Three Hindutva Group Members Held for Attacking Pakistani Book-Reading Session in Ahmedabad.

Gujarat: Three Alleged Hindutva Group Members Arrested for Attacking Participants at Pakistani Book-Reading Session.

Upendra Bharti | HENB | Ahmedabad | Sept 3, 2026:: Three persons allegedly linked to Hindutva organisations were arrested on Friday for reportedly attacking participants at a book-reading session in Ahmedabad, PTI reported. Two people were injured in the incident.

The Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) are affiliated with the broader Sangh Parivar, a family of Hindu nationalist organisations associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The RSS is also the ideological parent organisation of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

According to the organisers, the reading session at Vastrapur Park was open to people who wished to read books of their choice. After the session concluded, a group of men allegedly carrying hockey sticks and saffron flags arrived at the venue, raised slogans of “Jai Shri Ram” and confronted the participants over the books being read.

The group reportedly objected in particular to I Am Malala, the memoir of Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai, being among the books available at the session. Several other books written in Urdu (by Pakistani writers/Publisheres) were also reportedly available and had been collected from online marketplaces.

Vastrapur Police Station Inspector G. M. Chaudhary told PTI that around 20 people, including women, had gathered for the reading session when a group of approximately 18 to 20 people claiming to be members of the Bajrang Dal and VHP allegedly attacked the participants.

Two participants were reportedly injured in the assault. Police subsequently arrested three persons in connection with the incident.

The organisers and police are expected to investigate the circumstances surrounding the attack, including the allegations concerning the books being read at the event and the conduct of those who allegedly confronted the participants.

The incident comes amid a separate controversy in Ahmedabad involving Yousafzai’s memoir. Earlier this month, some parents of students at Ahmedabad’s Anand Niketan school reportedly objected to I Am Malala being included in an optional reading list. According to The Indian Express, the parents alleged that the school was discriminating against students belonging to a particular religion. Following the controversy, the school terminated the services of a consultant.

The latest incident has also triggered a wider debate over the inclusion of books by Pakistani and Urdu-language writers in educational and public reading programmes in Gujarat. Critics of such initiatives have alleged that certain organisations or individuals are attempting to introduce literature they consider politically or ideologically objectionable into Gujarat’s school and college system.

However, such allegations remain subject to verification, and the inclusion of a book in a reading programme does not by itself establish any political or ideological motive. The police investigation is expected to establish the circumstances of the confrontation and determine responsibility for the reported assault.
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_Agency Inputs.