Ahmedabad book reading turns violent during Malala Yousafzai memoir event

A public book reading event in Ahmedabad’s Vastrapur area turned violent on Thursday when members of the Bajrang Dal allegedly assaulted participants. The gathering, which included students and civil society members, was organized to read works by Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai, as well as books by Anne Frank, Mahatma Gandhi, and Jawaharlal Nehru.

According to reports, approximately 30 to 40 individuals arrived at the AUDA Garden venue armed with sticks, iron rods, and baseball bats. The confrontation resulted in four to five people sustaining injuries, some of whom were treated at Sola Civil Hospital. Vastrapur Police intervened and took involved parties to the station to verify claims and examine medical reports before registering a formal FIR.

The incident follows a recent controversy at Anand Niketan School in Shilaj, where the school management withdrew Yousafzai’s memoir, ‘I Am Malala’, from its curriculum following protests. Opponents of the book cited Yousafzai’s past stances on the Kashmir issue as being anti-India.