Mumbai: Indian authorities are to seek the arrest of a United States academic whose book on King Shivaji has enraged Hindu nationalists who see the 17th century warrior as a hero, a state minister said today. Maharashtra wants to bring James Laine, a professor of religious studies at Macalaster College in Minnesota, to India for interrogation, state Home Minister RR Patil said. "If he does not show up on his own, we will seek the assistance of Interpol as a criminal offence has been registered against him for the book which contains alleged slanderous remarks against Shivaji and his mother Jijamata," Patil said. Laine is

the author of Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India, mentioned rumours that Shivaji had unclear parentage. —AFP