University Press Limited (UPL) has said two of its sales employees were harassed at its Banglabazar showroom after a group of people demanded that the sale of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s The Unfinished Memoirs be stopped, claiming that the book was banned, even though it is not.
In a statement issued over the incident, UPL said the incident occurred around 5:30pm on Monday, when some people entered its Banglabazar showroom and behaved aggressively while demanding that marketing of the book be stopped.
The publisher said the showroom’s shutter was pulled down and two sales employees were subjected to harassment. They were later taken to the Faridabad police outpost and detained for some time before being released, according to the statement.
UPL reiterated that The Unfinished Memoirs was not a banned book.
“If any book is to be banned, a specific process has to be followed, everyone concerned has to be informed and legal measures have to be taken,” UPL said, adding that it was not aware of any such action in the case of the book.
The publisher said it would take necessary measures in accordance with the law if the government or a court takes any formal action concerning the book.
Calling the incident “extremely shameful and unfortunate,” UPL said it had faced pressure over books under almost every government.
The publisher said government agencies, individuals and institutions had previously raised objections to some of its publications, while it had continued publishing books based on its professional standards.
UPL said its manuscripts are independently reviewed and books are published based on the assessments and opinions of its reviewers. It said it had never withdrawn a book under pressure, even when doing so caused commercial losses.
The publisher said it continues to advertise The Unfinished Memoirs on its social media page and recently published a book on the history of Jamaat-e-Islami written by Barrister Abdur Razzaq after expert reviewers found that it contained important material for understanding Bangladesh’s history.
UPL described The Unfinished Memoirs as an important book in the context of Bangladesh’s history, saying it contains significant background on the creation of Bangladesh and the origins of the Liberation War.
The publisher said it would comply with the law if a responsible authority formally bans the book.
At the same time, UPL said interference in the publication and sale of books that do not incite criminal offences is harmful to the development of knowledge and culture.
It recalled that it had previously protested against the closure of Adarsha Prakashan’s book fair stall over three books without those books being formally banned under the law.
UPL urged writers, readers, teachers, journalists, fellow publishers, political leaders with democratic aspirations, members of the government and others to stand against what it described as an attack on academic publishing.
It also warned of the danger of establishing a culture of intimidation in the publishing industry and called for illegal activities to be dealt with firmly in the interests of the state, society and knowledge-based discourse.