Gideons stall at Delhi International Book Fair at Pragati Maidan, in New Delhi on March 2, 2023.
| Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma
A day after The Gideons International stall was allegedly vandalized by 25-30 men at the World Book Fair in Pragati Maidan, a volunteer managing the bookstall said, “We’re here for a peaceful message. The book fair hosts stalls from across faiths. If stalls can co-exist, so can different faiths. But now, we’re afraid.” Volunteers said the group had torn pages from religious texts, posters, and the store banner.
Baleshwar Rai, 58, a volunteer at the stall, who has been working with the 115-year-old non-profit organization for many years, said they had never been threatened or attacked across the past decade that they had been coming to the fair.
He said a group of three or four volunteers sit at the stall. “Whoever passes by, we offer them the Bible with a smile. Some take it, and some even refuse, but nobody has raised an objection like this. It’s about respecting each other’s faith,” Mr. Rai said.
Another volunteer, who did not wish to be named, said that the crowd had created a ruckus. However, their volunteers patiently asked them to leave. Mr. Rai explained that the men, who wore saffron scarves and had pronounced tikas on their foreheads, sat down in front of their stall and refused to leave.
The group had asked the volunteers to chant slogans of Jai Sri Ram and Bharat Mata ki jai, the volunteers said. “They kept sloganeering for 25 minutes. They asked our volunteers not to convert people to Christianity and not to distribute copies [of the Bible and other texts] for free,” Mr. Rai said.
The volunteers at Gideons International had informed the administration of the book fair about the incident. A police booth is situated near the halls.
A senior police officer said that routine security has been put in place near the stall, and two officers have been deployed near the exit gates. The officer further claimed that the group of men had only protested and did not vandalize the shop. “The group was removed from near the stall area; there was no violence,” the officer added. No case has been registered in connection with the case.
Vinod Bansal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad spokesperson said, “The protest was carried out to raise awareness on how these groups have been involved in converting people and forcibly providing books. The group had only gone to protest; no violence took place.”
According to volunteers present at different stalls, Hall no. 2 hosted several stalls run by religious organisations. Religious texts from Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, and Christianity are all marketing their books in different ways, with some distributing texts for free.
“We’ve put up posters, we’re approaching visitors, we’re trying our best to market our book stalls individually. Nobody should be attacked; it’s as simple as saying no,” a volunteer, managing a Hindu stall said.
The Christian community is currently observing Lent, a period of 40 days of fasting and prayer before the celebration of Easter.
