Rangina Rasul or Rangeela Rasool (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental syste ...

: रंगीला रसूल,

english English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: ''Colourful Prophet'': "These opening lines of the provocative Rangila Rasul he Colourful Prophet a slim volume published in 1924 in colonial north India, masqueraded as an innocuous ‘celebration’ of the ‘Prophet of Many Wives’. ..the anonymous author listed the wide-ranging ‘qualities’ of the Rasul rophet most notably his prodigious capacity for marriage.") is a book published anonymously in

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...

. Its publication led to reforms in India's penal code that made blasphemy illegal: " The ensuing tension abated only with the passage of the Criminal Law Amendment Act XXV that made it a cognizable crime to insult the founders and leaders of any religious community.": "The colonial authorities were surprised when Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court, Sir Shadi Lal, chose Singh, who was a Christian convert from Hinduism, to hear the case. They were even more surprised at Rajpal’s acquittal and Singh’s reasoning for it. They moved swiftly to do damage control by trying to ensure an authoritative judgment in a similar case involving

Arya Samaj Arya Samaj ( hi, आर्य समाज, lit=Noble Society, ) is a monotheistic Indian Hindu reform movement that promotes values and practices based on the belief in the infallible authority of the Vedas. The samaj was founded by the sanny ...

. They hoped the judgement, in what was known as the Risala-e-Vartman case, would supersede Singh’s judgment. Ultimately, however, they decided that the Vartman judgment was insufficient and a new law was required." and may have contributed to promote the

partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

Background

In the decade of

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own ma ...

, the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

experienced episodes of violence between the

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

and

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

communities. Between 1921 and 1922 there was the Malabar rebellion, also known as the Mopla or

Mappila Mappila Muslim, often shortened to Mappila, formerly anglicized as Moplah/Mopla and historically known as Jonaka/Chonaka Mappila or Moors Mopulars/Mouros da Terra and Mouros Malabares, in general, is a member of the Muslim community of same n ...

rebellion, as the

Malabar Malabar may refer to the following: People * Malabars, people originating from the Malabar region of India * Malbars or Malabars, people of Tamil origin in Réunion Places * Malabar Coast, or Malabar, a region of the southwestern shoreline o ...

Muslims are known. The Muslims of Malabar not only rebelled against the British authorities, but also against the Hindu elites of the area who suffered from massacres and forced conversions at the hands of the Mappilas. Between April and September 1927 there were at least 25

riot A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targete ...

s spread across

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

and other regions, leaving a balance of just over a hundred dead (103) and just over a thousand injured (1084). In the Punjab region, these hostilities were accompanied by texts published by members of a religious community with the intention of criticising or offending other religious communities. Rangila Rasul was published by members of the Hindu community in response to a pamphlet entitled "Sitaka Chinala" published by members of the Muslim community and that depicted the Hindu goddess

Sita Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...

(wife of

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

, the hero of the

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

) as a prostitute.

Publication

Rangina Rasul was published in May 1924 and its copies sold out in a matter of a few weeks. Originally published in

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

, it was written by a member of the Hindu reformist

sect: "Its anonymous author, now known to be one Pandit Champovati (a committed Arya Samajist) seemed to be well-versed with Islamic literature." by the name of Pandit Chamupati: "This meant that the publisher would take all the responsibility of writing and publishing this book on himself and would never divulge the name of the real author, Pandit Chamupati, who was afraid of the wrath of the extremists." (or Champovati). The Arya Samaj sect was no stranger to religious controversy, as many of its leaders and ministers had made a name for themselves offending other religions, including other Hindu sects.

The publisher

Its publisher was Mahashe Rajpal (also known as Mahashay), a journalist: "Rajpal and Sons was founded in 1912 in Lahore (now in Pakistan) by Shri Rajpal Malhotra, a journalist-turned-publisher." who founded his publishing house ' Rajpal & Sons' in 1912. Rajpal published the book anonymously, without disclosing or making public the name of the author (Chamupati) despite public pressure and threats,: "Rajpal was threatened and asked to reveal the name of the author. He was offered by the fundamentalists that if he came out with the name of the real author, his life would be spared. But because he was courageous, because he defended freedom to publish even before such a concept really existed, because he dared to publish, he did not do such a thing. Thus, the whole burden, the entire agitation was directed against the publisher. Let’s face it: Late Shri Rajpal gave his life to save the author’s life, and to uphold the sacred principle of Freedom to Publish." for which Rajpal bore the subsequent legal consequences. As a publisher Rajpal became recognized in various social circles in Lahore, as he was committed to freedom of expression: "An ardent champion of the freedom of expression, Rajpal won a bitterly fought legal battle in 1928 in the Punjab High Court in defence of an author's right to express his opinion." and did not hide from controversial issues, even publishing a Hindi translation of

Marie Stopes Marie Charlotte Carmichael Stopes (15 October 1880 – 2 October 1958) was a British author, palaeobotanist and campaigner for eugenics and women's rights. She made significant contributions to plant palaeontology and coal classification, ...

Married Love ''Married Love or Love in Marriage'' is a book by British academic Marie Stopes. It was one of the first books openly to discuss birth control. The book begins by stating that "More than ever to-day are happy homes needed. It is my hope that thi ...

" in 1925 under the title of "Vivahit Prem" and an illustrated text on

family planning Family planning is the consideration of the number of children a person wishes to have, including the choice to have no children, and the age at which they wish to have them. Things that may play a role on family planning decisions include marita ...

and

contraception Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...

in 1926, both written by Santram B.A., a scholar and social reformer member of the labor caste.

Content

The book deals with the marriages of Muhammad and his predisposition to take wives. Being a satire, Rangila Rasul had a surface appearance of a lyrical and laudatory work on Muhammad and his teachings, while the marital life of the prophet is treated in a praising tone, in the style of a

bhakti ''Bhakti'' ( sa, भक्ति) literally means "attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith, love, devotion, worship, purity".See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. It was originally used in Hinduism, referring to d ...

(that is, a show of devotion to a god or saint in the Hindu tradition), and some of the controversial points of the book are in fact faithful to what the Islamic tradition indicates about the life of Muhammad. This was because the author was familiar with Islamic literature. In one part, the author cites characteristics of the prophet, highlighting his ability to marry, which included "a

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word ...

, a virgin, an old woman, a young woman... even a budding girl", and insists on how the active sexuality of marriage is more compatible with the common man in contrast with lifelong celibacy of Hindu saints or the asceticism of other prophets. In fact, the text opens with the following lines: The Bengali daily

Amrita Bazar Patrika ''Amrita Bazar Patrika'' was one of the oldest daily newspapers in India. Originally published in Bengali script, it evolved into an English format published from Kolkata and other locations such as Cuttack, Ranchi and Allahabad. The paper ...

referred the book as follows:

Reactions

Response

The allegations of Rangila Rasul were addressed by the Muslim Qazi Maulana

Sanaullah Amritsari Abul Wafa Sanaullah Amritsari (12 June 1868 – 15 March 1948) was a British Indian, later Pakistani, Muslim scholar and a leading figure within the Ahl-e-Hadith movement who was active in the Punjab city of Amritsar. He was an alumnus of Maza ...

in his book Muqaddas Rasool (''The Holy Prophet'').

Condemnation by Mahatma Gandhi

In June 1924,

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

referred to Rangila Rasul in his weekly

Young India ''Young India'' was a weekly paper or journal in English founded by Lala Lajpat Rai in 1916 and later published by Mahatma Gandhi. Through this work, Mahatma Gandhi desired to popularise India's demand of self-government or Swaraj. It was publ ...

. In his article Gandhi noted that:

Lawsuit against the publisher

Following the publication of Rangila Rasul and its subsequent controversy, the Punjab government stated its intentions to stop the distribution of the book and prevent further publication. Later the publisher, Mahashe Rajpal, received several legal demands. It eventually became clear that the Punjab government had no intention of escalating the controversy over the publication of the book, and when the Punjab Legislative Council discussed the case (at about the same time that the trial of the lawsuits against the publisher Rajpal started), concluded that: On May 4, 1927, Justice Dali Singh of the Punjab High Court in Lahore acquitted Rajpal of the charges, but personally condemned the book as "malicious in tone" and its propensity to offend religious sensibilities of the Muslim community. The finding of innocence earned Judge Singh severe criticism and threats. In response to the finding of innocence, a mass gathering of Muslims was held in early July in front of the great

Jama Masjid A congregational mosque or Friday mosque (, ''masjid jāmi‘'', or simply: , ''jāmi‘''; ), or sometimes great mosque or grand mosque (, ''jāmi‘ kabir''; ), is a mosque for hosting the Friday noon prayers known as ''jumu'ah''.* * * * * * * ...

mosque in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

, which was preceded by the activist, journalist and politician

Maulana Mohammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; ar, محمد علي‎; 1874 – 13 October 1951) was an Indian writer, scholar, and leading figure of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement. Biography Ali was born in Murar, Kapurthala State (now in Ludhiana district, Punja ...

. Of the event the

Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Lyall ...

reported: Due to social tensions, the legal case against Rangila Rasul's publisher was taken up by a Lahore magisterial court, and this time the verdict was guilty, with a sentence of 6 months in prison. However, the ruling was appealed and Judge Singh took up the case a second time, concluding that while the malicious nature of the pamphlet was a fact, it was difficult for him to proceed as there was no law against insult on religious prophets, leaving Rajpal free in 1928.

Violence

Unrest

Tensions between Muslims and Hindus in the city of Lahore in the summer of 1927 were greatly fueled by the publication of Rangila Rasul and Sair-e-Dozakh ("A walk through the Hell", an article critical of Islam published in a magazine called Risala-i-Vartman), and this eventually erupted into riots that left several dead. In fact, in Punjab the publication of Rangila Rasul facilitated social tensions for up to 6-7 years.

Publisher Murder

Rangila Rasul's editor, Mahashe Rajpal, suffered an assassination attempt in 1926. Although he survived, he was hospitalized for 3 months.: "He was first attacked in 1926 and was consequently hospitalised for three months, but his life was saved. Then, a second attack by another fanatic was made in 1927, which hit another person by mistake who, thankfully, also survived the attack. ..The third attempt, on 6 April, 1929, proved fatal when another fanatic, Ilam Din, took his life on this very dark day, Rajpal thus having only lived 44 years." Some extremist Muslim individuals, however, continued to try to take Rajpal's life and in 1927 there was another assassination attempt, but the assassin attacked a different person whom he mistook for Rajpal. Like Rajpal, the victim also survived. Ultimately, Rajpal was assassinated in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

on April 6 1929,: "Maulana Mohammed was to be prophetic, because Rajpal was stabbed to death on April 6, 1929 while sitting in this bookshop." when a young Muslim carpenter named

Ilm-ud-din Ilm Deen Shaheed also written as Ilm Din (4 December 1908 – 31 October 1929) was an Indian Muslim carpenter who assassinated a book publisher named Mahashe Rajpal for publishing the book ''Rangila Rasul'', which was considered derogatory tow ...

(also known as Alimuddin: "Alimuddin, the unabashed murderer, was raised to the status of ghazi in the eyes of his co-religionist. In Pakistan, a full-length feature film has been produces on the exploits of Alimuddin and secreened on Pakistan TV several times." or Ilam Din), who was barely 20 years old, stabbed Rajpal while he was outside his business.

=Trial of the murderer

= Ilm-ud-din was tried, found guilty and sentenced to death. His defence lawyer obtained an appeal before the Punjab High Court of Justice in Lahore, and to present his arguments he asked for help from

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...

. Jinnah accepted and presented two arguments: # Questioning the evidence presented by the court, and # Arguing that the punishment was excessive given the age of the killer. However, Ilm-ud-din's verdict was not overturned and the sentence was carried out on 31 October 1929.

=Murderer's Exaltation

= Some Muslim fundamentalist groups gave publisher Rajpal's killer the title of "Ghazi", which means "Warrior of the Faith". Recognition of the killer reached such a point that a TV movie about his actions was eventually produced in Pakistan.

=Condemnation by Mahatma Gandhi

= On April 18 1929, Gandhi published an article in his weekly "Youth India" under the title The Bomb and the Knife in which he compared the knife from the assassination of Mahashe Rajpal with the bombs from the revolutionary act (planned not to injure anyone) against the Legislative Assembly in

on April 8, 1929, by

Bhagat Singh Bhagat Singh (27 September 1907 – 23 March 1931) was a charismatic Indian revolutionary* * who participated in the mistaken murder of a junior British police officer * * in what was to be retaliation for the death of an Indian nationa ...

and

Batukeshwar Dutt Batukeshwar Dutt (18 November 1910 – 20 July 1965) was an Indian socialist revolutionary and independence fighter in the early 1900s. He is best known for having exploded two bombs, along with Bhagat Singh, in the Central Legislative Assemb ...

(notable members of the pro-independence

Hindustan Socialist Republican Association Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA), previously known as the Hindustan Republican Army and Hindustan Republican Association (HRA), was an Indian revolutionary organisation founded by Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan, Sachindra ...

), given the use of force and violence in both cases. Gandhi declared that both acts (the bombs thrown at the legislative assembly and the assassination of publisher Rajpal) followed the "same philosophy of mad revenge and impotent rage.": "However, the repressive side to British colonialism was making itself felt in a series of illiberal bills due to be passed in the Central Legislature. Just as the president of the Assembly rose to give his ruling on the unpopular Public Safety Bill on the 8 April 1929, Bhagat Singh and B.K. Dutt threw two bombs from the visitor’s gallery towards the officer’s gallery in the Assembly in New Delhi. ..Public criticism of this terrorist action was unequivocal. Gandhi equated the bombs with the knife that killed Rajpal, the author of the notorious pamphlet Rangila Rasul, as subject to the ‘same philosophy of mad revenge and impotent rage’."

=Publisher posthumous recognition

= Nearly 80 years after his death, in 1997, Rajpal was posthumously recognized by the

Federation of Indian Publishers A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-governi ...

with the Freedom to Publish Award award,: "In 1997, Rajpal was posthumously bestowed the first Freedom to Publish Award by the Federation of Indian Publishers. In 2010, the International Publishers' Association bestowed on him the Dare to Publish Award and paid tribute to the timeless and exemplary integrity, determination, and courage that he embodied in upholding the fundamental human right of Freedom of Expression." at the Delhi Book Fair.: "In 1997, the Federation of Indian Publishers gave Rajpal a posthumous Freedom to Publish Award at the time of the Delhi Book Fair. Now, thirteen years later, ..IPA is giving a special “Dare to Publish Award” to Late Shri Rajpal who, despite the attacks, did not bear any ill-will against the Muslim community .. Even after the first two attacks against him, he used to say that these were the acts of fanatics, not the entire Muslim community." In 2010, Rajpal received another posthumous recognition: The special prize Dare to Publish Award from the

International Publishers Association The International Publishers Association (IPA) is an international publishing industry federation of national publisher associations representing book and journal publishing. It is a non-profit and non-governmental organization, founded in 1896 to ...

Censorship

The book remains banned in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

and

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

given their penal codes. Physical copies of the book are hard to find.

In India

Given the controversy over the ruling that acquitted the editor (Rajpal) of Rangila Rasul, the government tried to show a stronger hand with a similar case that followed shortly after, with another publication critical of Islam in a magazine called Risala-i-Vartman. However, the new trial was not enough, and it was decided that the

Imperial Legislative Council The Imperial Legislative Council (ILC) was the legislature of the British Raj from 1861 to 1947. It was established under the Charter Act of 1853 by providing for the addition of 6 additional members to the Governor General Council for legislativ ...

(colonial predecessor of the current

Parliament of India The Parliament of India (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameralism, bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the R ...

) would analyse a possible reform of the criminal law. The result was the Penal Code Amendment Act XXV of India in 1927, which led to the current section 295A of the

Indian Penal Code The Indian Penal Code (IPC) is the official criminal code of India. It is a comprehensive code intended to cover all substantive aspects of criminal law. The code was drafted on the recommendations of first law commission of India established in ...

that is in use today, which states:

In Pakistan

Since Pakistan and India were part of the same political unit during the colonial period, the penal reform passed by the Imperial Legislative Council was also inherited in section 295A of the

Pakistan Penal Code The Pakistan Penal Code (; ), abbreviated as PPC, is a penal code for all offences charged in Pakistan. It was originally prepared by Lord Macaulay with a great consultation in 1860 on the behalf of the Government of India as the Indian Penal ...

. During the government of General

Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq HI, GCSJ, ร.ม.ภ, (Urdu: ; 12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a Pakistani four-star general and politician who became the sixth President of Pakistan following a coup and declaration of martial law in ...

(1978 - 1988), Pakistan further extended the criminalization of blasphemy by introducing sections 295B and 295C in its penal code, as well as new sections to other similar laws, namely: * 298 A: Introduced in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

, criminalises direct or indirect desecration of wives and relatives of Muhammad. * 298 B: Introduced in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

, it criminalises terms used by the

Ahmadiyya Ahmadiyya (, ), officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community or the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ, ar, الجماعة الإسلامية الأحمدية, al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmīyah al-Aḥmadīyah; ur, , translit=Jamā'at Aḥmadiyyah Musl ...

Muslim minority with imprisonment.: "The next Zia-era addition – an ordinance that introduced two new sections, 298-B and 298-C – was even more explicitly discriminatory. Its very title, The Anti-Islamic Activities of Qadiani Group, Lahori Group and Ahmadis (Prohibition and Punishment) Ordinance of 1984, made no bones about it. ..The new sections criminalised Ahmadi engagement with Islam. Section 298-B criminalises the use of various Islamic terms by Ahmadis whereas 298-C is so unlimited in its scope that it basically criminalises anything Ahmadis may say or do in relation to Islam." * 298 C: Introduced in 1984, it criminalises Muslim members of the Ahmadiyya minority for calling themselves "Muslims" and preaching or propagating their version of Islam. * 295 B: Introduced in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

, it criminalises the desecration of the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

. It was introduced as a reaction to a period of social panic over reports of alleged desecration of the Quran in the media. * 295 C: Introduced in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

, it criminalises with life imprisonment or the death penalty any direct or indirect desecration of Muhammad. While some of the norms are open discrimination (against the minority Ahmadi Muslims), others discriminate indirectly, since although 295A in theory covers all religions from possible profanation, the new sections 295B and 295C (introduced in 1982 and 1986 respectively), as well as 298A; give preferential protection to Islam.: "Both of the new sections, 298-A and 295-B, are technically discriminatory. They privilege one religion, Islam, through specification of particular sacred persons and books, and imply that other religions are secondary. ..The new sections criminalised Ahmadi engagement with Islam. Section 298-B criminalises the use of various Islamic terms by Ahmadis whereas 298-C is so unlimited in its scope that it basically criminalises anything Ahmadis may say or do in relation to Islam."

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

References

External links

* Rangila Rasul (Hindi) at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

* Rangila Rasul (Urdu) at the

* Muqaddas Rasool Ba-Jawab Rangila Rasool indiat the

* Muqaddas Rasool Ba-Jawab Rangila Rasool rduat the

{{Depictions of Muhammad Urdu-language books Islam-related controversies Books critical of Islam 1924 non-fiction books Censored books Censorship in India Cultural depictions of Muhammad Biographies of Muhammad 20th-century Indian books