Govt plans to ban visit of Jan Myrdal

The government of India is contemplating a ban on the future visits of 85-year-old Jan Myrdal, whose parents were close friends of former Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, for his alleged backing of pro-Maoist ideology.

The Home Ministry has found that the Sweden-based author had attended pro-Naxal conventions in Kolkata, Hyderabad, Ludhiana and Delhi early this year and allegedly expressed support to the CPI(Maoist) ideology of armed struggle against the state.

"Mr Jan Myrdal during his stay in India advised CPI (Maoist) to garner support from the middle-class in India by focusing on propaganda against security forces and highlighting human rights issues," Minister of State for Home Jitendra Singh told the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

Top Home Ministry officials told PTI that they cannot remain a silent spectator to anyone roaming freely and supporting the Maoists, who want to overthrow Indian democratic system and the government through armed rebellion. "We are planning to put a complete ban on his future visits to India," a top official said.

Asked to specify the proposed action against the writer, Home Ministry spokesperson Ira Joshi refused to say anything. "We do not comment on such security issues," she said.