The Bombay High Court on Thursday said the Maharashtra government must change its mindset and make efforts to create public awareness about the writings of social reformers like Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. A Division Bench of Justices Prasanna Varale and Kishore Sant made the statement after taking suo motu cognisance of media reports that said the government had stopped publishing Dr. Ambedkar’s literature.
“Volumes of so many social reformers are published by the Maharashtra government but how many people are aware of this? These volumes have been published decades ago and some of them are the most wonderful ones. Care is not taken. Readers have to be brought to the bookshop. You (State) have to change your mindset according to the changing times. Earlier, people used to go to bookshops but now it is all available at doorstep. Publishers have to bring people to the shops. You are not taking any steps for awareness. You will have to make concrete and positive efforts,” the court said.
The court pointed out that the State’s affidavit did not have details regarding the formation of a committee to address the issue, names of its members, details of their remuneration, and meetings they may have had so far. "Let the committee make a statement that these books are reaching the readers. We want to see if the government is taking appropriate steps to ensure that these volumes are published in reasonable time," the Bench added and directed the State to file a fresh affidavit within two weeks.
