Reading from the
Satanic Verses in Jaipur (2012)
BY HARI KUNZRU
On Friday, over lunch, I heard the news that Salman Rushdie would not be attending the Jaipur Literature Festival. His visit had been in doubt for some time. Initially, we had been scheduled to have a conversation on stage that afternoon, but since Maulana Abul Qasim Nomani, the head of the Darul Uloom seminary in Deoband, had called for him to be prevented from entering India, the festival organizers had been fighting a storm of manufactured controversy, not unconnected with the upcoming Uttar Pradesh state elections. Salman has been visiting India without incident for many years, and spoke at the JLF in 2007. Clearly, the sudden eruption of righteous indignation at his presence was not spontaneous. The manipulation of religious sentiment for political ends has a long history in India, and this was merely a particularly cynical example of a traditional election-time activity.
Initially, the directors of the JLF asked Salman to delay his arrival, while they worked with the authorities to provide security, and attempted to defuse a planned protest. Our Friday event was moved to Tuesday morning, and his name was removed from the festival program. Then came the news, apparently originating in police intelligence reports seen by the festival team, that three assassins had been despatched from Bombay with orders to murder him. Now there appears to be doubt about the veracity of these reports – Mumbai police deny that they communicated any such intelligence, and the Hindu newspaper has reported that the story of the assassins was concocted by the Rajasthani police. Whatever the truth of this, it was enough to prevent Salman from travelling to India.
Amitava Kumar and I were extremely angry. We felt that it was important to show support for Salman, who is often misrepresented and caricatured as a sort of folk-devil, by people who know little or nothing about his work. This situation has arisen in India at a time when free speech is under attack. Recent moves to institute ‘pre-screening’ of internet content, and knee-jerk bans of books such as Joseph Lelyveld’s masterly biography of Gandhi, show that these are not good times for those who wish to say unpopular things in the world’s largest democracy. We decided that we would use our afternoon session, in which Amitava was due to interview me about my novel, Gods Without Men, to highlight the situation. We decided (without consulting the festival organizers, or anyone else) that I would make a statement, and then we would quote from The Satanic Verses. We knew this little-read and much-burned book was banned in India, but it was our understanding that this meant it was a crime to publish, sell, or possess a copy. We knew it would be considered provocative to quote from it, but did not believe it was illegal. A pirated text exists on the internet, and we downloaded two passages, 179 and 208 words in length respectively. Our intention was not to offend anyone’s religious sensibilities, but to give a voice to a writer who had been silenced by a death threat. Reading from another one of his books would have been meaningless. The Satanic Verses was the cause of the trouble, so The Satanic Verses it would have to be. We did not choose passages which have been construed as blasphemous by Muslim opponents of the book – this would have been pointless, as these passages have overshadowed the rest of the content of the novel, which concerns the relationship between faith and doubt, and contains much that has nothing to do with religion whatsoever. We wanted to demystify the book. It is, after all, just a book. Not a bomb. Not a knife or a gun. Just a book.
To the audience in the Durbar Hall, which included my parents, my brother, and other relatives and friends, I read the following statement. It is a little rough, as it was written in haste:
Today, I am sad to say, is a bleak day for Indian literature. We heard earlier from Gurcharan Das, Alex Watson and Oscar Pujol about the place that doubt, dissent and argumentation held in the very origins of Indian thought [this is a reference to an earlier session, which dealt with scepticism in Vedic philosophy]. Today, one of India’s greatest novelists, Salman Rushdie – a writer whose work enshrines doubt as a necessary and valueable ethical position – has been prevented from addressing this festival by those whose certainty leads them to believe that they have the right to kill anyone who opposes them. This kind of blind, violent certainty is in opposition to everything the festival stands for – openness, intellectual growth and the free exchange of ideas. There are many rights for which we should fight, but the right to protection from offense is not one of them. Freedom of speech is a foundational freedom, on which all others depend. Freedom of speech means the freedom to say unpopular, even shocking things. Without it, writers can have little impact on the culture. Unless we come out strongly in support of Rushdie’s right to be here, and to speak to us, we might as well shut the doors of this hall and go home.
Then I read from the novel. I had already finished when Sanjoy Roy came to the side of the stage and told us that we shouldn’t continue. Amitava and I spoke for some time about the influence of Rushdie on my work, and of the themes of doubt and certainty in Gods Without Men. He then quoted the second excerpt, a description of what London might be like if it was ‘tropicalised’, one of many comic passages in The Satanic Verses which have no religious content. I would link here to the passages we read, which I maintain are absolutely inoffensive to even the most delicate religious sensibility, but given my current legal circumstances, this does not seem wise.At the end of the session, I signed books. Quickly a mob scene developed as I was surrounded by journalists who wanted to know why Amitava and I had made our protest. Backstage, the festival organizers were upset. This was something about which they had no foreknowledge, and over which they had no control. The bad atmosphere was compounded by the news that, completely independently, two other writers, Jeet Thayil and Ruchir Joshi, had also read from The Satanic Verses. I was not present at that reading, and I’ll leave it to them to give an account of their actions and intentions.
News of the readings travelled fast. Sanjoy Roy was soon taking calls from clerics and politicians, including one from the Chief Minister of Rajasthan. The Jaipur Police Commissioner arrived, interviewed us briefly, and went away, apparently reassured that no law had in fact been broken. A lawyer appeared (the son-in-law of Namita Gokhle) who closeted himself with the festival organizers. He drafted a statement, which we were asked to sign, making clear that the festival was not responsible for our actions. It was left to my friend Sara Chamberlain to find someone to provide legal advice to me. This advice was blunt: I should leave India immediately, as otherwise I risked arrest and might well find myself unable to return home to New York until any resulting cases had been resolved. The festival organizers later informed me that they had been advised that it was unsafe for me to stay in Jaipur, and my continued presence at the festival would only inflame an already volatile situation. I consider William Dalrymple and Sanjoy Roy close friends, and I feel that they acted honorably in difficult circumstances which were not of their making. I am relieved that the JLF was not shut down, which appeared to be a possibility on Friday night.
I left Jaipur early on Saturday morning, and left India the same day. Throughout this, I have been accompanied by my fiancée, the novelist Katie Kitamura. Her name has not appeared in the newspapers, and because of my actions, she was denied her chance to speak at the festival. I am very grateful for her love and support, and that of my family.
I would like to reiterate that in taking this action I believed (and continue to believe) that I was not breaking the law, and had no interest in causing gratuitous offense. I apologise unreservedly to anyone who feels I have disrespected his or her faith. I refute absolutely the accusation of Asaduddin Owaisi, the Hyderabadi MP who has accused me of ‘Islam-bashing under the guise of liberalism’. I stand on my public record as a defender of the human rights of Muslims, notably my work for Moazzam Begg and other British Muslims detained without trial in Guantanamo Bay. To Mr Owaisi, and others who feel that the notion of ‘freedom of speech’ is just a tool of secular Western interests, a license to insult them, I say that the contrary is true. Freedom of speech is the sole guarantee of their right to be heard in our complex and plural global culture. It is the only way of asserting our common life across borders of race, class and religion. Just as I reach out my hand to Salman Rushdie, I do so to Mr Owaisi, and to Maulana Abul Qasim Nomani, whose seminary is, after all, called the ‘House of Knowledge’, in the hope that, as fellow believers in the vital importance of words, we can resolve our differences - or at least come to understand them correctly - through speech and writing, instead of violence and intimidation.
- Hari Kunzru 22nd January 2012
COMMENTS
So glad you did what you did
Mr Kunzru, you made a really difficult but principled decision and I admire you for it. You're right. It had to be "Satanic Verses," and no other book of Rushdie's. It's really sad that it has come to this in India -- where books are being banned for political reasons in the name of religion. This is being done by fundamentalists of all stripes, Hindus included. People in India were not always filled with fear and filled with contempt for different ideas.
I would ask someone who feels hurt by a published book (or the reading of a passage from one) why they are so easily bruised. I don't mean that as a rhetorical question but really, why are you so shaken up and so fragile? Ignore books you don't like. I certainly do. Most people do. Instead, read books that capture your heart and your imagination. Just read, read, read. With any luck, your heart and imagination will grow and will feel secure and strong enough to tolerate the existence of books you may never like.
Thanks for doing what you did.
Dear "Ordinary Indian
Dear "Ordinary Indian Muslim",
I'd like to see you run out in the open and walk about freely if you were put in Rushdie's shoes. Such valour, my god... join the armed forces. Be courageous no?
Truth is all you do is sit in a dark corner of your dark room and write this rubbish regressive bullshit. Muslim or not, people are free to write whatever they want. Don't read it if it hurts your sentiments.
Ordinary Indian
how far removed is india from its own eternal wisdom
ego and emotional immaturity are all that's left
Ignorant and hungry for fame?????
Well, in today's world, people would do anything to get fame, I am NOT pointing it on YOU (admin) but on people who just choose the controversial topics so that they can be read and highlighted.
Unfortunately, India has a population problem, and believe me life is really cheap here...!!! So, if Rushdie gets killed in India, it's no surprise as India does not have a strong security system in place.
I am a muslim, (not an extremist), but, I would recommend everybody who is reading this post to go to YouTube and watch the videos where Rushdie has mocked at Quranic verses!!
The Satanic Verses? Apparently, it has been written as a literary novel, to be read as fiction, without implications for reality, intangible. In truth, however, it contains implicit suggestions which ridicule Islam, so that it may make a mockery of this great religion in real-life.
I am no enemy to Rushdie, it hardly matters to me what he writes, but, freedom of expression does not allow anybody to hurt sentiments of people who have religion as their number one priority in life...!
The government should not provide any security to people like him, as they should bring their own security. Though, there are flaws in every system, but, I always trust Indian Government as a citizen of my wonderful country.
Extract
I wonder what would have happened if neither of you had said the extract you had just read was from The Satanic Verses. I'm guessing no one would have recognised where it was from and would have just listened to what you were reading.
I'm sorry all of you had to leave the festival. It's especially irnoic to know that a session titled The Listerature of Dissent went ahead the next day.
Sridala
You broke a law sir.
Namastey, As Salaam Aleikum, Sat Sri Akal, Wanakkam & Bienvenue.As an Indian and a staunch humanist, I must quote that at the center of non-violence stands the principle of love. Pardon the brevity & intrusion. I wrote the following statement in response . It is a little rough, as it was written in haste:Let's leave behind the spirit of anger and just sit and eat and talk together."Come Eat With Us". Firstly ,be willing to surrender your positions & see things from a different perspective. Forget about the fast lane.If you really want to fly, just harness your power to your passion. The greatest threat facing the world isn't freedom of speech, which people don't understand and can't articulate either.
Really unnerved to listen to a bunch of self-appointed moralists seems antithetical to what I thought any sane discourse or philosophy has or will ever espouse. Everyone at JLF are concerned about whats right, whats wrong. Where is nostalgia, love, romance, utopia.?Or am i being a tad Jingoistic? Are the organisers of 'JLF' so technologically retarded that they did not think of using video conferencing for Salman Rushdie?SalmanRushdie a marked man again?! Give it a rest! As an Indian, and a writer, I know that nationalism is a veritable 'Cul-De-Sac', nevertheless,I am a practising rationalist who opposes cultural relativism as applied by the West in the Middle East. What we hope ever to do with ease, we must learn first to do with diligence. Speaking of which, I don't mean to cast any aspersions on your character but can't help wonder aloud and ask you good sir, what according to your pragmatic sensibility and life aesthetic as a writer, more important to you? The reading of a banned book ? Which is a Non-Bailable offense. How did they let you go? You would much rather they compromise the security of the citizens of Jaipur?#"reality check". As a fellow writer, moreover as an Indian brother, I must candidly quote Martin Luther King Jr "We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now". As someone who has suffered the indignity & embarrassment of being 'silenced', [Ref: We The People-NDTV, 30TH.NOV 2008, SIMI GAREWAL'S irresponsible remarks about the Pakistani flags and my strong yet dignified rebuttal, which was conveniently 'EDITED'in reruns]I can totally understand, appreciate and empathize with your situation. It takes tremendous courage, confidence & conviction to do what you did at the Jaipur Literature festival. Congrats More power to your pen, fire in your fingers & zest in your soul Kudos to you!While I salute you for the stand you took for free speech,frankly the book is crap,just much hype, very little substance. My grandfather was OUTRAGED by The Satanic Verses. Why? because it was unflattering to Mrs Thatcher. Freedom of speech is sacrosanct, doing what you did and thereafter discreetly leaving the festival is so 'METALLICA' of you & him. You had the freedom to stay & abide by the laws of the land, but what do you do instead? First you break the law and then you use pressure politics to escape it...TuTu! Seems like someone was late for ballet class...Not your faincee Ms.Katie Kitamura I hope? We Indians who continue to live here & face the consequences of your actions will prevail. Rest assured. We are a nation of 'Unity in Diversity' & moreover Adversity. Bet you know that better than anyone else. Perhaps may wish to reconsider your actions, lest history classify you as a law-breaking scoundrel & rogue. Freedom of expression does not mean turning a blind eye to religious sentiments. Points to ponder:#1.Shame of Salman Rushdie's Cancelled Visit Exposes the Sham of LitFest! If the Dignitaries , especially you,had any dignity, you would have Boycotted it en~masse. That would have shamed the government and the title sponsors, but of course you could not afford to do that could you? Whatwith one of the directors being the duaghter in Law of a certain minister, whose name I shall not bother to mention.But clearly you were waiting for an opportunity to [as Noam Chomsky puts it] 'Manufacture Consent' & would never have missed such an amazing opportunity to bask in the limelight of you own egoism... Fiancee Katie Kitamura be damned to ignominy. Certainly hope she is reading this and would love to hear what she has to say about this entire charade. Dumb? Methinks not!!! Watch this space. If you can't make yourself say who 'threatened' Salman Rushdie and who are the 'lunatic fringe' then you shouldn't be defending him.
#2.Evidently Salman Rushdie did not have the 'Singular Distinction'Here is a quote from the London Times: Rushdie's invitation to JLF "provoked protests from prominent Indian Muslims." Wrong - protests from two ill-informed clerics.This is my way of showing my disgust and indignation.
And while the literati is at it, dont forget Kannada writer P.V. Naarayana, Karnataka Sahitya Akademi awardee, also banned.Loving literature strictly within the four corners of any enclosure is like the diligent use of a prison library.
When you don't have a spine, it impacts the cognitive process.The good news? More people have more platforms to speak freely. As happened in Jaipur and continues to happened on twitter today.So finally no Salman Rushdie at the 'JLF' or as its now called the Jaipur Literary Fatwa.
One is about taking a stand on freedom of speech the other is whether that writing has any literary merit.
Maybe one day you'll understand that.
I don't have any proof about complicity but one of the JLF's director's daughters is married to Kapil Sibal's son.
If you didn't stand up for MF Husain's artistic freedom then u don't have the moral right to stand up for Salman Rushdie In any other part of the world, you would not be tweeting or blogging thereafter.Freedom of speech. Only in #OCCUPY India. Is it interesting or not that Michael Ondaatje appears to not have read Satanic Verses while at the Jaipur Lit Fest? Forget Oprah.Brain-washed by the bhai's in Bollywood, 'advised' as you so succinctly posted on your tweet I spose? No one's book should be banned, but the safety of people comes first, says @Oprah to CNN-IBN. The Jaipur Lit Fest sounds like Las Vegas. On steroids with Birkin Bags & Burberry scarves not to mention.Rushdie blocked, Kunzru chased out.The carnival & the circus are here, you are missing. The show has begun, folks, enjoy. For free popcorn, ask the libtards.Mullah power to the fore! From light unto darkness we shall recede.The barbarians have broken the gate. Thank you, libtards.Have fun.Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude. Latest..Say No To Uncle Sam's version of terror!Dear USA, UK and Israel. Don't go to war with Iran. In my name, or for any other reason.USA IRAN- WAR REALLY VIVID? OR USA COMMERCIALISING HER WATCH VENTURES! Want to know how to deal with Iran? Threaten to send the cast of The Jersey Shore to live there. Bam. Instant peace.” How to solve the Iran threat: send them our politicians instead of weapons.Cheers.Its harder to hit a moving target. Players keep it movin.POLITICS OF PENETRATION V/S THE EPISTOMOLOGY OF LOVE...THE DEBATE CONTINUES...Oprah comes to India. As a gesture we should send export Simi Grewal to the US. Permanently.Must be confusing for Oprah - coming from a land of white folk who vote a black President to a land of brown folk who apply Fair & Lovely.
Stop Press: Organizers of JLF still trying to resolve matter of reading of banned Salman Rushdie Satanic Verses - non-bailable offence #JLF rumor: "Oprah" is really Salman Rushdie, who will unzip his "Oprah" costume on stage and give everyone in the audience a car.Do we have any evidence that most Ron Paul supporters are indeed actual human beings and not Twitter algorithms?Thanks Oprah, Obama, Condeliza, Colin, Tiger, Magic, Jay, Parsons, Johnson, Chenault, Stevie, Simmons 4 living 2 B Kings.I think at next Jaipur Lit Fest, we will have Akon and Britney talking on the profoundity of lyrics. Special session on Chammak Challo.When Oprah Winfrey has the power to fire people she hasn't hired, l'll start taking her seriously. Until then, Donald Trump rules the world.I think that Trump's right, that Obama might start military action against Iran, shortly before the election. Last but not least,should you ever decide to visit Mumbai and do what your erstwhile predecessor Ms. Winfrey did, allow me to show you a neighbourhood that I grew up in. Dharavi, not Slumdog Millionaire...But Gazillionaire instead. Enjoy the recession. Peace Out!!!We'd almost given up.
We didn't expect a squeak from the authors at the JLF. You & Amitava Kumar rose like knights in shinning armor, at a time when the government seemed a little too enthusiastic about tossing precious freedoms into a dingy dungeon. That's quite the message you sent out. All we can do is thank you and wish you the very best, a million times over.
We hope your next trip to India isn't as 'eventful'. Good luck. Stay Awesome.
Manisha M
Felt hurt by the protest....
Kunzru Sahab
We respect you for your writings. Aapko hamara dil dukha kar kya mila?
Deoband issued no fatwa. One or two voices. They were just normal demands, no threat. Many more openly said that it was his right to come.
Similarly others have the right to demand that he shouldn't come. Even if there was apprehension, Rushdie could have shown courage and come. He didn't come, claiming 'threats'.
If it is solidarity, why not read something else? Rushdie's other works. Just to say that your writings are admired by millions including Muslims. Feeling depressed and wondering why did you hurt us?
Ordinary Indian Muslim
As I have said elsewhere,
As I have said elsewhere, my intention was not to hurt anyone's feelings, but - gently - to say that this is just a book, nothing more. Thankyou for taking the trouble to express yourself here.
Dissent, Criticism and Emotions
Dear Ordinary Indian Muslim
Meri paidayish to Hindu gharaane mein hui thi,lekin aaj khuda gawaah hai, ki main aadmi ke kisi bhi banaye mazhab ko nahin maanta. Isiliye, main aapse guzaarish karoonga ki mere in chand alfaaz ko aap kisi qaum se na jode.
(Though I was born in a Hindu family, yet "God" is witness, I dont subscribe to any faith of mankind. Hence, I would request that please dont see my following words in any communal light)
I dont deny that you might have been hurt, yet not allowing those who show our failings or criticise, the same freedom as we enjoy it, is lethal to the vibrancy of any group.
Being a human, you have the right to boycott, but not prevent a man's voice. You have to right to cover your ears but not muzzle another man's voice.
Dear Muslim, Hindus and everyone else- religion is too big a thing for it to be corrupted by one dissent, by one transgression and its too small a thing in front of another human.Till the day, we dont ask questions and NOT rely on fatwas to take decisions which is haraam for us, and halaal for us, Islam wont get ahead.
But I dont blame you. I blame the Indian government for its "equal respect to all religions". Had it been "equal apathy to all religions" we would have been, I am sure better off.
A follower of world's fastest growing religion-Rationalism
more power to youu
Dear Hari,
You took a brave stand. It's a pity you were forced to leave JLF and India. I wish you and Katie the very besy. Thank you (and Amitava) for defending free-speech in India at a time when it is under a shrill and serious attack.
Best,
PriyankaGood
Totally agree and I think more of us should be making a stand on principle. It needs stated clearly that freedom of choice is not intended as a popularity contest the way out government seems intent on interpreting. We need more noise around this. Let's see what we can do.
One should not forget that there is nothing in this world called ABSOLUTE DEMOCRACY or ABSOLUTE FREEDOM, otherwise there would have been no trial and cases for raping a woman, abusing her, no charges for murder and similarly no laws..!! So one should realise this, when someone abuses greats of history so called secular people call it freedom of expression and when someone support love and stand against these things he is called lunatic fundamentalist and hardliners and intolerant, why this hypocracy..!! I think the people who call themselves HINDU haven't read his book, salman rushdie in his book has abused ram and sita also, and if even after reading it they don't protest, that means they have no respect for their religion..!!