The attack on the author is a reminder that just as Midnight’s Children put the literature of the subcontinent on the world literary map, The Satanic Verses put freedom of expression on the cultural map.
The attack on the author is a reminder that as midnight kids put the literature of the subcontinent on the world literary map, The Satanic Verses Put freedom of expression on the cultural map
Who you were is forever who you are. — Salman Rushdie midnight kids
When the organizers of the literary festival in India shied away from inviting Salman Rushdie, I, like many proponents of freedom of expression, would have reacted with appropriate indignation. After gruesome stabbing at Chautauqua, I think I understand his position a little better. It was not just surrender to political pressure. Which festival director would want to risk Chautauqua? Despite all the protections, there may still be enough lag for a prescribed 24-year-old with knife,
This is not to say that Chautauqua’s lesson is that freedom of expression should play a second role. It’s just that freedom of expression versus security is an incredibly balancing act and one Rushdie himself was increasingly tired of.
In his 1991 address to Columbia University, he described himself as a bubble that floated above and across the globe, depriving reality and turning it into an abstraction. “For many people I have ceased to be human. I have become an issue, an annoyance, ‘an affair’.”
Thirty years after that speech, Rushdie, who was gravely wounded in blood, reminded the world that they were both an issue. And a human being. The two are not mutually exclusive.
75th anniversary of India’s independence It should have been time to see Rushdie again midnight kids, Instead, a young man who was not even born when the fatwa was issued dragged us back The Satanic Verses,
in the name of books
Some have cautioned against stabbing to target Muslims in general, reminding that fundamentalists come in all disguises. Others have stressed the need to stand even more firmly for freedom of expression. are scrambling about how to change the hearts and minds of brainwashed people, while a staunch Iranian newspaper said the hand of Rushdie’s assailant should be kissed.
Putting aside all these clichéd debates, it is a reminder that as midnight kids put the literature of the subcontinent on the world literary map, The Satanic Verses Put freedom of expression on the cultural map for many of us. It showed us what books can do and what can be done in the name of books (and that you don’t have to read a book to do it). It ignited what author Salil Tripathi memorably called a “disgraceful Olympics,” where victim groups realize that instead of not reading the book or watching the film, they can weaponize their grievances, regardless of whether they are against it The Satanic Verses Or Deepa Mehta’s fire or perumal murugan melody or Aamir Khan Lal Singh Chaddha,
The Satanic Verses is still cited as the moment (as with the Shah Bano case) when the ruling Congress party was exposed to wander for votes. It also showed how those of us who are not particularly religious underestimate the power of religious symbols in the lives of believers. One of Rushdie’s opponents said, “Free speech is a non-start”, to which he replied, “No, sir, it is not. Free speech is the whole thing, the whole ball game. Free speech is life.” Is. “
These words are fighting, but around the world, it is becoming increasingly clear that freedom of expression is not something that voters care deeply about, even if Rushdie’s books shoot up the Amazon charts. Rushdie at least got state security. murders in india Gauri Lankesh, Narendra Dabholkar And Govind Pansare did not cause political upheaval. Rukmini S. writes in her book whole numbers and half truthsPublished last year, that according to a 2015 Pew Research Global Poll, Indians value freedom of expression less than any other country except Indonesia.
Light a candle to murder journalist Gauri Lankesh, in New Delhi, September 2017. , photo credit: Getty Images
lonely and ungrateful war
Another survey of four Indian states showed that as education levels rose, so did support for restrictions on freedom of expression. No wonder the Indian political establishment did not feel the need to speak out loud when Rushdie was stabbed. It shows that for the political class, he is still “an issue, a bother, ‘an affair’.”
However, just because it’s not going to get the vote doesn’t mean that freedom of expression is unimportant. It just means that those who fight for it are fighting a lonely and ungrateful battle on behalf of all of us.
But we must never forget, Rushdie did not want to be an apostle for freedom of expression. He just wanted to tell stories.
Years ago, I interviewed him when he was on a promotional tour shalimar the clown (2005). After all the general questions he answered with practice, I asked, “Do you have any good fatwa jokes?” He paused a bit, smiled, and said, “They are all really bad jokes. The most famous one is, ‘Is blonde, has big boobs and lives in Tasmania?’ The answer is Salman Rushdie, which unfortunately is not the case.” And then he laughed.
This was A bad joke but I hope someday Rushdie can make that joke again.
The author is the author of ‘Don’t Let Him Know’ (2015).