The book Delhi Riots 2020: The Untold Story published by Bloomsbury, has drawn significant media attention recently. One of the seething critiques came from Sudhanva Deshpande, Managing Editor with an independent publishing house in Delhi, LeftWord Books. Sudhanva wrote a post calling out Bloomsbury on its decision to publish this book, which according to him, “has blood on its hands”. Although the publication has now been retracted, the uproar has left us with concerns around publishing and public discourse that need further examination.
Sudhanva speaks to Aparna from the Indian Cultural Forum about the free speech debate and publishing protocols in times of increasing communal polarisation.
