Even if a book is banned by a City or County School Board, or a Public Library, one can still buy the book in a bookstore. Or if not stocked by that bookstore (as a form of censorship), one can get it from a competing bookstore. To my knowledge there has been no state-wide or nation-wide ban on a book in the US. This is quite different from the banning of books by the Central or State Govts in India where one just cannot get the book "legally" and the book can be confiscated at an airport. Of course now one could possibly get the book from a website or from a state where the book is not banned. And inspite of local bans of books, there is this celebration of locally banned books at the beginning of fall each year http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/info.html My statement "And the incredibly stupid and politically loaded decisions to ban a book that nobody has even read?!" was about the ban imposed by the Gujarat state govt and being considered by the Maharashtra state govt. Hopefully, Vikram's article on the Churchillians v/s the Gandhians and Law Minister Moily's statement about Lelyveld's sources being from work published by the Central govt should pretty much put to rest the controversy over the actual content of Lelyveld's book v/s the mischievious reviews in Western tabloids.
And hopefully I will get to walk into a bookstore in Mumbai and buy Lelyveld's book when it is published in India! --- On Mon, 4/4/11, Mike Milton <mmilto...@yahoo.com> wrote: From: Mike Milton <mmilto...@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: g_b on Gandhi, his loving relationship with a german body builder, and th... To: gay_bombay@yahoogroups.com Date: Monday, April 4, 2011, 7:02 PM There have been booked banned in the US. Many such as Mark twain's books were banned for using insulting words like "Nigger". Some were banned for religious reasons. Some were banned for condemning organized Christianity, such as "Don;t call me a brother". Many others are banned at different levels - county, state and all the way to the country .... with matter concerning homosexuality .... unfairly. Some since have been reinstated though. The idea of censorship and banning changes with changing times. But nevertheless, banning goes on even today !!!! http://www.banned-books.com/bblista-i.html Dear Manoj: In this age of information database and accessibility, the idea that someone is not wise enough to do a little bit research before accusing and using bad language is appalling. I can use more colorful language to address this person. Then where does this end? Let us take the approach that the Mahatma taught the world ... Forgive and educate !! Mike. From: Manoj <zeus200...@yahoo.com> To: g_b <gay_bombay@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Mon, April 4, 2011 8:42:34 AM Subject: Re: g_b on Gandhi, his loving relationship with a german body builder, and th... Pratap Forget it. U wouldn't understand it. U do nit think that being called gay is accusing someone. U actually think it's normal!!! Infidel! U try to think U r actually even being rational n fair! With all these things ofcourse ur stupid n dumb headed brain wouldn't understand that this is not the way we do it here. Didn't bapu teach us to shout, insult, believe in heresy and in general be intolerant and quick to insult? !! Ofcourse the book needs to be banned, burned n I only wish we can send out guys out an get this guy assassinated Hail mike! From: Pratap <mw1_2...@yahoo.com>; To: <gay_bombay@yahoogroups.com>; Subject: Re: g_b on Gandhi, his loving relationship with a german body builder, and th... Sent: Sun, Apr 3, 2011 8:33:51 PM Would you please educate this stupid dumb head and list the book(s) that have been banned in the US? --- On Sun, 4/3/11, Mike Milton <mmilto...@yahoo.com> wrote: From: Mike Milton <mmilto...@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: g_b on Gandhi, his loving relationship with a german body builder, and th... To: gay_bombay@yahoogroups.com Date: Sunday, April 3, 2011, 7:35 AM Wow, the support from someone who does not even understand the point of view of a limited words .... incredibly stupid .. my foot. What As. .... This is not the first time a book has been banned, even in US. You want to read about an accusation that the father of country was GAY !!!! Again, British would not have let this go by without capitalizing if there was some truth to the same. You dumb head .... you are Stupid to even think about this. I guess this is still India ... where matter wins over mind ..... come on use it. !!! From: Pratap <mw1_2...@yahoo.com> To: gay_bombay@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sat, April 2, 2011 10:38:59 PM Subject: Re: g_b on Gandhi, his loving relationship with a german body builder, and th... Is he saying "shut up" because he disagrees with a point of view? Or is he saying "shut up" because all the comments are based on reviews in the Western media (even a normally staid and boring outlet like the WSJ)? Has anyone (other than Aditya) even read the book first? If Lelyveld has accessed the Gandhi-Kallenbach letters from the Sabarmati Ashram per Ms. De http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/politically-incorrect/entry/mahatma-a-gay-icon-why-not is it our discomfort with confronting or better yet inability to understand Gandhiji's thoughts about transparency per Mr. Kulkarni http://www.indianexpress.com/news/mahatmas-sexuality/770836/0 that causes this outrage? And the incredibly stupid and politically loaded decisions to ban a book that nobody has even read?! --- On Sat, 4/2/11, Mike Milton <mmilto...@yahoo.com> wrote: From: Mike Milton <mmilto...@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: g_b on Gandhi, his loving relationship with a german body builder, and th... To: gay_bombay@yahoogroups.com Date: Saturday, April 2, 2011, 1:24 PM You say "Shut up" because some one disagrees with your view point !!!! Grow up .... From: Aditya Bondyopadhyay <adit.b...@gmail.com> To: gay_bombay@yahoogroups.com Sent: Fri, April 1, 2011 1:38:41 AM Subject: Re: g_b on Gandhi, his loving relationship with a german body builder, and th... Well, the point is that the book just happens to be pretty well written and is not 'Shit'. AND IT DOES NOT AT ANY PLACE SPEAK OF GANDHI'S SEXUALITY. NOT EVEN IN THE PASSING. I took time out to read it so that I know the facts before I even commented. More importantly those who are calling it a 'shit' without reading it are the worst form of idiots who will belive any canard without having the capacity to make up their own minds. They say "an empty vessel sounds much", and these guys just prove the point. They are dumb enough not to be able to read the book, maybe even understand it, but would make pompous claims of "one cannot read every shit". They should make better efforts to at being intellectually honest. Otherwise they should just shut up. Best, Aditya Bondyopadhyay On 4/1/11, nirb...@aol.com <nirb...@aol.com> wrote: > Nobody has the time to read "every shit that is published!!!" > > BUT we should NOT censor, nor ban a book, movie, newspaper, cartoon, just > because we don't agree with it. > > Gordon > > > In a message dated 3/31/2011 2:54:01 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, > mmilto...@yahoo.com writes: > > > > > > So you are suggesting that read every shit that is published and not use > your brain !!! What will read the book alone do? If you are for real, then > you have to check the sources. > > > As far as I am concerned I stand by my statement "If there was any truth > to this, British would have ruined Mahatma and taken advantage of the same, > We might even be not independent today". > > > Be careful .... Independence does not mean stupidity nor lack of guard in > accepting everything that you come across. > > > Mike. > > > ____________________________________ > From: Aditya Bondyopadhyay <adit.b...@gmail.com> > To: gay_bombay@yahoogroups.com > Sent: Thu, March 31, 2011 5:09:09 AM > Subject: Re: g_b on Gandhi, his loving relationship with a german body > builder, and the difficulty of assimilating the (homo)sexual into the image > of > the mahatma > > > The point is, I just procured and read the book so that I can make up > my own mind. And this is what I find: we are all screaming because > some nitwit reviewer had to sell his/her copy and therefore came up > with what can safely be termed COMPLETE BULLSHIT. The book is nothing > that the review claims and there is no indication or even wording > about Gandhi's sexuality. It is a complete fabrication of a > sensationalist and partially deranged reviewer. > > So this is what I suggest. Before you get into a frenzy aka shiv sena, > and start beating up the writer and burning libraries, please read the > book. And id you still have bile left, reserve the boot for the > reviewer for spreading canards, and withdraw it from the writer. > > Best, > Aditya > > On 3/31/11, Mike Milton <_mmilton09@yahoo.com_ (mailto:mmilto...@yahoo.com) >> wrote: >> Perhaps the author needs some to boot him !!! >> >> Bloot, point here is not appreciating Gandhiji's principle ... for long > we >> have >> done that and have given up now too. >> >> Point here is, if someone writes a story about me, I think I expect > people >> to >> verify the veracity of the story before believing the same. We owe the > same >> level of respect to Mahatma. >> >> Does any one his right mind think, if there was any truth to this story, >> British >> would have destroyed Gandhi and would have taken full advantage of it. >> >> Let us think before passing mundane comments at least about a great soul. >> >> Mike. >> >> >> >> ________________________________ >> From: Bloot Fontaine <_blutfonta...@yahoo.co.in_ > (mailto:blutfonta...@yahoo.co.in) > >> To: _gay_bombay@yahoogroups.com_ (mailto:gay_bombay@yahoogroups.com) >> Sent: Wed, March 30, 2011 1:33:14 AM >> Subject: Re: g_b on Gandhi, his loving relationship with a german body >> builder, >> and the difficulty of assimilating the (homo)sexual into the image of the >> mahatma >> >> >> I am speaking from what I read in Mumbai Mirror. According to the author > of >> the >> book, he has "discovered facts" about Gandhiji's sexual life from letters >> written by Gandhi to Kallenbach. In such a case, instead of even > discussing >> Gandhiji's sexuality, would it not be a lot more pertinent to admire and >> even >> revere the honesty with which he preserved those letters so that his life >> could >> openly be studied? >> Never mind what his sexuality was, he was truthful, honest, open and >> courageous >> about any and everything! Otherwise, today we would not have known about >> this >> and been able to criticise/praise etc. >> >> --- On Tue, 29/3/11, akshay khanna <_xaefis@gmail.com_ > (mailto:xae...@gmail.com) > wrote: >> >> >>>From: akshay khanna <_xaefis@gmail.com_ (mailto:xae...@gmail.com) > >>>Subject: g_b on Gandhi, his loving relationship with a german body > builder, >>> and >>>the difficulty of assimilating the (homo)sexual into the image of the >>> mahatma >>>To: _lgbt-india@yahoogroups.com_ (mailto:lgbt-in...@yahoogroups.com) , > _gay_bombay@yahoogroups.com_ (mailto:gay_bombay@yahoogroups.com) >>>Date: Tuesday, 29 March, 2011, 6:26 PM >>> >>> >>> >>>dear all, >>>below is one of several reviews of Joseph Lelyveld's book, 'Great Soul', > on >>> >>>which a ban is reportedly being planned in Maharashtra. >>>(_http://www.hindustantimes.com/Ban-looms-over-new-Mahatma-book-author-cri > es-foul/Article1-678973.aspx_ > (http://www.hindustantimes.com/Ban-looms-over-new-Mahatma-book-author-cries-foul/Article1-678973.aspx) > ) >>> . as though 'bisexual' were an insult. :) have not had a chance to read >>> the >>>book itself, but responses to the possibility that the father of the > nation >>> >>>might have had a strong, erotic/sexual attachment to a man are > interesting. >>> >>> >>> >>>xx >>>akshay >>> >>>_http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703529004576160371482469358 > .html?mod=WSJ_article_related_ > (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703529004576160371482469358.html?mod=WSJ_article_related) >>> >>> >> >> > > -- > Sent from my mobile device > > -- > ADITYA BONDYOPADHYAY > Development Sector Consultant > Advocate (Regd. No. F-218/192 of 1997, Bar Council of W.Bengal, India) > > Website: _http://adityabondyopadhyay.webs.com/_ > (http://adityabondyopadhyay.webs.com/) > ================================ > Notice to all recipients: > Communication not intended for you but reaching you inadvertently needs to > be treated as confidential and destroyed or deleted immediately. Use of > such > communication in a manner prejudicial to the interest of Aditya > Bondyopadhyay and/or his principals, and/or his clients, and/or his agents > respectively, may attract legal proceedings which may be of a civil or > criminal nature. > > Aditya Bondyopadhyay and/or his principals, and/or his clients, and/or his > agents respectively cannot be held liable or accountable for any and every > communication reaching out through this email account that is an unaltered > forward of another communication received by this email account, or a > referred source available on the internet and accessible to the public. > > > > > > > > > -- Sent from my mobile device -- ADITYA BONDYOPADHYAY Development Sector Consultant Advocate (Regd. No. F-218/192 of 1997, Bar Council of W.Bengal, India) Website: http://adityabondyopadhyay.webs.com/ ================================ Notice to all recipients: Communication not intended for you but reaching you inadvertently needs to be treated as confidential and destroyed or deleted immediately. Use of such communication in a manner prejudicial to the interest of Aditya Bondyopadhyay and/or his principals, and/or his clients, and/or his agents respectively, may attract legal proceedings which may be of a civil or criminal nature. Aditya Bondyopadhyay and/or his principals, and/or his clients, and/or his agents respectively cannot be held liable or accountable for any and every communication reaching out through this email account that is an unaltered forward of another communication received by this email account, or a referred source available on the internet and accessible to the public.
