger
This book by Wendy Doniger is one of the leading famous banned books in India.
Why banned: The content is offensive to Hindus. Book argues that there is no monolithic “Hinduism” – no “Sanatana Dharma” at all. Due to this reason, It is claimed that the book is misleading and at times gives false information. It also contains several unjustified judgments from someone with a distant perspective and incomplete understanding of Hindu culture.
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#2 & 3. ‘Some Blunders in Indian Historical Research’ and ‘The Taj Mahal Is A Temple Palace‘ – P. N. Oak
Why banned: Oak’s book “Some Blunders in Indian Historical Research” was banned from the Parliament’s library by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha (Lower House) as noted in news archives. There are also other claims of government suppression, e.g. “Allegedly, Indira Gandhi’s government tried to ban (The Taj Mahal is a Temple Place) and some would say the Indian government had been politically motivated in suppressing this theory” (Source – Wikipedia).
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#4 & 5. ‘The Satanic Verses’ and ‘Midnight’s Children’ – Salman Rushdie
Why
Available at: Amazon.com
Why banned: For this 1981 novel, Salman Rushdie received the 1981 Booker Prize and 1993 ‘Booker of Bookers’ on the 25th anniversary of the book and Best All-time winners in 2008 on the 40th anniversary. This book received many other major accolades in English literature.
The book was banned in India by then Congress govt. as it contains scathing criticisms of Indira Gandhi’s overreach during the Emergency as well as a personal lust for power.
However, Rushdie didn’t name Indira in his book.
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#6. ‘The Price of Power’ – Seymour Hersh
Why banned: Banned for alleging the former Prime Minister of India – Morarji Desai to be a CIA informer by Pulitzer Prize-winner Seymour Hersh in his book. As a result, this book was temporarily banned in India.
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#7. ‘Unarmed Victory‘ – Bertrand Russell
Why banned: This book was banned from being imported into India. It was banned by Jawahar Lal Nehru, then PM because this book reveals the communication between Russel and Indian and Chinese state heads & senior officials. The book provides insight into the discussion Russel had with Nehru and also makes a decisive judgment of the acts of conflict and the war between China and India. The book also states that India provided a steady impediment in the way of compromise which seriously inflated the crisis and the risk to mankind. Bertrand Russel was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1950 in recognition of his extensive contributions to world literature.
The book covers the Sino-Indian conflict in the second part.
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Amazon.in – Not available as of 19/09/2019
#8. ‘Eminent Historian’ – Arun Shourie
Why banned: Unofficially banned on platforms like Flipkart/Amazon during UPA-II tenure, this book is a masterpiece on how Indian history was distorted through bodies like ICHR. Now it is available on all platforms.
In my opinion, it’s a must-read book for every Indian.
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#9. Understanding Islam through Hadis – RamSwarup
Why banned: Published in 1982, this one of the most controversial books in India was banned for its critique of Islam. The book was banned by the Delhi Government in 1984 and its publisher was arrested by police.
Available at: Amazon.com
#10 & 11. ‘Lajja’ and ‘Dwikhandita’ – Taslima Nasrin
Why banned: ‘Lajja’ contained the struggle of a patriotic Bangladeshi Hindu family in a Muslim environment, and was banned by Bangladesh and West Bengal citing reasons that it is offensive to Muslims and insults Islam. As per Taslima Nasreen -“‘Lajja’ can be seen as a symbol of protest. It is a protest against the violence, hatred, and killings that are going on all over the world in the name of religion,”.
‘Lajja’ highlights how Bangladesh failed miserably in protecting minority Hindus after the Babri Masjid demolition in India in 1992.
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Why banned: The West Bengal Government had banned Dwikhandita, the autobiographical book by Taslima Nasreen, for saying it contained matter that could incite “enmity between different groups on grounds of religion”.
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Amazon.in – Not Available as of 19/09/2019
#12. Rangila Rasul – Unknown Author
Why banned: Published during a period of confrontation between Arya Samaj and Muslims in Punjab during the 1920s. The controversial book concerned the marriages and sex life of Prophet Mohammed. Originally written in Urdu, it has been translated into Hindi. It remains banned in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. (Information source – Goodreads.com )
You may access or download the book from here, which is available on the internet, but not available on any e-commerce platform.
#13. Polyester Prince – Hamish McDonald
Why banned: It got banned as the Ambani family was not shown in a favorable manner and also probably because Hamish McDonald has taken the names of P. Chidambaram and other politicians by their name and showed how Dhirubhai tactfully tackled the bureaucrats, bribed the government officials.
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#14. Five Past Midnight in Bhopal – Dominique Lapierre and Javier Moro
Why banned: Book was banned because of a defamation suit filed by the then Commissioner of Police of Bhopal. The later ban was lifted by the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
This book provides insight into how poor supervision and penny-pinching tactics by the American Company Union Carbide eventually led to the world’s worst industrial disaster: on December 3, 1984, the plant sprung a leak during routine maintenance procedures. It is estimated that between 16,000 and 30,000 people were killed and left 500,000 permanently injured.
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#15. The Great Soul – Joseph Lelyveld
Why banned: Book was banned by Gujrat Govt. in 2011, as the book suggests that Mahatma Gandhi was homo-sexual, though this book is the result of the great research/study by Joseph Lelyveld.
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#16. ‘Himalayan Blunder’ – Brigadier JP Dalvi
Why banned: The book was banned by the Indian Government immediately after its release because the term “Himalayan blunder” came to be used as a synonym for colossal failure in the context of Indian politics.
In this brilliant read – Dalvi narrates the manner in which India’s own political leadership traitorously worked against its cause. In no uncertain terms, he holds three men responsible for India’s defeat – Jawaharlal Nehru, Krishna Menon, and General Brij Mohan Kaul.
Brigadier Dalvi has given the first-person account of the war, who served the Indian Army. As per Dalvi, the sheer ineptitude of political leaders resulted in the sacrifice of hundreds of valuable lives. In this book Brig. Dalvi narrated how Indians were massacred in the 1962 Indo-China war.
It’s a must-read.
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Flipkart – Not available as of 19/09/2019
#17. ‘What Congress and Gandhi have done to Untouchables’ – Bhimrao Ambedkar
Why banned: ‘What Congress and Gandhi have done to Untouchables’ – published in 1945, was banned by the Congress Govt soon after independence from British rule, and subsequent generations of Indians have been denied of the facts and events which took place between 1920 and 1940
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#18. Korkai : Joe D’Cruz (Tamil)
Why banned: Korkai, published in 2009 was challenged for the ban in 2015. As per the complaint filed in court, this book portrays Christianity, priests, and nuns in a bad light.
Joe D’Cruz supported Narendra Modi for his Prime Ministerial candidature in the 2014 Loksabha election, and due to this, he is alienated among the Tamil intelligentsia. His political position has isolated him. It is to be noted that Joe D’Cruz received the Sahitya Academy Award for Korkai.
Available at :
Flipkart – Not available as of 19/09/2019
#19. An Area of Darkness – VS Naipaul
Why banned: The book was immediately banned after its launch in India for its “negative portrayal of India and its people.
It is to be noted that V. S. Naipaul is a supporter of Indian culture & a critic of the Islamic invasion of India and due to this reason, Indian journalists/reviewers always oppose Naipaul.
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#20. Descent of Air India – Jitender Bhargava
Why banned: Former UPA-II Aviation minister Praful Patel filed a defamation suit in a Mumbai court against this book, which is an account of how India’s national carrier was brought to its knees. The publisher agreed to withdraw all copies of the book and even issued a public apology.
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#21. Reminiscences of the Nehru Age –
Why banned: One of the most explosive and authentic books on the Nehru/Gandhi Family and on post-independence Indian history. M.O. Mathai knew much about Nehru, Indira, and many other politicians, which he stated in the book, and due to this reason book was immediately banned.
As the grapevine says many things about Indira’s secret love life, something related to that was written in this book. It is said that the article was originally supposed to be a part of Mathai’s book, ‘Reminiscences of the Nehru Age’ but for obvious reasons, at the last moment, it was left out of the book and never published.
Very sensitive & extremely interesting topic – ‘She’ of this book, which narrates the secret love/sex relationship between Mathai & Indira. The transcript of the “she” chapter is available on the internet, just google it.
This book is available as a free download here.
Here is the PDF download of the book. 1 & 2 .
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Amazon.com – Not available as of 19/09/2019
#22. Islam – R.V. Bhasin
Why banned :
This book was banned in Maharashtra during the tenure of then Chief Minister, Maharashtra – Vilasrao Deshmukh on grounds that it promotes communal disharmony between Hindus and Muslims.
Presently book is not available on any online platform but by searching the title of the book, one can easily find the same on the internet as a pdf or HTML.
Available at :
( As of now, not available on any portal ).
#23. ‘Nine Hours to Rama’ – Stanley Wolpert
Why banned :
Because it exposed the poor security provided to Gandhi and hinted at possible incompetence and conspiracy.
This book is a fictional account of the last day of Mahatma Gandhi’s life and highlights how Nathuram Godse planned Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination.
Available at :
#24. ‘Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence’ – Jaswant Singh
Why banned :
The book was banned in Gujrat as it allegedly defamed the image of Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel.
Jaswant Singh had praised Jinnah and charged the Jawaharlal Nehru & Vallabhbhai Patel with being responsible for the partition of India.
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#25. Nathuram Godse statement
In 1968, a ban on Nathuram Godse’s statement was revoked by Mumbai High Court. There are books that provide the transcript of Nathuram Godse’s statement. It is indeed a Speech to Court.
Please let us know, if we have missed out on any other important book in our list of most controversial & famous banned books in India, we also appreciate your input on a
