Gen Z attacked for reading books in Gujarat

Hindutva groups target Gen Z for reading books in Ahmedabad.

The Reality of Gujarat – 1

Yesterday in Ahmedabad, a group of goons attacked a gathering of mostly Gen Z individuals who were reading books in a park in the Vastrapur area. The group consisted of about 30-35 young people. The reason for this was that reading these books was itself a form of protest.

The issue arose when a private school, 'Anand Niketan School', in the nearby area of Shela village in Ahmedabad, introduced the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Malala Yousafzai's book 'I Am Malala' and the diary of a young girl Anne Frank, depicting Hitler's atrocities in Europe, for students and teachers to read. This was opposed by the parents of the students and others on August 11, and they even stormed the school.

Following this, the District Education Officer of Ahmedabad ordered the school not to keep these two books. It was heard that the school also removed these books from its library.

In protest of this incident, a young person organized an open reading session with photos of these two books today in the Vastrapur municipal park from 4 PM to 6 PM. This was announced with a poster on Facebook. No personal invitations were given to anyone. Yet, many people came on their own. I was also there flipping through books for two hours.

Approximately 40 English books, especially those discussing social and political issues, were available for reading there. These included Malala and Anne Frank's books in English and Gujarati. Additionally, there were books by Subhash Chandra Bose, Bhagat Singh, Arundhati Roy, Mahatma Gandhi, Che Guevara, etc. My book ‘Preamble of the Constitution’ was also included, and the Gujarati translation of Ashok Kumar Pandey's book ‘Dictators of the 20th Century’ that I translated was also included.

Everyone was looking at books and reading peacefully while sitting on the grass or benches. Most of the people present were young boys and girls. The organizer arranged for drinking water and books. It was mentioned in the poster that anyone could bring their own book to read if they wished. There were a few young people who brought their own books and were reading them. There were no restrictions, and this reading event was not organized under the name of any institution. It was merely an initiative by a few young people, with the intention that such reading programs continue in the future, allowing people to become familiar with, read, and understand important books.

Everything was going peacefully, but after around 6 PM, a group of about 20-25 goons entered the park and started shouting at the people reading different books. They began to clash with the young readers and then started beating them with sticks. When the youths protested, a scuffle ensued. About ten youths were injured in this clash. The attackers could be from Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, or even BJP. A case is ongoing at the Vastrapur police station,

as per the latest news.

It is worth mentioning here that in 2014, books by the right-wing author Dinanath Batra were sent to about 37,000 schools in Gujarat at the cost of lakhs of rupees. This is the saffronisation of education in Gujarat. Neither do they read, nor do they let others read. Libraries in government schools/colleges are filled with right-wing books, and if anyone wants to read something worthwhile on their own, this is what happens to them.

This is the latest example of the dictatorship that has been ongoing in Gujarat for the last two and a half decades. It's not just the government's dictatorship; the people of Gujarat have also become dictatorial. The RSS has not only created dictatorial rulers but has also instilled a dictatorial mindset in people in the name of Hindutva.

This is the development model of Gujarat, a model of development without dialogue.

Date: 27-08-2026. 9:35 PM.