Meesha


Meesha is the debut novel of Malayalam writer S. Hareesh. It was serialized in parts by the Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly and published in its entirety by DC Books. Due to protests from Hindu organizations, the serialization was cancelled after the third part.

Withdrawal

In a section of the novel, a certain character suggests that Hindu women bathe and wear good clothes before going to a temple because they are interested in sex. He goes on to state that women do not go to the temple whilst menstruating because they cannot have sex. These extracts, which were shared on social media, resulted in widespread criticism by Hindu organizations such as Yogakshema Sabha, BJP, Hindu Aikya Vedi, N.S.S. After this, the writer withdrew the serialization of the novel from Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly.

In Court

A plea to ban the book was made to the Supreme Court of India by N Radhakrishnan, a resident of Delhi. The court refused to ban the novel and stated that the culture of banning books impacts the free flow of ideas.