Penguin Random House India has withdrawn from distributing "The Once and Future Riot," a book by cartoonist-journalist Joe Sacco.
The move raises concerns about censorship and the willingness of major publishers to distribute content regarding sensitive political or communal events in India.
Sacco's work focuses on the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots in Uttar Pradesh. Those riots resulted in 60 deaths [1] and the displacement of 60,000 people, primarily Muslims [2]. The book was slated for release in August, but the withdrawal was reported last week [3].
Sacco said the publisher sent him a list of queries regarding the text that spanned five pages [4]. He believes the volume of these requests was a tactic to avoid publication.
"I think Penguin India is looking for excuses to drop my book," Sacco said [5].
The author's work typically blends journalism with graphic storytelling to document human rights abuses and conflict. The Muzaffarnagar riots remain a point of significant communal tension in the region, a subject that Sacco suggests the publisher is now avoiding.
“"I think Penguin India is looking for excuses to drop my book."”
The withdrawal of a high-profile international author's work by a major publishing house suggests a tightening environment for political discourse in India. When publishers preemptively pull titles to avoid potential controversy, it creates a 'chilling effect' that can lead to self-censorship among authors and editors before a book even reaches the printing press.
