CMYK CMYK N OVEMBER 2006 7 N BT N EWSLETTER BOOK PROMOTION BOOKS RECEIVED N BT N EWSLETTER 2 N OVEMBER 2006 BOOKS RECEIVED deserving right or when it will be consid- ered a misuse; what is the defence to body and what is the defence to property; defence against a person of unsound mind; when the right is not applicable. All these aspects are discussed in detail with relevant case law and examples. Life Without Worries & Illness, Prabha Gupta; Promilla & Co. Publishers, C-127 Sarvodaya Enclave, New Delhi-17; ISBN 81-85002-56-8. The book shows the path to living a life full of health and vigour, offering the reader a wealth of knowledge, with useful advice on many topics cover- ing aspects of physical and men- tal health, details about attitudes, nu- trition, time man- agement, stress, power of prayer and delicious health reci- pes. The book also carries a quote or a tip on each page which are relevant to our day- to-day life and activities. Chachnamah Retold: An Account of the Arab Conquest of Sindh, Gobind Khushalani; Promilla & Co. Publishers, C-127 Sarvodaya Enclave, New Delhi- 17; ISBN 81-85002-68-1. The Chachnamah is the oldest history of Sindh and account of the conquest of Sindh by the Arabs under the stewardship of Mohammad Qasim. The Chachnamah is a Persian translation of an Arabic manuscript written by Ali, son of Kufi, originally of Kufah, but subse- quently a resident of Uch. The English translation was com- pleted by Mirza Kalichbeg Fredunbeg in 1900. This volume is retold by emient Sindhi litterateur Gobind Khushalani. Written in immensely lucid and reader- friendly style, this is a historical novelette which will be of interest to young and old Sindhi readers. Law of Speedy Trial in India, B.L. Arora; Universal Law Publishing Co., C-FF-1A, Dilkhush Industrial Estate, G.T. Karnal Road, Delhi-33; ISBN 81-7534-538-1, Rs. 525.00 The book enlight- ens the reader with the provisions of the Indian Constitu- tion which through its articles of Fun- damental Rights, has included right to Speedy Trial as part of the right to life and liber ty. Rel- evant case law on the issue are elaborately dis- cussed and also proper interpretation of several articles of the Constitution. The book is aimed at improving the prevalent system from the point of view of harassed litigants. STORY- TELLING MARATHON IN THE DELHI BOOK FAIR Over 500 children from various schools of Delhi attended a series of story-telling sessions conducted by nine renowned story-writers at Pragati Maidan on 19 September 2006 at the recently concluded Delhi Book Fair. The Story-telling Marathon, as the programme was aptly named, was organised by National Centre for Children’s Literature, a wing of National Book Trust, India and continued for over six hours. The story writers who took part in the marathon included Ms Paro Anand, Ms Surekha Panandiker, Ms Ranjana Goyal, Ms Vinita Krishna, Dr Madhu Pant, Mr Somdutt Sharma, Ms Shashi Jain, Ms Kusumlata Singh and Ms Vaijanthi Tonpe. The children not only listened to stories, but also narrated many from their sides and won prizes. A unique event, the Story-telling Marathon had nine leading storytellers from ARTE, one of the most respected TV Channels in Germany to BBC, from Reuters to AFP, the whole spectrum of German and international media had one coverage or the other about India or Indian interest themes everyday not only during the Fair, but much before it actually started. So when Mr. Juergen Boos, Director, Frankfurt Book Fair, stated it before the Honourable Hu- man Resource Development Minister, Shri Arjun Singh, during the inauguartion of In- dia Pavilion on 4th October that ‘this has been by far the most successful and the most widely covered presentation by a Guest Country since the project started in 1975’, he was perhaps only giving expres- sion to what was going on in everybody’s mind at Frankfurt. The Fair was inaugurated on 3rd Octo- ber, 2006 on the eve of its opening by the Honourable HRD Minister, Shri Arjun Singh, as the political speaker from India, who un- derlined the role of books in bringing people together and lauded the Frankfurt Book Fair for celebrating the concept of plurality, wis- dom and knowledge. This was followed by a very personal and intense speech by the eminent Bangla writer Ms. Mahasweta Devi, who had been invited as the main Cultural Speaker from India. Building upon the theme of how India co-exists along with its contra- dictions and on different levels and in dif- ferent ages, Ms. Devi’s speech, while un- derlining the role of a creative artist in bring- ing in harmony in the society, had a moving impact on a large section of the audience. Dr Frank-Walter Steinmeier, German Fed- eral Foreign Minister, Mr. Stefan Gruettner, Minister of State, Head of the Hessian State Chancellery, Dr H C Petra Roth, Lord Mayor of the City of Frankfurt am Main, Dr Gottfried Honnefelder, President of the German Pub- lishers and Booksellers Association, and Mr. Juergen Boos, Director, Frankfurt Book Fair also spoke on the occasion. The Inauguration concluded with a gala cultural programme Dhwani: The Reso- nance of India at the historic Alte Oper the- atre of Frankfurt. Put together by the emi- nent theatre director Shri Bansi Kaul, it had presentations by eminent classical singers, contemporary Indian dancers, and differ- ent artistic troupes celebrating the diverse Indian culture. The stunning performances of the Baul dancers, enthralling vocal ren- dition by Aruna Sairam, the Pung Cholam drummers from Manipur, violin raaga by Anupriya, urban ballad by Rabbi Shergill, Sharira: The Body Poetic by Chandralekha group, contemporary Indian Dance by Astad Deboo, the wandering singers Langas and Mangniyars of Rajasthan, experiments in dance fusion by Navtej Singh Johar group etc earned almost 10 minutes of standing ovation from the thousand strong audience at the end of the programme which proved to be the right note to start with the other GHP activities in the days to come. conducting four sessions each. Each session of 40 minutes included story telling as well as interaction with the children. During this interaction, children were also asked to tell stories. Outstanding child performers were rewarded on the spot. Four story-telling sessions were organised simultaneously. After each session, children moved to other storytellers. This was one of the entertaining activities of National Centre for Children’s Literature in the capital. Established in 1993 by the National Book Trust, India, National Centre for Children’s Literature (NCCL) acts as a nodal agency to monitor, coordinate, plan and aid the publication of children’s literature in various Indian languages. Besides developing a library-cum-documentation centre of children’s literature, the centre is engaged in organizing workshops and exhibitions and promoting the habit of reading at the school level by encouraging the setting up of Reader’s Clubs. The Centre also conducts surveys, seminars and research related to children’s literature. –Dwijendra Kumar Mani & I : Memoirs of a Banarasi Karachiite, Asif Siddiqi; Promilla & Co. Publishers, C-127 Sarvodaya Enclave, New Delhi-17; ISBN 81-85002-52-5. Many books have been written by people who mi- grated from Paki- stan to India during the partition, but few by persons who migrated to Pakistan. Asif Siddiqi bridges this gap. The pangs of migra- tion, the inno- cence of adoles- cence, the journey to England for further education, the cushy life and grand luxury of the hotel world, culminating in the cre- ation of a microfiancing network that has helped thousands of the poor, are all de- scribed in a light-hearted vein. Law of Private Defence, Justice K.A. Abdul Gafoor; Universal Law Publishing Co., C-FF-1A, Dilkhush Industrial Estate, G.T. Karnal Road, Delhi-33; ISBN 81- 7534-534-9, Rs. 225.00 The book explains as to what is Right to Pri- vate Defence; its con- ditions of applicability; who can exercise this right and under what conditions; when it can be treated as a Aadan Pradan Of Hemlock I Have Drunk (English rp), Manubhai Pancholi ‘Darshak’, ISBN 81- 237-4184-7, Rs. 95.00 Creative Learning Se- ries Rabindranath Tagore: Philosophy of Educa- tion (English rp), Devi Prasad, ISBN 81-237-3318-6, Rs. 45.00 Indian Diaspora Studies On the Other Side of the Midnight (English rev), Brij V. Lal, ISBN 81-237-4552-4, Rs. 60.00 NBT PUBLICATIONS OF THE MONTH Popular Science Preservation of Art Objects (Hindi rp), ISBN 81-237-2545- 0, Rs. 40.00 Nehru Bal Pustakalaya Discover India through Mazes and Games (Hindi rp), Vicky Arya, ISBN 81-237-0326-0, Rs. 13.00 Our Beautiful Peacock (Hindi rp), Ramesh Bakshi, ISBN 81-237-0511-5, Rs. 11.00 The Wonderful World of Insects (Hindi rp), Harinder Dhanoa Motihar, ISBN 81-237- 2141-2, Rs. 19.00 Cricket (Hindi rp), Vijay Merchant, ISBN 81- 237-2318-0, Rs. 13.00 A Village by the Sea (Oriya tr), Anita Desai, ISBN 81-237-4727- 6, Rs. 50.00 A Story About Wa- ter (Tamil rp), Ravi Paranjpe, ISBN 81- 237-2817-4, Rs. 11.00 This Earth of Ours (Tamil rp), Laeeq Futehally, ISBN 81- 237-2634-1, Rs. 15.00 CMYK CMYK NBT Newsletter is the house magazine of the National Book Trust, India — an autonomous organisation of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Secondary and Higher Education, Government of India. The views expressed in the signed articles do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Trust. Editor: Binny Kurian Editorial Team: Neera Jain, Kumar Vikram, Kanchan W.Sharma Production Assistance: Narender Kumar NATIONAL BOOK TRUST, INDIA A-5 Green Park, New Delhi-110 016 Tel.: 26564020, 26564540 Fax: 26851795 E-mail: nbtindia@ndb.vsnl.net.in Website: www.nbtindia.org.in Readers are requested to write to the editor expressing their views about the NEWSLETTER. Printed and published by Nuzhat Hassan for National Book Trust, India; published from A-5 Green Park, New Delhi-110 016 and printed at Aravali Printers & Publishers Pvt. Ltd., W-30 Okhla Indus- trial Area, New Delhi-110 020, respectively. Typeset and designed at Capital Creations, Subhram Complex, Munirka, New Delhi-110 067. If undelivered please return to: National Book Trust, India, A-5 Green Park, New Delhi - 110 016 On India Government Service Postal Regd. No. DL-SW-1-4076/06-08 Licenced to post without prepayment. UNO. U(SW) 21/2006-2008 RNI-39456/82 C o n t e n t s ________ Story Telling Marathon in the Delhi Book Fair 2 Colombo International Book Fair 3 Punjabi Books Released 3 A Compendium on Children’s Literature Presented to the President 4 Orissa Pustak Parikrama 4 A Point to Be Noted, Your Honour 5 Why I am An Atheist: Bhagat Singh 6 Books Received 7 NBT Publications of the Month 7 NBT Publications of the Month 7 Learning Science 8 V O L 2 2 N o 8 NOVEMBER 2 0 0 6 N BT N EWSLETTER 8 N OVEMBER 2006 Annual subscription Rs 5.00; 50 paise per copy LEARNING SCIENCE Science has become an integral part of human life. Application of science has provided many benefits, and a better quality of life. The world today uses a language which has a lot of science in it. Without knowing, we use many words and phrases derived from science. We are also becoming conscious of our environment as well as our economy. Science has much to do with both these aspects. It is, therefore, important to learn the language of science. Children and adults alike have to know the rudiments of science and must be able to use the language of science where necessary. They must be able to apply the lessons learnt from science in daily life. It is for this purpose that the Trust is publishing a book entitled Learning Science in four parts. These books discuss and describe various aspects of science in simple language. It is hoped that this will be useful to school children as supplementary reading material and to all others who want to understand science and partake in the excitement of this experi- ence. These volumes have been co-authored by Indumati Rao, honorary coordinator, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research and C.N.R. Rao, Linus Pauling Research Professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advance Scientific Research. N EW RELEASES A strong presence of around 175 Indian pub- lishers under the spe- cially created India National Pavilion. More than hundred reading sessions involving almost 70 eminent and young In- dian authors. The list was almost the Who’s Who of Indian literature. They in- cluded, Mahasweta Devi, U.R. Ananthmurthy, Amitav Ghosh, Shashi Tharoor, Vinod Kumar Shukla, Dilip Chitre, Ashok Vajpeyi, Ramakant Rath, Paul Zacharia, Uday Prakash, Amit Chaudhuri and Javed Akhtar. Dance performances of more than 60 renowned Indian artists. Almost ten full- fledged exhibitions on Indian photography, communication media, ancient manu- scripts, handicrafts, yoga and ayurveda, paintings of Amrita Shergil, select children’s picture books, Information Technology ca- pabilities, works of major Indian cartoon- ists, children’s books etc. Performances by the Naya Theatre Troupe of Habib Tanvir. THE GRAND GUEST! Now imagine the pic- ture with the continuous visits of dignitaries includ- ing the President of Ger- many, Foreign Minister of Germany, Dr Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Honourable Minister for Culture and Tourism, Ms. Ambika Soni, Honorable Chief Justice of India Shri Y K Sabharwal, Chairperson of ICCR, Dr. Karan Singh, among others. And the unending flow of intellec- tuals, book lovers, illustra- tors, translators all throng- ing to have a dekko at the grand India show. This may get you a feel of the Guest of Honour Presentation (GHP) of In- dia at Frankfurt Book Fair, 4-8 October, 2006! Perhaps even this may not be enough, because, according to an estimate, if all the major and minor programmes happening under GHP in various cities of Germany were to be clubbed together, the figure would reach almost 400! It is hardly surprising then that from one of the biggest German news- papers Der Spiegel to The New York Times, Eminent writer Mahasweta Devi being received by Dr. Juergen Boos, Director, Frankfurt Book Fair, at the inauguration And all in a span of roughly three weeks! Add to this, international academic semi- nars on Indian history, sociology, literature, translation; 43 classical as well as popular Indian film shows running till March 2007— all made spicier with the culinary skills of the Kitchens of India put up by the ITC Wel- come Group which struggled hard to keep up with the long and unending serpentine queue during the peak afternoon hours. Adieu After a long service of about 38 years, Shri Kul Bhushan Kapoor, Dy. Director (Exhibitions) retired from the services of the Trust. Shri Kapoor has worked in various departments of the Trust in his illustrious career. While his colleagues remembered his services and contributions to the Trust, Prof. Bipan Chandra, Chairman, NBT, wished him a happy retired life. We at the Trust wish him all the best. Part 1: Universe, Solar System, Earth ISBN 81-237-4774-8, Rs. 110 Part 2: The World of Physics and Energy ISBN 81-237-4775-6, Rs. 170 Part 3: The World of Chemis- try: Molecules, Materials, Air, Water ISBN 81-237-4776-4, Rs. 185 Part 4: Biology and Life ISBN 81-237-4777-2, Rs. 140 CMYK CMYK BOOK REVIEW BOOK PROMOTION N OVEMBER 2006 5 N BT N EWSLETTER N BT N EWSLETTER 4 N OVEMBER 2006 The first Pustak Parikrama of the golden jubilee year of NBT began at Paradip with funfare on 6 September 2006. The inaugural function hosted by Paradip Port Trust was held at Jaydev Sadan, Badapadia, Paradip with participation of hundreds of children, teachers, dignitaries and reading public. Shri Subrat Tripathy, Deputy Chairman of the Port Trust flagged off the mobile van exhibition programme covering ten It is not very often that the Indian media ex- plores contentious issues such as contempt of court and legislative privileges. There have been occasional articles on the sub- ject and the odd seminar but there has been no concerted effort to look at the issue from a socio-political perspective. It is therefore heartening to note the ef- fort of K.N. Harikumar, a writer and current affairs commentator and former head of Deccan Herald and Prajavani, who has edited a thought provoking book on the sub- ject. The book titled Courts Legislature and Media Freedom puts together a collection of articles written by some of the finest law- yers and academicians. Harikumar traces the genesis of the book to two events that occurred in 2002 and 2003. The first involved the launch of contempt of court proceedings against a large number of English and language newspapers in what was known as the Mysore judges sex scandal case. The sec- ond was the breach of privileges case launched against The Hindu by the Tamil Nadu Assembly. The two cases created considerable disquiet in the media, and concern too. They also raised several questions regarding the freedom of the press, and the powers of the judiciary and legislature to curb them. An important question that was raised then, and which has been raised in the book too, was, “Are not open trials and public scru- tiny the very foundation of the modern con- cept of justice and democracy?” The central theme of the book is the ab- solute powers that the Contempt of Court Act and Legislative Privileges confer on the judiciary and the legislature respectively to curb public scrutiny. Both empower these two powerful arms of the state to bypass the due process of law and award punishment summarily. The powers may have been conferred on these constitutional bodies to uphold the dignity and majesty of law and justice but there is always the danger of abuse. The reason for this, as Harikumar rightly points out is that, “the accuser, judge and executor are necessarily one and the same person(s) and institution.” The result, as Uday Raj Rai, a legal scholar and an academician, notes is: “… the law as it stands today leaves the press practically at the mercy of the other two in- stitutions (judiciary and legislature) when it ventures to comment on their functioning or when it tries to report to the people at large about some of the unsavoury events con- nected with these institutions.” Well-known lawyer Rajeev Dhawan is equally forceful. “The law of contempt should not be set up as an in terrorem threat to those who want to report on, discuss or com- ment on the proceedings in court. This can only have a chilling effect on the democratic process.” The consensus is that the law of con- tempt needs to be modified so that truth becomes a defence. The media should not be punished for reporting facts that are bona fide, and in public interest even if they tend to “scandalise” a judge or judges. At the same time, the media too must ensure that its reports do not obstruct or influence the course of justice or denigrate the standing of judiciary. Another interesting point that Dhavan makes is about investigative reporting after a case has been committed to the court. “Equally it is too late to argue that investiga- tive journalism must stop completely when a case becomes active within the meaning of contempt legislation. This is all the more important in a society in which police inves- tigations are inept, clumsy, and corrupt re- quiring press campaigns to reopen matters.” Eminent lawyer Fali S Nariman is equally persuasive on the subject of legis- lative privileges. In the absence of codifica- tion of legislative privileges, these are to- day absolute. They can be used by a legis- lature to punish an individual or institution for contempt, and there is no court of ap- peal. The accused can’t even cite truth as defence. For any functioning democracy this raises the important question: “Why should the legislators be shielded from criticism by the press?” The book also examines another sensi- tive subject, and that is trial by media. N R Madhava Menon, Director, National Judi- cial Academy, Bhopal, is scathing in his criti- cism of some of the new practices that have crept into Indian media, especially after the launch of 24-hour TV channels. The well known academician regrets that, “Trial by media starts much before the actual trial in the court. Arrest, bail, interro- gation, search, so called confessional state- ments are all matters in which media con- ducts parallel proceedings sometimes in collusion with the police and other stake- holders.” He cites the case of the murder trial of Shakaracharya, where he says “the manu- factured images with which the media played up the Shankaracharya case … with the police selectively feeding information and contriving public opinion” made a mock- ery of justice. The coverage violated all the guarantees of fair trial provided to an ac- cused under the laws and the Constitution. He goes on to charge that, “Media trial has now moved to media verdict and me- dia punishment.” These are strong words, and all media persons must give serious thought to them. The media’s job is to re- port, not to conduct a trial. These are just some of the questions raised in the book. The writers raise many more and each deserves serious introspec- tion. We must remember that our democ- racy is still evolving, and there will be con- flicts on the way. It is only when we reflect upon, and resolve contentious issues in a spirit of give and take we can ensure that each arm of the state gets sufficient space to perform the role entrusted upon it by the Constitution. This book goes quite a long way in ad- dressing the issues that arise from the Con- tempt of Court Act and Legislative Privi- leges, and should be read by all serious students of media and the law, not to forget lawmakers. –Sunil Saxena Courtesy: New Indian Express A POINT TO BE NOTED, YOUR HONOUR Courts Legislatures Media Freedom K N Harikumar (ed) Contributors: Fali S Nariman, Samar Ditya Pal, N R Madhava Menon, Rajeev Dhavan, Uday Raj Rai and BRP Bhaskar National Book Trust, India ISBN 81-237-4681-4, pp 190, Rs 200.00 Become A Member of Readers’ Club Bulletin a bilingual magazine for children brought out by NATIONAL CENTRE FOR CHILDREN’S LITERATURE (A wing of National Book Trust, India) Prof Bipan Chandra, Chairman, National Book Trust, India, presented the first copy of the Aspects of Children’s Literature: Vol II, to the Honourable President of India, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. Brought out by National Centre for Chil- dren’s Literature (NCCL), a nodal agency, set up by National Book Trust, India, to pro- mote, monitor, coordinate and aid the pub- lication of children’s literature, the book is a A COMPENDIUM ON CHILDREN’S LITERATURE PRESENTED TO THE PRESIDENT compendium of select readings by eminent scholars and writers at the seminars and workshops or- ganised by the NCCL on vari- ous facets of chil- dren’s literature in the country. The volume not only gives a better insight to authors, illustrators, pub- lishers, editors, teachers, parents, activists and above all, the lovers of children’s literature in different parts of the country to know about the contemporary scenario in the field of children’s literature but may also help generate more reading material for children in the coming years. Ms Nuzhat Hassan, Director, National Book Trust, India apprised the Honourable President about various endeavours taken to promote books and the habit of reading among various segments of readers in the golden jubilee year of NBT. Mrs. Paro Anand, popular writer for children and Shri Manas Ranjan Mahapatra and Shri Dwijendra Kumar, editors of the compendium were also present on the occasion. ORISSA PUSTAK PARIKRAMA places of the state, from the coast of Bay of Bengal at Paradip to the mountains of Koraput. A 2-day orientation for teachers on how to organize book related activities among children by setting up a Readers’ Club was held on the occasion at the Officers’ Club. A Poet’s meet on 6 September evening added colours to the event. Shri K. Raghuramaih, Chairman, Paradip Port Trust joined the function on 7 September and distributed certificates to the participating teachers. The month long Orissa Pustak Parikrama revealed the fact that promotion of books needs a sustained effort and continuous follow-up in the small and medium urban set-ups as well as rural and tribal pockets of the country. The Pustak Parikrama this time fetched a gross sale of about Rs. 2 lakhs, a whopping endeavour indeed! CMYK CMYK BOOK REVIEW BOOK PROMOTION N OVEMBER 2006 3 N BT N EWSLETTER N BT N EWSLETTER 6 N OVEMBER 2006 COLOMBO INTERNATIONAL BOOK FAIR With the focus on spoken and written word the 8 Colombo International Book Fair 2006 took off from 16–24 September 2006 at the BMICH Convention and Exhibition Centre, Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Fair was was inaugurated by H.E. Dominic J. Chilcott, British High Commissioner along with Prof. Karthigesu Sivathambi and Mrs. Sybil Wettasinghe, one of the Sri Lanka’s well known illustrators and writer for children. Organised by the Sri Lanka Book Publishers’ Association (SLBPA), the theme of the Fair was ‘Ignite Young Minds’. As Shri Shaan Rajaguru, Director, CIBF says, “the Fair seeks to promote reading among children.” In pursuance of this objective, the Fair had special events and programmes for children including workshops on writing and drawing, art competitions, readings by and for children by celebrity authors. Besides, various cultural programmes and plays by children lent colour and festivity to the Fair. Many new activities were initiated during the Fair including the publication of a comprehensive bilingual catalogue in Sinhala and English, titled Books in Print in Sri Lanka. The first of its kind initiative, this catalogue, according to the authorities, fulfils a long felt need. Says Shri Ranjith Samaranayake, President, CIBF, “the SLBPA will soon be launching a programme to give awards to books published in Sri Lanka”. Many book launches, literary programmes and discussions were also organised during the Fair. Indian books particularly text-books are hugely in demand in Sri Lanka. Classical Indian authors like Tagore and Premchand, Indian English writers like Vikram Seth, Arundhati Roy, Shobha De are popular among the cognoscenti. All the major Indian publishers and distributors were present at the Fair. Some had their own stalls at the Fair. And others were tied up with their distributors and agents in Sri Lanka. The NBT, India stall drew a large number of curious visitors. Our books under Popular Science and Popular Social Science, biographies of Tagore, Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, books for children attracted the attentions of the visitors. The 8 CIBF had over 500 participants both from Sri Lanka and abroad. Visited by a million and above visitors, the Fair—a major book event in Sri Lanka—was a hugely successful affair. Fourteen Punjabi books were released at a book release function held at Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Arya Mahila College, Barnala in Punjab. The books were released by the eminent writers, Shri Ramswaroop Ankhi, Shri Mohan Bhandari, Dr Naresh, Dr Dharampal Singhal, and Dr Satish Kumar Verma. The books released were Bisariya Birsa, Shah Hussain Jeevan Te Rachna, Bulleh Shah Jeevan Te Rachna, Azadi Ton Bad Diyan Hindi Kahaniyan, Badiyan da Pul, Punjab de Sant Kavi, Ratinath di Chachi, Naukar di Kameez, Jainendra Kumar di Kahaniyan, Premchand diyan Tereh Bal Kahaniyan, Ahkri Ticket de hor Kahaniyan, Bharat di Azadi di Ladayi vich Auratan da Yogdaan, Sunita, and Nepani Dadu te Daleri Bhare Kam. Presiding over the function, eminent writer Shri Santosh Singh Dheer said that the NBT, India has done a commendable job in promoting and popularising books, particularly in Punjab. Speaking about the books released, Dr Krishna Kumar Rattu PUNJABI BOOKS RELEASED said that NBT, India has published some good books emphasising the history, litera- ture and culture of Punjab. A Seminar on ‘Punjabi Pathakon Mein Pathan Ruchi ki Kami’ was also held. The Seminar was chaired by Dr Dharampal Singhal. Speakers at the Seminar included Dr Sutinder Singh Noor, Shri Om Prakash Gaso, Shri Ajmer Singh Aulokh, Shri Tejwant Singh Mann, Shri Gurmail Madahad, Shri Meghraj Mittal, Shri Jagir Singh Jagtar, and Shri Prem Gorakhi. The speakers were of the view that the problem is not one of dwin- dling readership in Punjabi. They rather felt that books should reach the readers. One of the reasons they felt was the concentration of Punjabi pub- lishers in major cities of Punjab, because of which books do not reach the com- mon reader. Following the seminar a special Kavi Durbar was organised as part of the func- tion. 32 poets read their works on the occasion. They in- cluded Prof Pritam Singh Rahi, Shri Tarsem, Dr Amar Komal, Shri Sulakshan Sarhadi, Dr Amarjit Kaunke, Shri B. S. Bir, Shri Jai Krishan Kaushal, Dr Krantipal, Shri Bhagwan Singh Deepak, Smt Pushpa Singh, Shri Sutinder Singh Noor, Shri Ajmer Singh Aulokh, Shri Ramswaroop Ankhi, Dr Neelam Sharma, Shri Bhupinder Singh Beri, among others. Earlier welcoming the audience, Dr Baldev Singh Baddan, Chief Editor & Joint Editor, NBT, India briefly introduced the Trust and its activities, particularly in Punjab. –K.W.S. The Trust is bringing out a publication titled Why I am An Atheist, written by the revolutionary Bhagat Singh, with an introduction by Prof. Bipan Chandra. Herein we reproduce an excerpt from the book. In May 1927 I was arrested at Lahore. The arrest was a surprise. I was quite unaware of the fact that the police wanted me. All of a sudden while passing through a garden I found myself surrounded by police. To my own surprise, I was very calm at that time. I did not feel any sensation, neither did I ex- perience any excitement. I was taken into police custody. Next day I was taken to the Railway Police lock-up where I was to pass full one month. After many days’ conversa- tion with the Police officials I guessed that they had some information regarding my connexion with the Kakori Party and my other activities in connexion with the revo- lutionary movement. They told me that I had been to Lucknow while the trial was going on there, that I had negotiated a certain scheme about their rescue, that after ob- taining their approval, we had procured some bombs, that by way of test one of the bombs was thrown in the crowd on the oc- casion of Dussehra 1926. They further in- formed me, in my interest, that if I could give any statement throwing some light on the activities of the revolutionary party, I was not to be imprisoned but on the contrary set free and rewarded even without being pro- duced as an approver in the Court. I laughed at the proposal. It was all humbug. People holding ideas like ours do not throw bombs on their own innocent people. One fine morning Mr. Newman, the then Senior Superintendent of C.I.D., came to me. And after much sympathetic talk with me im- parted-to-him-the extremely sad news that if I did not give any statement as demanded by them, they would be forced to send me up for trial, for conspiracy to wage war in connexion with Kakori Case and for brutal murders in connexion with Dussehra Bomb outrage. And he further informed me that they had evidence enough to get me con- victed and hanged. In those days I be- lieved—though I was quite innocent—the police could do it if they desired. That very day certain police officials began to per- suade me to offer my prayers to God regu- larly both the times. Now I was an atheist. I wanted to settle for myself whether it was in the days of peace and enjoyment alone that I could boast of being an atheist or whether during such hard times as well, I could stick to those principles of mine. After great con- WHY I AM AN ATHEIST sideration I decided that I could not lead myself to believe in and pray to God. No, I never did. That was the real test and I came out successful. Never for a moment did I desire to save my neck at the cost of certain other things. So I was a staunch disbeliever: and have ever since been. It was not an easy job to stand that test. ‘Belief’ softens the hardships, even can make them pleas- ant. In God man can find very strong conso- lation and support. Without Him man has to depend upon himself. To stand upon one’s own legs amid storms and hurricanes is not a child’s play. At such testing moments, van- ity—if any—evaporates, and man cannot dare to defy the general beliefs, if he does, then we must conclude that he has got cer- tain other strength than mere vanity. This is exactly the situation now. Judgment is al- ready too well known. Within a week it is to be pronounced. What is the consolation with the exception of the idea that I am going to sacrifice my life for a cause? A God-believ- ing Hindu might be expecting to be reborn as a king, a Muslim or a Christian might dream of the luxuries to be-enjoyed in para- dise and the reward he is to get for his suf- ferings and sacrifices. But what am I to ex- pect? I know the moment the rope is fitted round my neck and rafters removed, from under my feet. That will be the final moment— that will be the last moment. I, or to be more precise, my soul, as interpreted in the meta- physical terminology, shall all be finished there. Nothing further. A short life of struggle with no such magnificent end shall in itself be the reward if I have the courage to take it in that light. That is all. With no selfish mo- tive, or desire to be awarded here or here- after, quite disinterestedly have I devoted my life to the cause of independence, be- cause I could not do otherwise. The day we find a great number of men and women with this psychology who cannot devote them- selves to anything else than the service of mankind and emancipation of the suffering humanity; that day shall inaugurate the era of liberty. Not to become a king, nor to gain any other rewards here, or in the next birth or after death in paradise, shall they be in- spired to challenge the oppressors, exploit- ers, and tyrants, but to cast off the yoke of serfdom from the neck of humanity and to establish liberty and peace shall they tread this—to their individual selves perilous and to their noble selves the only glorious imag- inable—path. Is the pride in their noble cause to be misinterpreted as vanity? Who dares to utter such an abominable epithet? To him, I say either he is a fool or a knave. Let us forgive him for he cannot realize the depth, the emotion, the sentiment and the noble feelings that surge in that heart. His heart is dead as a mere lump of flesh, his eyes are weak, the evils of other inter- ests having been cast over them. Self-reli- ance is always liable to be interpreted as vanity. It is sad and miserable but there is no help. You go and oppose the prevailing faith, you go and criticise a hero, a great man, who is generally believed to be above criti- cism because he is thought to be infallible, the strength of your argument shall force the multitude to decry you as vainglorious. This is due to the mental stagnation. Criti- cism and independent thinking are the two indispensable qualities of a revolutionary. Because Mahatmaji is great, therefore none should criticise him. Because he has risen above, therefore everything he says—may be in the field of politics or religion, eco- nomics or ethics—is right. Whether you are convinced or not you must say, “Yes, that’s true.” This mentality does not lead towards progress. It is rather too obviously, reaction- ary. Because our forefathers had set up a faith in some supreme being—the Almighty God—therefore any man who dares to chal- lenge the validity of that faith, or the very existence of that supreme being, he shall have to be called an apostate, a renegade. If his arguments are too sound to be refuted by counter-arguments and spirit too strong to be cowed down by the threat of misfor- tunes that may befall him by the wrath of the Almighty—he shall be decried as vainglori- ous, his spirit to be denominated as vanity. Then why to waste time in this vain discus- sion? Why try to argue out the whole thing? This question is coming before the public for the first time, and is being handled in this matter of fact way for the first time, hence this long discussion. … Why I am An Atheist Bhagat Singh National Book Trust, India ISBN 81-237- 4814-7 Rs 25.00