University Press Limited has said it will not withdraw The Unfinished Memoirs by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman under pressure after a mob forced the closure of its Banglabazar showroom and two of its sales employees were detained.
“The book is not banned,” UPL said in a statement following Monday’s incident.
The publisher said banning a book requires a specific legal process, including notifying the parties concerned and taking prescribed legal steps.
UPL said it was unaware of any such action having been taken against The Unfinished Memoirs.
If the government or a court formally prohibits the book, UPL said, it will comply with the law.
“UPL stands by every book it publishes,” the statement said.
The publisher described the incident as “deeply shameful and unfortunate” and said its decisions on what to publish were based on independent assessments of manuscripts rather than political pressure.
It said it had faced pressure over books under almost every government but had sought to maintain the same publishing standards regardless of the political environment.
The incident began at around 5:30 p.m. Monday when two young men entered UPL’s Banglabazar showroom and asked to buy The Unfinished Memoirs, according to police and UPL accounts.
After employees produced a copy, the men objected to its sale, claiming the book was banned.
More people subsequently gathered outside the outlet, behaved aggressively and demanded that UPL stop selling the book.
The showroom's shutter was then pulled down and locked.
Two sales employees, Aminul Islam and Humayun Kabir, were detained during the incident.
Talking with multiple sources, Daily Waadaa found out that the employees were initially taken to the Lalkuthi Ghat area near Sadarghat. UPL alleged to the outlet that people involved in the mob were linked to Chhatra Dal.
Sutrapur Police Station Officer-in-Charge Matiur Rahman told Waadaa that the employees were taken to the Faridabad police outpost. "They were released after some time and with the condition that they would remove the book."
UPL's statement, however, made clear that it had not agreed as a matter of publishing policy to withdraw the book.
Advertisements for The Unfinished Memoirs continued to appear on UPL’s page, as they had during the previous government, it said.
UPL said it follows established standards before accepting a book for publication, with manuscripts independently assessed by reviewers.
Publication decisions are made on the basis of those assessments, it said, describing that process as central to its professional independence.
The publisher said it had faced objections and pressure from governments, individuals and institutions over different titles for years.
During the previous government, UPL said, the Dhaka University Syndicate asked it to apologise over one of its publications.
It said it also repeatedly faced pressure over books by former minister and BNP leader Moudud Ahmed.
UPL cited its publication of Professor Asif Nazrul’s book on the Ganges water-sharing treaty as another example. It said the book was published during a highly adverse period after reviewers recommended its publication.
The publisher also said people associated with manuscripts that UPL had declined to publish had faced government harassment.
UPL said maintaining its professional standards had on several occasions caused it commercial losses, but it had not departed from its basic publishing principles.
It also cited its recent publication of a book by Barrister Abdur Razzaq on the history of Jamaat-e-Islami.
The book was published because expert reviewers concluded that it contained material of considerable importance to Bangladesh’s history, UPL said.
For an academic publisher, it said, applying the same professional standards to books irrespective of their political subject matter was fundamental.
UPL described The Unfinished Memoirs as an important book for understanding the course of Bangladesh’s history.
The book, it said, contains important context surrounding the creation of Bangladesh and the origins of the Liberation War.
UPL reiterated that if a competent authority bans the book through due legal process, it will act in accordance with the law.
But the publisher said interference with the publication and sale of books that do not incite criminal offences was harmful to intellectual inquiry and the broader development of culture.
It recalled that during the previous government it protested against a decision to close Adarsha Prokashoni’s stall at the Amar Ekushey Book Fair over three books which, according to UPL, had not been formally banned under the law.
“UPL’s position will remain equally firm and unwavering,” the statement said.
It called on the government and other relevant parties to refrain from interfering with free thought and academic freedom and to prevent others from doing so.
UPL said unlawful pressure or threats against publishing could damage the country’s wider intellectual and creative environment.
It called on writers, readers, teachers, journalists, fellow publishers, political leaders, members of the government and others to stand against attacks on academic publishing and what it described as the danger of “thuggery” taking hold in the publishing industry.
--