James W. Laine

In the 25th year of the ban on The Satanic Verses, we look at the mechanics of bans

Shivaji book gets the Maratha goat

Just when it seemed the ghosts of American scholar James W. Laine's controversial book on Shivaji had been buried, comes a state ban on another book by the same author.

Shivaji's legacy is the battleground where the Shiv Sena-BJP and the Congress-NCP meet in mortal combat

The Congress-NCP gives in to chauvinist hordes at the funeral of a book

An 87-year old research institute is vandalised in the name of Shivaji. Priceless manuscripts are gone forever.

The Supreme Court, finally, lifts its stay on the Bombay High Court order quashing the Maharashtra government ban on James W. Laine's controversial book on Shivaji

In a significant ruling for freespeech, vindicating James W. Laine's book on Shivaji, the Bombay High Court quashes Maharashtra Govt's notification dated 28.12.2006 directs it "to forthwith release all the books which were forfeited and seized"

Shivaji has always been seen as an extraordinarily clever, intelligent and wise ruler. Why are the most utterly foolish positions being assumed and actions taken, supposedly in his name, to defend his reputation?

The armed bodyguard posted at my door since January 7, 2004 was finally taken off by the government of Maharashtra after three months. I had not asked for this protection...

Is Maharashtra's Home Minister declaring another Emergency of his own during this pre-election period? Will champions of civil liberties remain articulately silent and silently articulate in the face of this clear and present danger to democracy itse

What we have at stake in the floundering career of our Republic is the plural character of our polity pitted against a conformism imposed from above, i.e. by an elite conspiring and conniving to rule the vast mass of population.

... and how he landed miniature painter Shrikant Pradhan in trouble with the Maratha Seva Sangh and the Pune Police.

With the storming of BORI by hooligans, the monster of fascism no longer growls at the gate - it has crossed the threshold, into the house that Gandhi built. Are we prepared to defend acts of violence perpetrated in the name of our identity, our beli

Governance has been abandoned to mob intimidation at the price of free speech. The law — even in its width — was intended to outlaw malicious speech, which intended disruption. Today the disrupters claim a sensitivity that they do not possess and a p

This is the first time in my life that I am sitting down to write an article while a commando sits in my living room to protect me from possible assailants. News Updates.