STAFF CORRESPONDENT

Eminent economist and political analyst Prof Rehman Sobhan yesterday expressed concern over the growing mob culture of book burning and attacks on publications which are deemed inappropriate by certain groups.

“This is a very dangerous culture. It takes us back to Nazi Germany and the book-burning practices of that time. I hope this is not something we will see in this new era, which we hope will be democratic,” he said.

He made the remarks at an event marking the 50th anniversary of University Press Limited (UPL), an academic publishing house founded by Mohiuddin Ahmed in 1975. The event was held at The Daily Star Centre.

Prof Sobhan said publishers should be free to publish books representing a wide range of views, without regard to the identity or background of the author.

He said this freedom would indicate whether society has truly moved towards a liberal and democratic order.

Referring to recent incidents, he said some publishing houses have already faced pressure from what he described as an emerging mob culture that finds certain publications unacceptable.

Prof Sobhan said he and Prof Rounaq Jahan have written several books critical of governments, which were often met with concern about how they would be received.

He noted that English-language publishing has sometimes been protected because those in power do not read much, though intelligence agencies occasionally scrutinise books and flag content they consider “inappropriate”.

He said this places a responsibility on publishers, who must show courage Prof

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