Jaswant may visit Pakistan to promote his book

The BJP may not have read it, and Gujarat has banned it. But Jaswant Singh's controversial book, Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence, is selling like hot cakes across the country.

As per reports, the former External Affairs Minister is to head to Pakistan later this week to promote his book.

Bookshop owners say the veteran leader's expulsion from the BJP could have triggered increased interest in the book. 

According to R K Mehra, head of Rupa & Co, which is the publisher of the book, more than 30,000 copies have been shipped out in less than 10 days. Five thousand of these copies have been sent to Pakistan.

Rupa & Co has already ordered the 10th re-print and expects 10 more re-prints soon. People are ordering the book online also. Orders are pouring in from Canada, US, Nepal, Middle East and Australia.

Prakash Gangaram, Store Owner of Gangarams Book Bureau, said, "The author Dr. Jaswanth Singh is known for his good books. We got the books on Friday from the publishers - 10 copies of it. On Tuesday the controversy added to the sales. This morning Arun Shourie's book was also stacked up because of the controversy." 

Commenting on the sale of the book, Mehra said that banning the book by Gujarat resulted in tremendous response and increased sales, more than Jaswant's expulsion, which also helped the sales.

The Bharatiya Janata Party had sacked Jaswant Singh, one of its founder members, for his supposed denigration of India's first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhai Patel and the comparative praise heaped on Pakistan founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah.