Penguin publication's launch of Amitava Kumar's near book, Husband of a Fanatic at the British council began much as expected - before it created an uncomfortable situation for the author.
The book as suggested by its title, explore the symbolic implications that Amitava Kumar's marriage to Mona Ahmed Ali, a Pakistani National has on the communally polarized elations between the Hindus and the Muslims, both within India as well as between India and Pakistan societies. After film-makers Shyam Benegal, Mahesh Bhatt, Anand Parwardhan and Anurag Kashyap had showered fulsome praise on the book and the author, the audience was invited to join in the discussion. Kashyap spoke at some length on the subject although he admitted to not having read the book.
After the 'starts' of the evening had been applauded, the author was asked why the author has chosen to open the book with an account of Kumar's meeting with a Jagdish Barotia an extremist Hindutva sympathizer in the US, who by the author's own admission, was not very educated, instead of people like Ashok Chowgule of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, who are mentioned in the acknowledgements and are known to be more articulate. "Was it the fear of not being able to sustain your arguments." He was asked.
He was also accused of dragging a personal matter like marriage to a public forum to gain a few pats from other armchair secularists. He was further asked to explain the need for a new book when as Shyam Benegal pointed out, "much of the ground covered by the book as journalistic record and as insightful comment was already known."
The author appeared too embarrassed
to comment and chose to maintain a stony silence, till the moderator moved
to the next question. The VHP could not be contacted for comment.
In his early thirties, Kumar, a professor of English at Pennsylvania State
University, has written two books, Passport Photos and Bombay-London-new
York before 'Husband of a Fanatic'.