NEW DELHI: The controversial Bollywood filmmaker and activist Vivek Agnihotri yesterday launched his new book, "urban Naxal" at the World Book Fair. He was accompanied by Sandeep Deo, the author of the book and Padma Shri, Ram Bahadur Rai, who was the Chief Guest of the event. The Garuda Prakashan was the publication of this book.
During the book launch, Vivek stressed upon the need of reading books and going to the library. He said, "Going to the library is more important than going to temples. We should buy books and read, rather than downloading the content from the website. By doing this, you will be doing injustice to yourself and your kids." He also talked about certain communities who wanted to break India and spread communalism.
Prior to this event, Vivek had thrown an open challenge to Jignesh Mevani for an "open debate" at the Constitution Club on Tuesday. For the same, posters were put all over in Luteyns which is a plush area of the Delhi. Jignesh Mevani is a Dalit activist and newly-elected Gujarat MLA. At the recently held 'Yuva Hunkar' rally in Delhi on January 9, Mevani had called the Narendra Modi government a "threat" to democracy and the Constitution.
Vivek tweeted his challenge to Mevani, "If you are a man of convictions, you won't shy away! See you at 3 pm on 9 Jan at the Constitution Club. Pl confirm latest by 6 pm on 8 Jan." By 8 pm, the tweet had garnered around 6,000 likes, 4,600 retweets and 683 replies.
Vivek Agnihotri had also been in controversy for his movie, "Buddha in a Traffic Jam". The film was about the nexus between an India-wide Maoist terror movement and their supporters in urban centres, such as academia and media. The agenda of the movie was the ways Naxalites are waging war against India with detailed plans to overthrow the government. This gripping story recounts Agnihotri's own grooming in college to be an Urban Naxal and details the plans and modus operandi of the movement.
Interestingly, the director of Buddha in a Traffic Jam has come out with a book that is titled 'Urban Naxal' and goes on the same lines as that of his movie.