The many ways to destroy a book
This article contrasts two forms of book destruction: ideological censorship by political groups in India and the physical destruction of rare books by AI companies to train large language models. It explores the differing motivations behind suppressing or consuming literature.
Why it matters
The piece raises ethical questions about the commodification of knowledge in the AI era versus traditional political censorship.
L ast month, a group of citizens in Ahmedabad gathered to read books by Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai and Holocaust survivor Anne Frank. This was their way of protesting against the Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad for forcing a private school to drop books by Yousafzai and Frank from its compulsory reading list. Soon, members of the Bajrang Dal arrived at the scene, beat up the group , and tore up the books.
The targeting of books is as old as the book itself. Books have been censored, banned, torn, burnt, and pulverised to suppress opposing views, enforce state ideologies, silence uncomfortable truths, or for being deemed heretical.
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