In January, former civil aviation minister Praful Patel filed a defamation suit against a book written by Jitendra Bhargava, former executive director of Air India, which claims to tell the inside story of the downfall of the national airline. Patel, the book suggests, played a crucial role in the airline's slide.
Bhargava's publisher Bloomsbury decided to withdraw all copies of The Descent of Air India from bookstores and pulp them. It also placed an advertisement in a national newspaper that read, “If the contents of the book have caused any embarrassment to Mr Patel, we sincerely regret the same as it was never our intention to discredit him in any manner."
But Patel may be discredited yet. This evening, a self-published Kindle edition of The Descent of Air India will be available for interested readers to buy.
As has been the case with Wendy Doniger’s book, The Hindus: An Alternative History, which was withdrawn by Penguin last month, there has been a surge in demand for Bhargava's book.
“On Twitter, readers have been repeatedly asking for the book, advising me to self-publish it,” said Bhargava, who was finally helped through the process by a small, Chennai-based publishing house recommended by a Twitter fan.
The book will be available in India for Rs 299 on Kindle.
Bhargava has already begun making additions and revisions for a print version that he aims to see on bookshelves this May.
Meanwhile, the hearing in the defamation case filed by Patel is coming up on March 14 at a lower court in Mumbai. Bhargava has resolved to fight the case all the way to the apex court if he needs to.
“In my book, I’ve only included references for which I have documentary evidence,” said Bhargava. “I have been very careful to ensure the credibility of my book.”
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Bhargava's publisher Bloomsbury decided to withdraw all copies of The Descent of Air India from bookstores and pulp them. It also placed an advertisement in a national newspaper that read, “If the contents of the book have caused any embarrassment to Mr Patel, we sincerely regret the same as it was never our intention to discredit him in any manner."
But Patel may be discredited yet. This evening, a self-published Kindle edition of The Descent of Air India will be available for interested readers to buy.
As has been the case with Wendy Doniger’s book, The Hindus: An Alternative History, which was withdrawn by Penguin last month, there has been a surge in demand for Bhargava's book.
“On Twitter, readers have been repeatedly asking for the book, advising me to self-publish it,” said Bhargava, who was finally helped through the process by a small, Chennai-based publishing house recommended by a Twitter fan.
The book will be available in India for Rs 299 on Kindle.
Bhargava has already begun making additions and revisions for a print version that he aims to see on bookshelves this May.
Meanwhile, the hearing in the defamation case filed by Patel is coming up on March 14 at a lower court in Mumbai. Bhargava has resolved to fight the case all the way to the apex court if he needs to.
“In my book, I’ve only included references for which I have documentary evidence,” said Bhargava. “I have been very careful to ensure the credibility of my book.”
