On August 11, several parents protested outside the school a day after a student allegedly found a piece of glass in canteen food. (File Photo)A session of books by Malala Yousafzai, Anne Frank and other writers held at a garden in Ahmedabad on Thursday was allegedly disrupted by a group of people who claimed to be members of the Bajrang Dal.A citizens’ group – Student and Youth Collective, had organised the reading at the AUDA Garden in Vastrapur as a mark of protest, days after a private school was forced to drop books by Yousafzai and Anne Frank from its compulsory reading list following protests by Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).Savan Zalariya of the collective, who is also a professor, said, “We were peacefully reading at the garden, and these were not just books by Yousafzai and Anne Frank but also Bhagat Singh, Che Guevara and many others when some 30 people came armed with iron rodsand sticks and began to attack us. At least six of us were injured.”A statement from the collective demanded that an FIR be registered against the group.The statement said that the group of around 50 people, including students, lawyers and media personnel, had gathered to read in silence. They were holding a reading session of the books ‘I am Malala’ and ‘Diary of Anne Frank’, which had recently been taken off the reading list of Anand Niketan School Shilaj, in Ahmedabad.The statement claimed that around 6:30 pm, some “30-40 people” identifying themselves as from the Bajrang Dal and VHP, came with “baseball bats, wood and iron lathis…”Police said they were taking statements. No FIR had been registered till late Thursday.Story continues below this adHowever, Inspector G M Chaudhary of Vastrapur police station said on Thursday late evening that they were in the process of accepting the complaint of the group that had conducted the book reading, and filing an FIR in the matter. She said, “Six of the 15-20 men have been identified.”A post on the official Bajrang Dal X handle on Thursday stated, “An incident came to light at the Anand Niketan School in Bopal, Ahmedabad, where a book by Pakistan’s Malala Yousafzai was being taught to children. The Bajrang Dal protested against the book—authored by Malala, who has opposed India’s stance on the Kashmir issue—prompting the school to discontinue its use. Subsequently, certain Congress leaders and members of the so-called ‘Cockroach Janta Party’ gathered to demand that the book be taught again. When the Bajrang Dal learned of this pro-Pakistan mindset, they first tried to reason with them; when that failed, they conveyed the message in the “Bajrangi” style.”According to Zalariya, a police patrol van arrived while the ruckus was on and some of them were taken to the Vastrapur Police station. The Student and Youth Collective had recently issued a statement showing solidarity with Anand Niketan School.The incident goes back to August 11 when parents protested over an alleged piece of glass found in a meal served at the Anand Niketan School Shilaj canteen, escalating it to allegations of “discrimination against a religion.” These allegations referred to the inclusion of Yousafzai’s ‘I am Malala’ and Anne Frank’s diary in the school’s Book Club—an extracurricular mandatory reading list.Story continues below this adThe parents alleged that a consultant the school had hired, had tweaked the syllabus to include these books. The school is affiliatedto the Council for Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE).Members of right-wing organisations including Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal joined the parents’ protest holding demonstrations on the school premises.Following notices from District Administrative Officer Rohit Chaudhary, the school dropped the two books from its mandatory list and terminated the services of consultant Munazza Shums. It also fired the canteen supervisor – all over three days after the protests.– With inputs from Brendan Dabhi, Ahmedabad