Alexandria, Nalanda, Jadavpur: Waging war on books, erasing dissent
The bulldozing of left-wing bookstalls in Jadavpur, West Bengal, evokes a long history of book destruction, from Nalanda and Alexandria to Nazi Germany. This article examines how political power has repeatedly sought to erase dissent, suppress intellectual freedom and control collective memory.
The attacks on left-wing bookstalls in West Bengal during this year’s autumn festive season, particularly the demolition of bookstalls with bulldozers in Jadavpur, were neither isolated incidents nor unprecedented manifestation of contemporary political violence. Rather, they can be seen as the latest episode in a long and troubling history of book destruction, in which the annihilation of books has repeatedly served as a weapon to erase dissenting cultural and political ideologies.
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