Vandalising Libraries And Incinerating Books
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
18 April
2023
" To A Destroyer, A Book Is An Ideal
Object To Be Torn And Destroyed."
Ibn Hazm, Quranic scholar and one of the
fathers of comparative religion
" Vandalising
Libraries And Burning Books Is The Favourite Pastime Of Neanderthals."
Editorial
in NY Times in 2005 when Hindu goons of Sambhaji Brigade vandalised Poona's
famed Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute over a passage in the historian
James Laine's book on Shivaji
The
destruction and desecration of 110-yr-old Madrasa Azizia library in Bihar
Sharif, Nalanda reminds us of the ill-fate of the great library of Nalanda that
was gutted by the marauding army of a Turkish invader Bakhtiyar Khilji in 1193
CE.
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Related
Article: The Destruction
of Madrasa Azizia By Rioters A Huge Blow to the Cultural Heritage of India
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Anil
Dharker, one of the best editors India has had who edited now-defunct Debonair,
wrote a long article, " Who're those who burn books and libraries? "
Mind you, it was Debonair which carried this editorial piece! Prejudiced people
often think that this magazine catered only to voyeurs and perverts. Nope! It
carried profound pieces on all subjects, including religion and spirituality
apart from flaunting vestiphobic damsels.
Dharker
wrote, " It's an ingrained misnotion that Bakhtiyar Khilji destroyed
Nalanda Library because it belonged to some other faith/s (predominantly
Buddhism and also Hinduism/Jainism). He burnt because the very sight of burning
books gave him a macabre pleasure. Psychological whims and quirks have nothing
to do with the faith of the perpetrators."
Psychologists
Duncan MaCabe and Maria Gilbert called it " Book Burning Orgasm."
Whether
Halaku, Mauqoof, Bakhtiyar, the Hindu miscreants involved in gutting Azizia or
BORI in Poona or unknown miscreants burning Java library that housed rare
Pitakas of Buddhism in the 15th century, all had one thing in common: They were
depraved humans who had nothing to do with written words. All those who
destroyed books, never read a single book in their lifetime because if you
read, you cannot burn (books).
Just
imagine, by burning books, we destroy our own heritage and block all the paths
to wisdom. Though not as serious and reprehensible as book burning, book
banning culture can at times be as bad as book burning. They ban the book/s who
never read a book is a famous aphorism. Rajiv Gandhi banned 'The Satanic
Verses' of Salman Rushdie without reading it. In fact, he never read a book in
his whole life! But his well-read grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru lifted the ban
on D H Lawrence's controversial ' The Lady Chatterley's Lover.'
Quran
begins with the exhortation of Iqra (to read). Once we read and educate
ourselves, the acts of vandalising books and libraries will stop automatically.
But the question is, who reads in these times of visual overfeeding?
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A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in
comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed
articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including
Persian.
URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/vandalising-libraries-incinerating-books/d/129598