Mr. Salman Rushdie, the author of “The Satanic Verses”, characterised the official ban on the import and reading of his novel in India as “an act of colossal illiberalism, great philistinism” and expressed the hope that the Government of India would act speedily “at a very high level” to reverse the decision. He remarked that the official spokesman’s explanation that the ban was “a preemptive step” to avoid “misrepresentation” of passages in the novel “for political purposes” amounted to saying that “because the book might become the victim of unscrupulous elements in India, it is the book that must be punished.”
Observing that “the energy in Indian politics, tragically, is now in these religious extremist movements, whether Muslim or Hindu or whatever,” Mr. Rushdie said “the general response here has been a kind of horror that such a thing could happen in India.” He added: “Now in a situation where Pakistan has made no noises and India has banned the book, this feels like an upside down world.”
The well-known writer, whose 547-page novel is on the short list for the Booker Prize, expressed his gratitude to newspapers and various people in India who have condemned the ban and asked that it be revoked immediately.
