Monitoring Desk
New Delhi: A group of people protested against the free distribution of Bible copies at a stall of a Christian organisation at the ongoing New Delhi World Book Fair (NDWBF).
A purported video of the incident, which occurred at Pragati Maidan on Wednesday and made it social media, showed some men shouting religious slogans and demanding an end to the distribution of free Bibles at the Gideons International stall.
According to police, neither the book fair organizsers nor Gideons International has filed a complaint regarding the incident. According to a police official, no violence was reported during the protest, and no books were torn.
Bible distribution
There was no immediate response from Gideons International, which, as per its website, is an evangelical Christian organisation founded in 1899 whose primary activity is free Bible distribution.
The video showed people arguing with one of the protesting members, who claimed to be the Delhi head of the ‘Hindu United Front,’ and discussing the Constitution and the rights enshrined in it.
The NDWBF, selling books of almost every genre, has several stalls selling religious and spiritual
books, including free copies of religious texts. Hindu right-wing organisation Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), denying its involvement in the protest, accused Christian groups and pastors of “trapping the Hindus.”
“The protesting members were not directly related to us. It doesn’t matter whether or not free books are distributed… it’s all about mindset. Vinod Bansal, the VHP spokesperson, said that the way they were distributing, trying to pursue, or cheating people and denigrating other religions enraged the people.
The physical edition of NDWBF, which began on February 25 after a two-year hiatus caused by Covid, will end on March 5.
