More on Rushdie not in Jaipur.
Two prominent authors on Friday read out portions from Salman Rushdie’s banned book “Satanic Verses” at the Jaipur Literature Festival as a mark of protest after the India-born author had to pull out of the event over security concerns.
As the literary community expressed outrage over Rushdie not being able to make the trip, Hari Kunzru and Amitava Kumar used their session at the festival to read from “Satanic Verses”. The controversial book was banned in the country shortly after it was published in 1988, for allegedly hurting the sentiments of Muslims.
Love those guys.
The organizers later asked Kumar not to go ahead with his reading. Kumar initially agreed to the suggestion but later continued reading from Rushdie’s work.
Later, authors Jeet Thayil and Ruchir Joshi also read from the Satanic Verses.
Author Salman Rushdie has withdrawn from India’s biggest literary festival, saying that he feared assassination after influential Muslim clerics protested against his participation.
The author had been due to speak at the Jaipur literature festival.
He said he had been told by sources that assassins “may be on the way to Jaipur to kill me”.
Wait for it –
Salman Rushdie sparked anger in the Muslim world with his book The Satanic Verses, which many see as blasphemous.
There it is. Wouldn’t do not to have that.
The author had been scheduled to speak on the opening day of the five-day Jaipur event which began on Friday, but earlier this week organisers said his schedule had changed and took his name off the list of speakers.
“I have now been informed by intelligence sources in Maharashtra and Rajasthan that paid assassins from the Mumbai underworld may be on their way to Jaipur to ‘eliminate’ me,” Salman Rushdie said in a statement read out at the festival.
“While I have some doubts about the accuracy of this intelligence, it would be irresponsible of me to come to the festival in such circumstances; irresponsible to my family, to the festival audience and to my fellow writers,” he added.
“I will therefore not travel to Jaipur as planned.”
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Correspondents say the protests against this year’s planned trip are linked to crucial state elections due in Uttar Pradesh.
Correspondents say no political party wants to antagonise the Muslim community, which constitutes 18% of voters in the state, India’s largest.
Notice that correspondents apparently assume that Muslims can be seen as a solid bloc or a “community” which thinks and votes as one. Somewhat “Islamophobic,” that.