Pune publisher destroys 5000 unauthorised copies of book authored by Pansare on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj after family alleges copyright violations

Kolhapur: A Pune-based publisher has destroyed 5000 copies of a book on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj written by slain left leader Govind Pansare after his family alleged copyright violations, tampering and unauthorised printing.

The controversy erupted after the Pansare family on Monday accused the publisher of printing the book without permission from Uma Pansare, the late author’s wife who holds the publishing rights, and altering the original content.

Admitting the lapse, Sharad Ashtekar, the owner of Pune-based Madhushree Publication, said the decision was based on an online version of the book and admitted his act to be "a legal and editorial mistake”. “There was a PDF on the internet of the well-known book. We decided to print and provide it at a low cost with good intentions. We are a progressive publishing house,” Ashtekar told TOI.

“We started printing four days ago. I got to know through the press conference that such a mistake has taken place. I accept the mistake. I should not have referred to the older copy. I immediately destroyed all the 5000 copies,” he added.

Pansare’s family said the issue was not limited to permission, but also involved serious distortion of the text. They alleged that key chapters were omitted and sections of the book — first written in 1988 and revised multiple times — were altered, changing the context of Pansare’s writings.

The family had earlier warned of legal action, but chose to go public to alert readers about the discrepancies and prevent confusion over the author’s work. “Three publishers are authorised by my mother, Uma, to print the latest editions of the book written by my father. The Pune publisher did not take permission to print the book. Moreover, the printed book is of old edition, which was revised by the author regularly before passing away. We will send a legal notice to the publisher asking him to take back the copies, if circulated, and destroy them,” said Smita Pansare, Govind Pansare’s daughter.

Supporting the claim of content distortion, Prashant Ambi of Sau Publications, one of the three authorised publishers, said the unauthorised edition carried inaccuracies. “We found that important chapters were deleted in the book printed by the Pune-based publisher. History keeps changing, and changes are made on documentary evidence. However, in this book, the uncorrected facts have been published, which, when put together in the context, will convey a different meaning about the life of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj,” Ambi said.