Books pulled for image of smoking, drinking Jesus

CHENNAI, India (RNS) Authorities in India’s majority-Christian Meghalaya state have confiscated all copies of a text book that contains a picture of Jesus holding a can of beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other. The controversial picture was discovered in a cursive writing book that was being used at a private school […]

CHENNAI, India (RNS) Authorities in India’s majority-Christian Meghalaya state have confiscated all copies of a text book that contains a picture of Jesus holding a can of beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other.

The controversial picture was discovered in a cursive writing book that was being used at a private school in the capital city of Shillong. It depicted the picture of Jesus on the page for the letter “I,” to represent “Idol.”

State education minister Ampareen Lyngdoh condemned the illustration.


“I am appalled and condemn the violent pictorial representation of Christ. The children for whom the book was meant look up to Christ with reverence, and they are shocked beyond words,” she said.

Copies of the book were ready for distribution in at least 10 more Meghalaya schools before the picture was brought to the attention of authorities. “We have directed the district magistrate to go ahead with legal proceedings against the publisher,” Lyngdoh said, adding that the government had seized all copies of the book from schools and bookshops.

Outraged local Christian leaders urged India’s federal government to take action against the publisher.

“We are deeply hurt by the insensitivity of the publisher,” said Archbishop Dominic Jala of Shillong. “How can one show such total disrespect for a religion? Just think how this would impact on students at such a tender age.”

In New Delhi, a spokesman for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India said it had banned all textbooks by the book’s New Delhi-based publisher, Skyline Publications, from use in its schools.

“We have taken a strong stand and decided to boycott the publisher,” said the bishops’ spokesman, Babu Joseph. The attempt to tarnish Christ’s image was “highly objectionable and goes against the spirit of religious tolerance in India,” he said.

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