First, Anvita Bajpai handed Chetan Bhagat a copy of her short stories collection, Life, Odds and Ends. Then, she handed him a court notice stating that his novel One Indian Girl bears similarities to the first story in her short story collection, Drawing Parallels. The irony is not lost on us.
Bajpai told Scroll.in that Bhagat’s characters, settings and One Indian Girls’ “emotional flow” is similar to her work. She also added that she handed her short story collection when he attended the Bangalore Literature Festival in 2014.
But Bhagat has defended himself on Facebook. In an impassioned letter to his fans, the writer claimed he has no knowledge of Bajpai and described his stories as original and universal.
Nevertheless, Bajpai found the content to be same. She sent a notice on February 22 asking him to withdraw his book and pay Rs 5 lakhs in damages. A month later, he denied her allegations. She then approached a civil court in Bengaluru, which has now ordered a stay on the sales of One Indian Girl.
News of his alleged plagiarism comes after Delhi University announced that his debut novel, Five Point Someone, has been included as part of its English Literature syllabus. And readers of Indian writing in English are still reeling from this.
Log cheating kar ke university exam pass karte aaye the. Chetan Bhagat cheating kar ke curriculum mein hi ghus gaye.
— Hussain Haidry (@hussainhaidry) April 25, 2017
I think it is wise to include @chetan_bhagat in the syllabus. The students should be educated on how not to write a book.
— appu s (@appuchin) April 25, 2017
Chetan Bhagat a part of Delhi University's English syllabus😵. Shakespeare, Bronte, Keats r surely going to turn in their Graves 😬
— Sonali P. Goon (@bhusonali) April 25, 2017
Reading "One Indian Girl" by @chetan_bhagat be like. #worldbookday pic.twitter.com/ls6F3T5VtP
— Pranav (@pranav_219) April 23, 2017
Bhagat’s One Indian Girl revolves around the story of investment banker Radhika Mehta who has to choose between three men and balance her place in the family at the same time.