Sale of copies of the October issue of the magazine "Forward Press' were stopped by police after orders from Delhi High Court following a complaint about an article allegedly derogatory to Hindu goddess Durga.
Police raided the premises of the magazine and took four staffers into custody.
A statement from the magazine said:
"We strongly condemn the vandalism indulged in at the Nehru Place, New Delhi office of FORWARD Press on Oct 9 by Delhi Police. He said that the Delhi police illegally detained four staffers of the magazine on Thursday and now it is confiscating copies of the magazine from stalls in Delhi without any order of any court or competent authority. He said that this action was being taken "˜at the instance of fundamentalist forces, which is not only a blatant violation of the Freedom of Expression granted by the Constitution but also an attempt to stifle any logical-intellectual discourse".
It may be mentioned here that two groups of students had clashed on Thursday on JNU campus over the observance of "˜Mahishasur Martyrdom Day"™. Earlier, the police had raided the office of FORWARD Press on the basis of a complaint made in the Vasant Kunj police station of East Delhi. In the complaint, it has been claimed that FORWARD Press had published objectionable material about Goddess Durga, on the basis of which students of the JNU were organising "˜Mahishasur Martyrdom Day"™.
Pramod Ranjan, Consulting Editor of FORWARD Press said in this regard that"The October 2014 issue of FORWARD Press was a special number devoted to 'Bahujan-Shraman tradition' and carries well-researched articles of leading writers and professors of prestigious universities. The Bahujan rendition of the story of 'Mahishasur and Durga' has been presented in words and through sketches and paintings.
There is absolutely nothing in the issue that can be described as objectionable under the Indian Constitution. Our objective was not to humiliate or hurt the sentiments of any community or group. We are only trying to identify and rejuvenate the symbols of Bahujan culture and civilization. Anyway, Bahujan renditions of popular texts have a long tradition, starting from Jotiba Phule and going up to Ambedkar and Periyar.
While condemning this attack on freedom of expression we want to state that the action has been taken at the behest of the Brahamanical forces in the BJP. FORWARD Press " a magazine of Dalits, OBCs and Tribals " has always been an eyesore for these forces. In the last couple of years, FORWARD Press has faced many attacks from these forces. The attacks have only strengthened our moral force. We are hopeful that we will be able to emerge with our head held high from this latest crisis too"