In a letter dated August 20, 1993, Janata Dal MP Syed Shahabuddin has asked the Minister of State for Home, PM Sayeed, to ban the book Hindu View of Christianity and Islam by Ram Swarup (Voice of India, New Delhi 1992). It is not his first time: in 1988, Shahabuddin was instrumental in getting Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses banned. This time he has not been equally successful in getting the book swiftly banned, but judicial proceedings are under way to get it banned after all. As a European India-watcher, I leave it to Indian commentators to advise the public on how to react to this new onslaught on the freedom of publication, and will limit myself to some background analysis.