KOLHAPUR: Following a high court directive, Oxford University Press has apologised to Chhatrapati Udayanraje Bhosale, 13th descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, and others offended by “unverified statements” in four pages of James Laine’s 2003 book, ‘Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India’. Protests over these had led to an attack on a Pune-based history research centre.Acting on a directive from Bombay high court’s Kolhapur bench, Oxford University Press (OUP) India has issued a public apology to Chhatrapati Udayanraje Bhosale, the 13th descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, and anyone else offended by “unverified statements” across four pages of James Laine’s 2003 book Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India.The controversy erupted in 2004, triggering an attack on a Pune-based history research centre. OUP India said in a notice published in newspapers Tuesday that certain references on pages 31, 33, 34 and 93 of the book were found to be unverified and that it regretted that the contentious portions went through undetected at the time of publication.Based on a complaint filed by Bhosale, a court had initiated criminal defamation proceedings on April 2, 2005, under Section 500 (defamation) of the IPC against OUP India’s Sayeed Manzar Khan and three others. They appealed in the high court, which referred the matter to its Kolhapur bench. Justice Shivkumar Dige took up the petition on Dec 17 last year.Lawyers representing Khan and his fellow petitioners that their clients were ready to publish a notice “nationally”, apologising to respondent No 1 (Bhosale). The bench gave the quartet 15 days to keep their commitment and quashed the magisterial court’s order for proceedings against them.In an e-mail response to queries from TOI, the publishing house’s India representative Ruchika Tandon said, “OUP India publishes a wide range of resources, with a variety of perspectives across different disciplines. The title in question was published for a brief period more than two decades ago in India. In response to concerns about title’s content which were raised at the time, we took prompt steps to recall the title and withdraw it from circulation.”Tandon said OUP India seeks to “consider cultural sensitivities and context carefully to ensure that our products can be read and enjoyed by as many people worldwide as possible”.
