“Audacity” is the first word that comes to my mind when someone says the name “Salman Rushdie”.
Literature has for the longest time been a tool of free speech and banning books is the system’s way to snatch away the pen from authors. The world needs to respect its authors and stop killing them. If we can’t protect free speech, we have collectively failed as a society. After its publication in 1988, The Satanic Verses got banned in many countries including India.
Nonetheless, Salman Rushdie and his other important works like Quichotte, Midnight’s Children, Shame and Home have attracted readers from all around the world, especially in the Indian subcontinent.
Rushdie was born in the city of Bombay (now Mumbai), an Indian city to a successful Indian businessman in the year 1947, which was an important year in the making and partition of the Indian subcontinent. This year followed by others marked an end to the plight of the British Raj and the historic partition of Pakistan and India was announced.
Rushdie moved to Britain as he turned fourteen to complete his schooling at Rugby, a private school and later pursued Masters in History (M.A.) from University of Cambridge. There he studied and stepped into the world of literature with his first book, Grimus in 1965.
Salman Rushdie is an award-winning author of the 20th century and has contributed immensely to the treasury of philosophical, historical and allegorical fiction. Midnight’s Children won him the prestigious literary award, the Booker Prize in the year 1981. Many of his works have been subjected to heavy literary and political criticism, which made the author’s work popular amongst scholars and critiques.
The political and religious touchpoints in his writing brought him exponential international fame and won him several international awards.
Salman Rushdie received the Booker Prize in 1981 for Midnight’s Children. The novel is a fable about modern India and became an unexpected critical and popular success that won him international recognition. Midnight’s Children also won the Booker of Bookers (1993) and the Best of the Booker (2008), special prizes that were voted on by the public in honour of the prize’s 25th and 40th anniversaries, respectively.
Why Writers Like Salman Rushdie Matter
Over the years, Rushdie’s writings touched upon some themes which the world is more often than not too blindfolded to see. The themes stretch from sociological to psychological nuances, giving the protagonists and characters … a kind of depth that which mesmerises the readers completely.
He writes about the context in a manner that does not romanticize but rather in a satirical way. The element of humour in his writing is unique to his work. Prosaic style is Rushdie’s forte. His allusive writing is effervescent and has a pinch of melodrama.
The Satanic Verses was his fourth book which became a matter of religious dispute as a result of which the author was subject to violence. The book instantly attracted ire from major Islamic leaders across the world due to its controversial subject and livid humor on various practices of Islam.
The religious text of Islam, the Holy Qurʾān is believed to be transcribed by Prophet Muhammad and Gabriel, the heavenly angel who can be seen paralleled with the characters in Salman Rushdie’s novel as Mahound, Saladin and Gibreel Farishta. It is believed so that Gabriel whispered the text of Quran in the ears of Prophet who translated the holy book. This has been imaginatively shown in the plot of Rushdie’s book where Gibreel in a dream sequence reimagines Islam.
Over the years, Rushdie’s writings touched upon some themes which the world is more often than not too blindfolded to see. The themes stretch from sociological to psychological nuances, giving the protagonists and characters … a kind of depth that which mesmerises the readers completely.
He writes about the context in a manner that does not romanticize but rather in a satirical way. The element of humour in his writing is unique to his work. Prosaic style is Rushdie’s forte. His allusive writing is effervescent and has a pinch of melodrama.
The Satanic Verses was his fourth book which became a matter of religious dispute as a result of which the author was subject to violence. The book instantly attracted ire from major Islamic leaders across the world due to its controversial subject and livid humor on various practices of Islam.
The religious text of Islam, the Holy Qurʾān is believed to be transcribed by Prophet Muhammad and Gabriel, the heavenly angel who can be seen paralleled with the characters in Salman Rushdie’s novel as Mahound, Saladin and Gibreel Farishta. It is believed so that Gabriel whispered the text of Quran in the ears of Prophet who translated the holy book. This has been imaginatively shown in the plot of Rushdie’s book where Gibreel in a dream sequence reimagines Islam.
This idea was deemed blasphemous by a large section of the Muslim community in England and the Iranian government in the year 1988. The controversy escalated to the extent where Rushdie had to live in hiding for decades to come.
Recently, he was called for a public lecture in New York on literary freedom. Ironically he was stabbed by a man from New Jersey. According to media, the Iranian spiritual leader had put a bounty to Rushdie’s head which resulted in this unfortunate incident. What’s rather funny is that Ayatollah Khomeini (who issued the fatwa against Rushdie) has not read any of his books!!!!
In my view, The Satanic Verses is a work of fiction and failing to see that restricts the literary freedom of authors in future too. The content of the fictional book in no way opposes Islam, it only debates and reimagines it with a touch of magical realism. While many might not agree with Rushdie’s satires on religious practices, but to throttle his freedom of expression in the most violent way is certainly an act of disgust.
“I’m worried about me” ….. This was a quote of Salman Rushdie when he took his seat at a memorial service in year 1989 on Valentine’s Day which was held in Greek Orthodox Church in Bayswater.
I would like to end by saying that “Rushdie …. We are still worried about you! We love your spirit and courage to fight the odds when your right of free speech is being choked in the worst possible manner!”
Also read: The Contemporary Canon: A new course for poetry.
About the Author
Sanjana Choudhary is a 19-year-old Delhi- based aspiring Journalist-Poet. She covers socio-cultural and political issues through the lens of poetics and has also contributed to the first edition of our Your Voice Magazine through her poem titled, “Fluidity“. She’s currently pursuing Journalism & Media Studies from University of Delhi, India.
