The smell of censorship hangs heavy over Delhi these days, enveloping two books — one for perhaps containing official secrets, the other for calling a spade a spade.

It is a theatre of the absurd, and brings to mind that well-worn World War II anecdote: a man who publicly called Churchill a fool was promptly arrested. Opposition MPs protested in Parliament that England was becoming a police state where free speech was being curbed. Churchill clarified that the man was being proceeded against not because he had called the prime minister a fool, but for revealing a state secret. Unfortunately, this sense of humour is missing in our institutions, having long ago been replaced by a sense of righteousness and entitlement.

We will probably never know what official secrets General Naravane’s book contains that prompted this government to disallow its publication or even a discussion in Parliament. But it is the furore over the other book — a Class 8 Social Sciences textbook published by NCERT — that is more disturbing and warrants deeper reflection. Does Churchill’s quip about revealing a State secret apply to it?

I for one was shocked at the sheer ferocity of the Supreme Court’s reaction when some lawyers brought the book to its notice. The CJI dubbed it “a calculated move to undermine and overawe the judiciary”, to “demean the dignity of the judiciary”, even a “deep-rooted conspiracy”. He called for a “deeper probe”, adding for good........

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