Daily Times

Sixteen European countries and Israel have laws against Holocaust denial, the denial of the systematic genocidal killing of approximately six million Jews in Europe by Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940s. Many countries also have broader laws that criminalize genocide denial. Of the countries that ban Holocaust denial, some, such as Austria, Germany, Hungary, and Romania, were among the perpetrators of the Holocaust and many of these also ban other elements associated with Nazium such as the display of Nazi symbols. Laws against Holocaust denial have been proposed in many other countries in addition to those nations that have criminalized such acts including the US and the UK.

Part of the power of a work of fiction is to challenge prevailing norms and tastes – so it’s no surprise that some of the most enduring titles in the Western canon have regularly come up against censorship. But the most widely banned book in the world may surprise you. Books are essentially a gateway to another world through written words. Some books challenge the perception of everything while others can inspire a whole generation. Without books, much of today’s entertainment would not be the same, that is why banning books especially for young readers is essentially if it’s based on a big lie. Unbanning certain written works can cause more harm than good to children and young adults.

When someone reads a book which is not based on facts, the reader is not only going on a journey with the characters based on a lie, but also with the author. Major books have been subjected to a variety of complaints whether we’re talking about Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses, which was banned or burned in 11 different countries and led to a fatwa against its author, or Malala’s highly controversial book ‘I am Malala’ which was also banned and burned too in Pakistan due to anti-Islam, against the two-nation theory, for blasphemous content, immoral and anti-Pakistan contents. Vladimir Nabakov’s Lolita, whose depiction of pedophilia caused banning in France, England, Argentina, and New Zealand. And then there’s the case of Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James, banned in many libraries for being “poorly written,” or the complicated history of The Adventure Of Huckleberry Berry Finn by Mark Twain, which was challenged by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in the 1950s for its blunt depiction of racism and became part of a 1998 lawsuit in Phoenix, Arizona.

Now Pakistan’s largest province bans 100 textbooks for ‘blasphemous’ content. Books printed by Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press are among 100 that have been banned by an education board in Pakistan for containing content deemed anti-pakistan. Some of the banned books are accused of portraying Pakistan as an inferior country to India.

The law was already there but for the last four years no one was doing anything

Resulting now Punjab Textbook and Curriculum Board Managing Director Rai Manzoor Hussain who had banned 100 books taught in private schools has been removed from his post. A notification issued by the Punjab government says that he has been posted to the Services and General Administrative department. The MD had banned 100 textbooks the board found to be against the two-nation theory or deemed unethical, illegal, for blasphemous, immoral and anti-Pakistan content. Moreover, around 10,000 books by 31 publishers were seized, including those by Oxford, Cambridge, Link International Pakistan and Paragon Books. The textbook board had later constituted 30 committees for inspection of these books for further investigation. The District Education Authorities (DEAs) across Punjab will visit private schools to check if these books were still being taught. FIRs must be registered against the publishers for violations under the provisions of the Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board Act 2015.

On the critical review of the books revealed that ban on such books was fair enough and placed due to the distorted facts about Pakistan and its creation, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Allama Muhammad Iqbal were being taught to the children, while many books also contained blasphemous content. It was sad that nobody checked these books earlier and had no idea what was being taught to our kids. The banned books had distorted facts about Pakistan and its creation, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Allama Muhammad Iqbal while these books also carried blasphemous content. In these books Pakistan was portrayed as an inferior country to India while Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) was also shown as part of India’ in maps in some of these books. Some books had not even printed the correct date of the birth of Pakistan’s founder ‘Quaid-e-Azam’ Muhammad Ali Jinnah and national poet Allama Muhammad Iqbal, and some had the content against the two-nation theory. Instead of including sayings of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Allama Muhammad Iqbal, one of the books carried sayings of Mahatma Gandhi. Another reason for a ban on these books was the use of the picture of pigs to explain Maths concepts. One of the books by Cambridge tried to promote crime and violence among the students on the basis of unemployment in the country. While some others contained objectionable wrong verses and it’s wrong interpretation, with other “blasphemous material” against some holy religious personalities. Similarly, there were 36 districts of Punjab, but some of these books were still mentioning 35 districts of the province.

Taking immediate notice of the matter, at least 100 books have been banned immediately till correction with publishers directed to stop publishing and selling them books was a very wise step. A bill was passed by the Punjab Assembly that gave the government sweeping powers to ban and confiscate any text that it deemed offensive to Islam and Pakistan. The MD had taken a very wise step which was required under the Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board Act, 2015, which was passed during the tenure of the previous provincial government. According to Section 10 of the Act, the author is required to seek approval from the Board prior to publishing his/her book. The Act further gives the Board power to ban a publication which contains anything repugnant to the injunctions of Islam, or contrary to the integrity, defence or security of Pakistan or any part of Pakistan, public order or morality. Content related to Islam in an Islamiyat, History, Pakistan Studies, Urdu or Literature book will need a go-ahead from the religious Muttahida Ulema Board, as well as the Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board, before it can be included in a private school’s curriculum. The law was already there but for the last four years no one was doing anything.

The parameters in the law are very clear about what can and cannot be published. Government can even register a police complaint against a person who does not comply. Under the Act, a person can be imprisoned for up to two years, if he or she fails to abide by the prohibition. What the MD has done is completely fair and 100 percent genuine. But Mr Hussain had faced severe criticism from international media supported by International publishers for banning the books. Books by 31 publishers had been banned for printing illegal material and these publishers were very influential and were upset too over it. These publishers had played a role in getting Mr Hussain transferred and would now get their favourite posted. Pakistan’s constitution guarantees an individual the right to a fair trial and due process. Yet, the government didn’t invite the managing director for a chance to be heard before removal.

In these circumstances District Education Authorities (DEAs) across the province must visit private schools to check if the banned books are still being taught. First Investigation Report (FIR) must be registered against publishers for violations under provisions of Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board Act 2015. The step taken by the Punjab government is likely to be implemented by other provinces in the country in the coming days as Pakistan looks forward to challenging the curriculum structure of big names like Oxford and Cambridge. Critical review of at least 10,000 books is in process, which would increase the number of banned books a lot higher in the coming days.

The PTCB should have had a mechanism of scrutiny of books in place before letting them be published as 30 committees, along with DEA visits to over 103,800 private schools in Punjab province and over 207000 private schools in the country, would be a very time consuming task. The government mustn’t tolerate this type of material being taught to Pakistani children and must ban such books. We will also do full support and cooperation with government to complete inspection of these books within, and will not allow these books and material against Islam and Pakistan to be taught.

Last month, the Punjab provincial government, in light of the Punjab Assembly resolution, banned two books by British-American author Lesley Hazleton for allegedly containing blasphemous content. The Punjab government’s decision to ban more than 100 schoolbooks for containing ‘objectionable’ content – anti-Pakistan and anti-Islam – is being criticised by so called liberal thinkers, scholars and a small number of netizens. A few weeks ago, a great example was also set by the different governments in different countries when an online mobile game was being banned, some of the reasons given behind the prohibition was that the youth waste time on these games. The issue is not as black and white as one would think. There are very legitimate reasons for banning such books. Yet more flimsy grounds for banning; these grounds come dangerously close to misguided history and blasphemous content.

The more problematic is that the influential publishers have given the impression to the public at large by the removal of the MD PTCB that they actually can challenge the writ of the government at any time. The government should reconsider its recent decision of removal of the MD on the banning of such highly objectionable books, which is a very serious matter and one which can impact our generation and also on our national image.

In the first place, it is always unwise to start willy-nilly banning things, whether these are books, websites or movies – unless there is an obvious violation of laws such as those on hate speech. We must also remember that it is always beneficial for children and young people to obtain a variety of opinions on key topics based on only the truth, not on distorted facts or based on a lie. This should be the prime purpose of education. Teaching people how to think is a skill that will help them throughout life. So will learning about leaders of other nations. It would be a shame if we started books based on a lie or propaganda or on narrow-minded visions of what education is or ought to be. What is written in books for children is not always open to interpretation.

A wide range of material based on propaganda or lie is not beneficial for learners of all age groups. The true purpose of developing the mind and helping children turn into adults able to form sensible opinions and thinking of their own. We also need to understand that what we are teaching our children is how they will eventually view the world. Do we want to teach them which is not true about our religion, nation, country, culture, values and heroes as limited as their own vision or do we want to teach them the truth and the reality that there is diversity – of people, cultures, faiths and politics?

So the question is if these all banned books are against the Islamic and National ideology and it deemed offensive to Islam and Pakistan then why such books till date not banned in other parts of the country? Why did publishers not blacklist such ban books? Stern action must be taken against all the culprits involved in this process including writers, publishers and corrupt officials who allowed and facilitated the accused publishers for publications of such banned books. Learning about the other does not take away from a person; it only makes you stronger and more assured of yourself, but if it is based on only the truth. Books don’t ruin us, but bad books do.

The writer is President of All Pakistan Private Schools Federation and his mail ID is president@pakistanprivateschools.com