Text Wars

Discourse is a battlefield, and texts (in the broadest sense) are weapons in such battles. Contemporary India has become a major battleground in these “text wars”: there is no end in sight to the crude tinkering with centuries of intellectual advance currently being indulged in by puritanical revisionists. If they succeed, India will be redefined by having its institutions forced into line with what can best be described as a nationalist agenda. This collection of texts by Indian and non-Indian authors tackles questions of free expression, communication, censorship and social pressure, but also problems of social and media responsibility. It contains essays by writers, journalists and scholars, media specialists and political commentators, and includes accounts by contributors who have themselves been the direct victims of censorship, bullying and intimidation; there are poems, too, and a cartoon comic-strip. Most of the texts are originals that were written for this publication. The book stands out because of the high calibre of the contributors, but also because of the passion of their contributions. This is, after all, a war that must not be lost.