Three Arrested After Attack on Book Reading Session in Ahmedabad

Three people allegedly linked to right wing groups were arrested on Friday following an attack on a book reading session at AUDA Garden in Ahmedabad's Vastrapur area. The incident occurred on Thursday evening when a group gathered to read works including Malala Yousafzai's I Am Malala and Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl. Police reports indicate that approximately 18 to 20 individuals, claiming affiliation with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal, confronted the participants. The altercation resulted in minor injuries to two people. An FIR has been registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Santha for rioting, unlawful assembly, and causing physical pain. The reading session was organized by the Student and Youth Collective to protest a private school's decision to remove these books from its mandatory reading list. The Bajrang Dal's Gujarat unit stated on X that they opposed the inclusion of Yousafzai's book because it opposes India's stance on the Kashmir issue. While center right reports describe the event as an attack on a reading session or protest, left leaning coverage frames the incident as an attack by Hindutva groups on individuals exercising their choice of reading material.