The Casual Vacancy is facing protests in India over its portrayal of a Sikh girl as “mustachioed yet large-mammaried”.
Sikh leaders said they were investigating complaints about the “provocative” language and would demand a nationwide ban on the book if Rowling was deemed to have insulted the faith.
The dissent is the latest negative reaction to greet The Casual Vacancy, which was published last week to mixed reviews.
Rowling has upset villagers in Tutshil, Gloucestershire, where she was raised and which she used as inspiration for her fictional town of Pagford, a hotbed of cruelty and snobbery.
The novel’s bleak subject matter, which includes child abuse, prostitution and drugs, has also presented a dilemma for parents whose children are clamouring to read the latest book from the writer of the Harry Potter series.
The Sikh character in The Casual Vacancy is Sukhvinder, the daughter of a surgeon and his parish councillor wife. She is teased for her hairy skin and referred to as “the Great Hermaphrodite” and a “hairy man-woman”. » | Dean Nelson, in New Delhi | Monday, October 01, 2012
