Joe Sacco's Book on Muzaffarnagar Riots Finds Indian Publisher After Penguin Random House Exit
New Delhi: Maltese-American journalist and cartoonist Joe Sacco's graphic novel on the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots is set to reach readers through the Delhi-based LeftWord Books after Penguin Random House India controversially decided to drop its planned edition of The Once and Future Riot.
In an interview with The Wire's co-founder Sidharth Bhatia, Sacco remarked that it seemed as if the publishing house "didn't want to distribute the book" and was looking for excuses to drop it. Sacco revealed that it was not just one 'objectionable map' but a list of five pages that the publishers wanted altered.
He said, "They don’t want to distribute a book like this because of the current political climate in India. Perhaps they’re being leaned on. I know Penguin India is also the publisher of Prime Minister Modi’s book. So, I mean, there could be all kinds of reasons of which I don’t know. But to me, the fact that they want changes from me, which I think were unfair, I’m just not going to do that. "
In a video message posted on LeftWord's Instagram page on Sunday (July 19), Sacco announced that The Once and Future Riot is "soon going to be out in India." "I am very pleased to be working with LeftWord Books, New Delhi. They’re bringing out an edition at a special price, an affordable price for Indian readers," he added.
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The Once and Future Riot, which was globally published by Metropolitan Books in 2025, documents Sacco's reportage of the riots during his 2014 visit to Uttar Pradesh, when the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party swept the Lok Sabha polls.
The riots, involving Jat Hindus and Muslim communities, resulted in the killing of at least 60 persons and the displacement of over 60,000 others, a large proportion of whom were Muslim. The communal violence, which majorly took place in UP’s Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts, had a long-lasting and pervasive impact on the socio-political psyche of the state, ripples of which are felt till date.
Also read: ‘Future Riot’: Is it the Title of Joe Sacco’s Muzaffarnagar Reporting That Has the Govt’s Goat?
Sacco's book uses illustrated reportage to examine how rumours, misinformation and communal hatred spread during the riots, capturing how political violence became embedded in the democratic life of the state. The book combines interviews with survivors, witnesses, local authorities and political figures, maps, visual reconstruction and the author's own recollection of reporting from a wounded, highly sensitive and communally charged environment.
The Once and Future Riot, was abandoned by Penguin India last month after a long-drawn delay in publication. Imported copies of the book are currently available in India for as high a price as Rs 2,000.
The forthcoming LeftWord edition will make the book much more accessible to the communities and people it records. LeftWord’s editor Sudhanva Deshpande told The Telegraph that they hope to have the book out by the end of August after making some "minor factual corrections," and copies will be priced just under Rs 1,000.
This article went live on July twentieth, two thousand twenty six, at twenty-six minutes past one in the afternoon.The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
