It has been said by me and others that the central argument here is that MLBD as an Indological publisher owned by Jains has no good justification for publishing Mein Kampf. MK is not an Indological work (and indology is MLBD's main business identity) and it is a work that promotes cruelty (MLBD is owned by a pious Jain family).
Robert, I do not agree with most of your points.
It is indeed true that Bavaria generally discourages the publication of MK nationally and internationally, although there are exceptions and borderline cases, like Israel. These exceptions do not represent the main policy of the Bavarian govt. The critical edition is a special case, with special imperatives and bracketting (Horizont) and it is controversial. It is not suitable for making the general case about the policies of the Bavarian govt., which are clear enough. The internal controversy precisely shows how uncomfortable the Bavarian govt. is about publishing this work, even the crit. ed. As we also know, other signs of Nazism are criminal offences in Germany (SS runes, Hakenkreuz, salutes, slogans, holocaust denial aimed at incitement, etc.; Strafgezetzbuch para 86a, apparently).
The commercialism argument scarcely warrants a reply. Should MLBD also sell heroin or pornography because they could make a profit? Ethics are involved.
Consistency: you exactly invert the truth. If the Indian Penal Code can be used to prevent the publication of relatively harmless academic books, then let it also be used for its original purpose, to prevent the publication of genuine hate literature. Let the law of the land be used to do some good.
As for freedom of speech, yes that is a good argument. However, MK is widely available in India already, and I am not arguing with other publishers, only with MLBD (Indology argument).
Effectiveness: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." -- Edmund Burke
The fact that Hitler is popular in some quarters in India does not absolve those of us who know the horrors about Hitler and Nazism in European history from opposing such views. Especially as they are often based on almost complete ignorance. In my experience, when I have conversations with friends in India about the European experiences during the two World Wars, they are often horrified and had no idea beforehand about the Holocaust and other facts.
Superfluousness: Yes the book is not on the front page of MLBD's website today. But they are apparently still selling Mein Kampf, together with a DVD of a film. It seems that they have changed the edition that they are selling, or at least the covers illustration. I am not yet sure about the meaning of this change.
There is nothing "unfair" in protesting to MLBD about their decision to publish MK. Why unfair? Why should one keep silent in the face of a bad act, under the name of fairness? "Discriminatory"? How? Because we haven't written to every publisher? Why should we? I have written to MLBD because they publish some of my books and because I work with them and know (and like) them and because they are a major presence in Indological publishing. "Ideologically ineffective"? I don't think so. It is not ideologically ineffective to make an argument against something that one considers bad. It would be ineffective to do nothing. "Not Indological?" Well, that's point, isn't it? Why should an Indological publisher promote Mein Kampf? Or do you mean that we shouldn't discuss this issue because it isn't Indological? "Publicitywise counter-productive"? We don't yet know, do we? MLBD has removed the advertisement from their website's front page already, within 24 hours. Maybe they will feel moved to stop selling the book altogether? The future will tell. "Superfluous anyway"? You want MLBD to sell Mein Kampf?
Sincerely,
Dominik