Raid in ‘Other Books’ unfortunate: Dr Ausaf Ahsan

By TwoCircles.net Staff Correspondent,

Kozhikode: “It is very unfortunate that a publisher doing academic work is being targeted by the police,” said Dr Ausaf Ahsan, Managing Editor of the distribution-cum-publishing house ‘Other Books’ to TwoCircles.net. The office of the Other Books in Kozhikode was raided by police on Friday on grounds that a book published by the house was seized from an accused in the case related to the attack on a controversial professor in Ernakulam.


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The raid was carried out without even a search warrant, said Dr Ahsan. The police checked the books for any objectionable or anti-national content, but were not found. However, the police confiscated a hard disk from the edit office. He added that the Other Books was a budding business firm independent of any organisation or political party.

Meanwhile, noted cultural leaders yesterday protested against the raid carried out in the office of ‘Other Books’. Famous writers and human rights activists such as Prof KN Panikker, Zacharia, K Sachidanandan, Dr NA Kareem, J Devika, Bha Surendra Babu, Swami Viswabhadranandashakthi Bodhi, Civic Chandran, Dr Sudeeep KS, Bobbykunju and Ashraf Kadakkal signed the joint statement condemning the moves against the publishing house.

The Other Books is an independent publishing and distribution house founded in 2003 and based in Kozhikode. The house has published the works of famous writers like Ziauddin Sardar, Amina Wadud, Tariq Ramdan, Ali Shariati, Aung Swee Chai, etc. It has been successful in introducing alternative authors and books to the Kerala reading public. The institution has recently published the famed ‘Tuhfat al-Mujahideen’ written by Sheikh Zainudheen Makhdoon in the 16th century.

Link: http://www.otherbooksonline.com/

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