J.K. Rowling has recently taken the leap from childhood fiction to pleasing adult audiences and we couldn’t be more thrilled as we devour The Casual Vacancy.
However, not everyone has enjoyed Rowling’s latest work, especially in India, where officials are outraged about her portrayal of a Sikh girl and are calling out for the novel to be banned throughout the country.
The controversy comes after Rowling describes one of her characters of Indian decent to have a mustache and large breasts.
The character is also described in the book as ‘the great hermaphrodite’ and a ‘hairy man- woman’.
The Casual Vacancy hit shelves last week and is angering officials in India
According to The Telegraph, India’s Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee said Rowling’s portrayal of the character is “a slur on the Sikh community.”
A spokesperson for the committee said that the group will read deeper into the novel to establish whether or not the book is derogatory of their faith.
“If deemed derogatory to the Sikh faith, we will demand a ban on it. We will make sure it doesn’t sell in India,” they said.
However, Rowling’s spokesperson said that the comments made about the Sikh were coming from the mouth of a bully within the novel and not the opinions of the author herself.
J.K. Rowling said that her book is not a slam on the Sikh community
“It is quite clear in the text of the book that negative thoughts, actions and remarks made by a character, Fats, who is bullying Sukhvinder, are his alone. When described in the narrative voice, the depiction of Sukhvinder is quite different to this,” Rowling’s rep said.
Her.ie thinks the Indian officials are being a big obtuse. Sure, Seamus Finnegan wasn’t exactly the ideal portrayal of an Irish man in Rowling’s Harry Potter books, but we didn’t ban them just because he was a bit of an eejit.
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