Mumbai, Oct. 10: Before his official launch as the youth wing leader of Shiv Sena, Mr Aditya Thackeray’s move opposing Rohinton Mistry’s book Such A Long Journey has been frowned upon by his own college principal.
A notice posted on the St. Xavier College’s website by the principal, Mr Frazer Mascarenhas S.J., said, “It (the book) does reflect critically on political parties of all hues and in particular, deplores the threats of violence unleashed in the 1970s by a particular political party in Maharashtra.”
“It is inconceivable that in the 21st century, a political party will not show the maturity to accept criticism and answer it by the evidence of its own actions. Is it not unreasonable, that literature is banned, merely because it dares to critique us? St. Xavier’s College regrets that this book, written by an alumnus, and widely acclaimed in the literary world, has been treated in this manner,” he said.
Mistry, whose book was shortlisted for the prestigious Booker Prize, is an alumnus of the same college where Mr Aditya Thackeray is a third year history student.
The Sena has planned to launch ‘Yuva Sena’, helm by Mr Aditya, grandson of the Sena chief, Mr Bal Thackeray, on October 17 in Mumbai.