The progressive German writer Bertold Brecht (d.1956), after experiencing the tyranny and despotism of the Nazi dictatorship, expressed his feelings against the brutalities of the Nazi Party and its workers in one of his poems. He wrote how one day he saw the Nazis burning books which were considered to be against the ideology of the party. He was disappointed that his books were not among them.

Traditionally, repressive states, ruling classes, political/religious parties and influential individuals have restricted the circulation of literature which was believed to be against their belief and ideology. In the early period of history, publication of books was limited; therefore it was easy to ban books that challenged the status quo.

The situation radically changed after the invention of the printing press, when the number of publications increased and it became difficult for the state and its agencies to control their circulation. At this stage an attempt was made to ban literature which opposed conservative traditions and values. It was argued that these books would create anarchy and disorder in the society by disturbing the existing system. Since the conservative elements were not ready to change and implement new ideas, it was propagated that new concepts and thoughts were anti-state and must be crushed.

When truth is replaced by silence, the silence is a lie. — Yevgeny Yevtushenko

When Martin Luther (d.1546) launched his campaign against the Catholic Church and its corruption, the printing press helped to disseminate his ideas and the church, despite all its resources, could not control his widespread influence among the people.

Before Luther, those who raised their voices against the church were easily eliminated because their ideas remain confined and could not get an opportunity to reach the majority.

In 1493, the church started to publish a list of the titles of books that were considered contradictory to its teachings — it was known as the Index. It was revised every year and after reading the newly published books, the church authorities added names of authors and their writing which were believed to be critical of the Catholic faith.

When a new ship would arrive at the harbour, the church authorities checked it thoroughly for banned books which if found would be destroyed. Later, when the Christian world was divided into the Catholic and the Protestant sects, the books published in the Protestant countries were also banned and included in the Index while the Catholics were advised not to read the books as they would pollute the purity of their faith.

During the Enlightenment, the French philosophers, thinkers and writers started to publish books which condemned the corruption of the church, religious extremism, sectarianism and mismanagement of the government. When these writings were banned by censorship authorities, their popularity would increase. To fulfil the increasing demand of the readers, printers would publish these illegally and booksellers sold them secretly. Some of these books were published outside of France and smuggled into the country.

When Napoleon came to power in France, he imposed strict rules of censorship. All newspapers and magazines criticising his policies were banned. The result was that the number of publications in France was greatly reduced. The same policy of censorship continued after the defeat of Napoleon in 1815 by the European leaders who wanted to restore the old system and control new ideas.

Metternich (d.1859), the Austrian chancellor, issued the Carlsbad Decrees in 1819, prohibiting the publication of books which contained liberal and progressive ideas. He also asked authorities of the universities to check the kind of books students were reading. He wanted to wipe out all traces of the French Revolution and revive the values of the ancient regime.

The policy of censorship is not only implemented by the government authorities but religious and conservative parties also persuade state authorities to censor books that they considered obscene and vulgar.

Saadat Hasan Manto and his short stories were condemned by conservative circles who demanded a ban on these. They approached the court seeking implementation of the ban. Interestingly, when some of his short stories were included in text books, they were edited and ‘objectionable’ material was deleted from his works.

Another example of censorship is the view point of Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi (d.1943), the author of Bahishti zewar (Ornaments of Paradise). His book includes a long list of novels, short stories and poetry collections particularly romantic verse forbidden to young girls. He also advised that unmarried girls should not be allowed to read Sura Yousaf. The maulana’s concern was that the process of modernisation could disturb Muslim society.

Throughout history, conservative forces have tried to control the growth of new ideas, yet they have failed because society remains in process of constant change. New ideas are required to fulfill the needs of the time.

At present, new technology has rendered all methods of censorship useless. The internet, Facebook, Youtube and other forms of social media break all boundaries and are accessible to almost all people. Censorship has become a matter of the past, which is no more relevant to the present. This is a radical change which has paved the way for the propagation of creative knowledge and its access to the people.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, October 5th, 2014