A group of MLAs in Bihar, owing allegiance to Pappu Yadav are up in arms against author Tuhin A. Sinha, even demanding that his new book, The Edge of Desire be banned in the state. The main grouse of these MLAs is that one of the characters in the book, Salim Yadav, portrayed as a criminal turned politician bears an unmistakable resemblance to former MLA, MP, politician Pappu Yadav.
Though in the murder of Communist Party of India (Marxist) legislator Ajit Sarkar and sentenced to life, Pappu Yadav and his family still enjoy significant clout in some of the districts of the state.
“Not only will we get this book banned in Bihar, but we will demand its ban all over the country!” claims a former fellow party-member and associate, on conditions of anonymity. Surprisingly, Sadhu Yadav, brother-in-law of former CM, Laloo Yadav has apparently supported this demand.
When asked to respond to the allegations, Tuhin replied, “When you choose to write about politics, it is obvious that you are going to ruffle a few feathers. Such incidents do not perturb me. As far as the issues people seem to have with my book go, I wish to clarify that Salim Yadav has nothing to do with Pappu Yadav. Apart from the shared last name, and the fact that they both happen to be politicians of notorious repute in Bihar, I see no resemblance to Pappu Yadav..”
The repercussions of this public outcry and outrage against the book in Bihar; and the extent of its influence in other parts of the country wait to be seen. The book meanwhile has been reporting steady sales and positive reviews from readers and critics alike. The author’s website and the Facebook page for ‘The Edge of Desire’ have been seeing a steadily rising graph of conversations and reactions to the book.
Here’s an excerpt of what Salim yadav is all about, leaving it for our readers to decide if the character is indeed inspired from Pappu Yadav.
Salim actually barged in carrying a huge bouquet of roses and ignoring the protests of the guards. I gathered from his name that he was the same person of whose exploits I had heard from Harish, the driver.
Salim was bearded and big built. Both his eyes and his smile had something distinctly lecherous about them. He sported a white khadi kurta-pyjama with a dark green gamcha thrown rakishly around his neck. From the reactions of the other guests, I could make tell he was detested by them all.
Salim swaggered up to Rohit. ‘Collector sahib, it’s a happy moment for you. Even though I was not invited I couldn’t resist coming and wishing you. That’s how happy I am for you and your beautiful wife.’
I admired Rohit for the restraint he showed. He acknowledged the remark with a curt nod and then turned to talk to someone else.
‘Won’t you introduce me to my beautiful Bhabhiji?’ Salim persisted brazenly. He came and stood in front of me. I must say that every time he called me beautiful, my skin crawled.
‘Namaste, Bhabhiji. Myself Salim Yadav, social worker.’ He introduced himself in his rustic insult of the English language and added, ‘Both of you look so nice together. I pray to God to keep you both happy forever.’
Even as Salim uttered these supposedly well-intentioned words there was something evil about his expression that shadowed everything else. I could not decipher what it was. He left soon after, leaving us all bewildered by his abrupt entry and exit.
You can get hold of a copy of The Edge of Desire and read on to find out what happens next. It will help you take the right decision of whether to side the people of Purnea or express solidarity with Tuhin! Buy a copy now.
THE EDGE OF DESIRE 