Hardly ever has a literature festival been in the news as much as Jaipur; it certainly put Jaipur on the world map and has divided the world into two camps: those with or against Rushdie. Few have or can remain indifferent as the issue reeks of discrimination and censorship and seems a clear threat to democracy and free speech everywhere.
Booker Prize-winning author Salman Rushdie attended the Jaipur Literature Festival in 2007 and was planning to do so again in 2012. His session, initially slated for the first day of the festival on January 20, got moved to the last day of the festival on January 24.
After intelligence sources in Mahrashtra and Rajasthan informed the author of an elimination plot, Rushdie cancelled his JLF visit, not wanting to jeopardize anyone’s safety. According to January 25, 2012 Hindustan Times article “A Black Farce with a Tragic Twist, Says Upset Rushdie”, the author later questioned the credibility of the threat.
As a compromise, the organizers of the Jaipur Literature Festival agreed to hold Rushdie’s afternoon question-and-answer session as planned on January 24, but via video conference. On Tuesday morning, protesters gathered inside Diggi Palace, the venue of the free literary event, claiming that “even seeing his face” was “intolerable”.
As their numbers mounted, Ram Pratab Singh, the owner of the Diggi Palace, read a statement saying that he “could not allow the conference to be held because of the security threat”. JLF organizer Sanjoy Roy stated: “We have been pushed to the wall” - before leaving the stage mid-sentence, apparently in tears.
The Background of The Satanic Verses Controversy
Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses was first published by Viking Penguin in Britain on September 26, 1988. Nine days later, the book was banned in India, where Rushdie was born and raised. As some would argue, this first ban on the book worldwide would provoke the fatwa issued by Iran's religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini on February 14, 1989, citing an “insult” to Islam. On March 7, 1989, the United Kingdom and Iran severed diplomatic ties over the issue.
Since then, Rushdie had to move frequently and live under police protection for the next nine years; various translators of the book worldwide got seriously injured and one even killed after attacks on their lives; and various bookstores stocking the book were firebombed.
Since then, artistic freedom has been at stake in India with Shivaji biographer James Laine’s work being banned, likewise painter M F Husain’s works, the film release of the Da Vince Code in 2006 became a hot topic and even Indian writer Rohinton Mistry’s novel Such A Long Journey was taken off college reading lists.
Why Could Rushdie Attend JLF in 2007 and Not in 2012?
In view of the latest controversy over The Satanic Verses, one has to wonder why a book can cause so much controversy more than 20 years after its publication. Why not 10 years ago or five years ago when Rushdie attended the same literature festival? Ashok Malik, in his January 23, 2012 Times of India article “Playing with Fire”, argues that Indian politics are similar now to what they were in the mid-1980s: Rajiv Gandhi’s Congress government had surrendered to “conservative Muslim opinion” and banning The Satanic Verses was just the next step.
Similarly, Malik makes his point that Congress is once again “resorting to clumsy and crude attempts to win over the north Indian Muslim voter”. Uttar Pradesh, with a Muslim population of around 18 per cent and, with 200 million, the most populous Indian state, is also the most important one whose Muslim voter turnout can make or break the result for any party.
Banning not only a book but even its author from setting foot in his home country to attend a peaceful literary event is one more blow to civil liberties and democracy in India that could set another dangerous precedent.
Solidarity with Rushdie at Jaipur Literature Festival 2012
Attendees of the Jaipur Literature Festival 2012, like audiences worldwide, followed the developments around Rushdie’s attendance with keen interest. But unlike the rest of the world, panelists and audience had an opportunity to use the festival as a platform to voice their discontent. Thus, like a ghost, Rushdie’s presence hovered over the festival and his name or mention of the controversy kept cropping up in almost any session, regardless of relevance or topic.
In two unconnected sessions, four writers – Hari Kunzru, Amitava Kumar, Jeet Thayil and Ruchir Joshi - went a step further and showed solidarity by reading passages from The Satanic Verses. In his January 22, 2012 Guardian op-ed piece “Why I quoted from The Satanic Verses”, Hari Kunzru clarified that it “was not to offend anyone’s religious sensibilities but to give a voice to a writer who had been silenced by a death threat”.
Citing safety issues after complaints from clerics and politicians, among them Rajasthan’s chief minister, the four authors were sent packing and had to leave not only Jaipur but the country the same evening.
What Does the Controversy Mean for Writers and Free Speech in India?
Banning a book is one thing, but banning a writer from visiting his country another. As Hari Kunzru pointed out in the abovementioned article, The Satanic Verses is, after all, “just a book. Not a bomb. Not a knife or a gun. Just a book”. It's not even one of Rushdie’s best works, and not his most read one, certainly not by those opposing it, one might add. Yet, it managed to have sentiments flare up, incite threats and cause protests that seem quite blown out of proportion.
Dairy co-operative Amul, known across India for witty advertising that more often than not hits the nail on the head on current affairs, brought the issue to the point this week in major newspapers. The latest ad depicts the Amul butter girl as a writer, scribbling with her pen in an empty book by candlelight. Her mouth has been taped shut and crowded around her are four dark, threatening figures, shouting angrily and pointing fingers at her.
The headline reads “Is the sword mightier than the pen?”, and below, “Amul. Fundamental bite”. In this case, it almost seems so.
Simone Preuss - Simone is a freelance writer, editor and translator who decided to go solo after a successful career in publishing. That was more than ...
