Vibhuti Narain Rai

Vibhuti Narain Rai (born 28 November 1950) is an ex police officer and author from India. He obtained an M.A. in English literature from Allahabad University in 1971 and joined the Indian Police Service in 1975 as a part of the Uttar Pradesh cadre. He served many sensitive districts as a superintendent of police.

Vibhuti Narain Rai
Rai at Chandigarh Literature Festival 2016
Born (1950-11-28) 28 November 1950
Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, India
OccupationWriter, novelist, activist, translator, Director general of police, former vice chancellor, Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya
EducationM.A. (English Litt.)
Notable worksGhar, Shahar Mein Curfew, Kissa Loktantra , Tabadala and Prem Ki Bhoot Katha.
Notable awardsIndu Sharma Antarrastriya Katha Samman
SpousePadma Rai
ChildrenThree
Website
vibhutinarain.blogspot

Between 1992–2001, Rai was deputed to the Government of India, during which time his postings included anti-insurgency operations in the Kashmir Valley (1993–94). Rai retired as Director General of Police in Uttar Pradesh. He has been awarded President's Police Medal for Distinguished Services and Police Medal for Meritorious Services. He was appointed as Vice Chancellor of a central university- Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya, Wardha for five years in 2008.

Rai has published five novels- Ghar, Shahar mein Curfew, Kissa Loktantra, Tabadala and Prem Ki Bhoot Katha . These novels have been translated in almost all the Indian Languages and English . His other books are Ranbhumi Mein Bhasha, Kise Chahiye Sabhya Police, Fence Ke Us Par, Andhi Surang Mein Kashmir, Pakistan Mein Bhagat Singh, Sampradayik Dange Aur Bhartiya Police, Hashimpura 22 May, Combating Communal Conflicts and also a collection of satire Ek Chhatra Neta Ka Rojnamcha . }).

Shahar Mein curfew

In 1988, Rai published a Hindi novel entitled Shahar Mein Curfew (Curfew in the City).[1] Its theme was a 1980 Hindu-Muslim riot in the city of Allahabad, and Rai wrote freely about how religious prejudice in the Hindu dominated police force and provincial administration led to Muslim citizens' being viewed as enemies and thus becoming easy targets of brutality and murder.[2] The Vishva Hindu Parishad readily took offense and denounced the novel for being anti-Hindu.[3] It now wants a ban imposed on the novel, and when Ashok Singhal, secretary general of the V.H.P., was told of a producer wanting to turn the story into a film, he threatened to burn down theatres that dared to screen the planned film.[4] All this ire surrounds a project that has still not begun and a work of fiction that at no point directly criticizes any Hindu organization.[5] It is worthwhile to quote here from a recent interview given by the author: "The intolerance of dissent is increasing in our society and the Ayodhya mobilization has largely contributed to this disturbing trend. The attacks on inconvenient writers and dissenting journalists are in fact motivated by a desire to silence all criticism and all reason, thereby making the very existence of rationally-thinking people redundant to the social and political process. This is extremely distressing."[6]

Rai is the founder-editor of Vartman Sahitya, a Hindi literary magazine that has been published for over twenty years. He has written regular columns in various Hindi magazines and has campaigned against alleged fundamentalist and obscurantist forces in his country.

The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy, Hyderabad awarded him a fellowship to study police neutrality during communal strife. This resulted in Combating Communal Conflict, a book that was published in Hindi and Urdu.

As an activist he has established a library in his native village in a backward area of Eastern Uttar Pradesh. This library Sri Ramanand Saraswati Pustakalaya, Azamgarh was established to encourage reading and has developed relationships with institutions such as Sahitya Akademi, the National Book Trust and the National School of Drama.

He is the President of NGO Saajhi Duniya which is involved in various activities including research work to create a better world.[7]

Former Vice Chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya, Wardha 2008–2014.

Works in Hindi

Novels
  • Ghar
  • Shahar Mein Curfew
  • Kissa Loktantra
  • Tabadla
  • Prem Ki Bhoot Katha

Satire
  • Ek Chhatra Neta Ka Rojnamcha

Criticism
  • Katha Sahitya Ke Sau Baras
  • "Ranbhumi mein bhasha"

Works in English
  • Combating Communal Conflict
  • Communal Conflicts: Perception of Police Neutrality During Hindu-Muslim Riots in India, Renaissance Pub. House (1998) Hashimpura 22 May

Translations into English
  • Curfew in the City, translated by C. M. Naim, New Delhi: Roli Books, 1998.
  • Tabadala, translated by Zeba Alvi to Urdu in Karachi (Pakistan) 2009.

References
  1. Marty & others, Martin E. (2004). Fundamentalisms Comprehended (The Fundamentalism Project) (Paperback). University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-50888-7.
  2. Marty & others, Martin E. (2004). Fundamentalisms Comprehended (The Fundamentalism Project) (Paperback). University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-50888-7.
  3. Marty & others, Martin E. (2004). Fundamentalisms Comprehended (The Fundamentalism Project) (Paperback). University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-50888-7.
  4. Marty & others, Martin E. (2004). Fundamentalisms Comprehended (The Fundamentalism Project) (Paperback). University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-50888-7.
  5. Marty & others, Martin E. (2004). Fundamentalisms Comprehended (The Fundamentalism Project) (Paperback). University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-50888-7.
  6. Marty & others, Martin E. (2004). Fundamentalisms Comprehended (The Fundamentalism Project) (Paperback). University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-50888-7.
  7. "Study of textbooks evokes concern". The Times of India. 3 May 2005. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
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