 Authorities
in the western Indian state of Gujarat state have banned a controversial book on
Pakistan's founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah.
Jinnah-India, Partition, Independence has been written by Jaswant Singh,
an expelled leader of the Hindu nationalist main opposition party BJP.
The BJP government in Gujarat said it banned the book for its defamatory
references to Vallabhbhai Patel, India's first home minister.
The late Mr Patel is a political icon in his home state of Gujarat. Described
often as the Iron Man of India, Patel played an important role in the
country's independence and the integration of the different states in the Indian
Union.
The book has been banned because it contains defamatory references regarding
Vallabhai Patel who is considered as the architect of the modern India, a
statement by the Gujarat government says.
Jaswant Singh said he was saddened by the banning of the book in Gujarat:
The day we start banning books, we are banning thinking.
The book was released earlier this week and immediately created a controversy.
The BJP dissociated itself from the book and sacked Singh from the party.
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