Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore

Mangalore, Jan 7: Noted Kannada author H Nagaveni, whose book 'Gandhi Banda' created controversy after its introduction into the Mangalore University syllabus, on Saturday January 7 said that the University has suggested censoring certain parts of the work that were alleged to be objectionable.

Addressing reporters at Sahodaya here at a programme held by Journalist Study Centre, she said that some of the communities like Vishwakarma and Shivalli Brahmin had opposed the book and demanded its removal from the syllabus, stating that it contained remarks objectionable to them.

She justified the contents in her book and said that when it was first published more than 12 years ago in 1999, it was welcomed, but ever since its revision from 390 to 220 pages, it became a subject of controversy.

She further said that she was disheartened by the controversy created around her book, which has made her hesistant about writing more books.

Alleging gender bias, she said that books on history written by men have not been banned, but when she has done the same, objections are being raised.

She denied allegations that she had used abusive language in her work, and said that she had only made use of the language spoken during the period her work is set in. There are male authors who have used words that are much more abusive, but they have not been objected to, she pointed out.

She also alleged that there was a conspiracy against her and that powerful hands are using weaker sections of the society to target her work.

She also said that a lecturer had even advised her not to write on history.

'Gandhi Banda' traces the socio-economic conditions of the coastal Karnataka region during 1920-1940 and makes references to customs like widow remarriage, inter-caste marriages and caste differences.