 "The Satanic Verses is available at a major bookstore in Delhi. X/@sorcerical")
Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses is now available at bookstores in India, 36 years after its import was banned by the then Rajiv Gandhi-led Congress government.
A “limited stock” of the book can reportedly be purchased at a major bookstore in Delhi. It is also expected to be available in Pune soon. However, the book’s sale in India has triggered controversy.
Let’s take a closer look.
The Satanic Verses in India
Indian-born British-American writer Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses is being sold at Delhi’s Bahrisons Booksellers.
As per an Indian Express report, the novel will also be available at Book World on Fergusson College Road in Pune from December 30. “I have placed the orders for it and the book will be available from December 30. These will be imported versions. We will have an initial stock of 10-12 books,” Narendra Chandan, the owner of the bookstore, said.
Speaking to the newspaper, a senior employee at Crossword Pune said they will sell the book only when it is published in India, adding that they will not import it.
The Satanic Verses stirs new row
Rushdie ’s The Satanic Verses being sold in India has sparked a row. Some Muslim organisations have objected to the development and demanded the Centre ban it.
Maulana Kaab Rashidi, legal advisor for the Uttar Pradesh unit of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind (AM), told the news agency PTI, “If freedom of expression hurts someone’s sentiments, it is a legal offence. The Satanic Verses is a blasphemous book. Selling such a controversial book under the pretext of freedom of expression cannot be accepted in any form. It goes against the spirit of the Constitution.”
“The foundation of India’s Constitution allows for freedom of expression, but it does not grant anyone the right to hurt sentiments. Resuming the sale of The Satanic Verses is an attempt at provocation. It is the government’s responsibility to stop this. If the government allows it, it would amount to shirking its constitutional duties,” he continued.
Rashidi said that Allah and the Prophet are dearer to Muslims than their own lives and hence, the book will “never be tolerated”.
Condemning the sale of Rushdie’s novel, Maulana Yasub Abbas, general secretary of the All India Shia Personal Law Board, appealed to the Central government to reinstate the ban.
“The book mocks Islamic views, insults Prophet Muhammad and his companions, and hurts sentiments. Allowing its sale poses a threat to the country’s harmony. I urge the prime minister to impose a complete ban on this book in India,” he said, as per the news agency.
Maulana Mufti Shahabuddin Razvi, National President of the All India Muslim Jamaat, said in a statement that “no Muslim can tolerate” seeing The Satanic Verses on “any bookstore shelf.”
“This book insults Islam, Prophet Muhammad, and several Islamic figures. Its content is so offensive that it cannot be repeated. Allowing this book in the market will disturb the nation’s atmosphere,” he was quoted as saying by PTI.
Calling for the novel’s ban, Razvi warned of protests from the Muslim community if it starts getting widely sold.
Ban and return of The Satanic Verses in India
The controversial book has returned to Indian bookstores after more than three decades. Its import was banned by the Rajiv Gandhi government in 1988 reportedly after a demand from Muslim clerics.
Rushdie’s novel had sparked global protests , with some Muslims labelling it “blasphemous”. They said it mocked their faith.
The import of The Satanic Verses was banned in India shortly after its release in 1988. The Indian government’s move was criticised by many quarters, including Rushdie who wrote a letter to the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi expressing frustration.
Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa against Rushdie in 1989, calling for his assassination. The author was forced to spend nearly 10 years in hiding in the United Kingdom and the United States.
The Booker Prize-winning author lost an eye in 2022 after being stabbed up to 10 times on stage at an event in Chautauqua, western New York by a man named Hadi Matar.
In 2017, Sandipan Khan, a resident of West Bengal, had filed a Right to Information (RTI) request seeking the official notification banning the book’s import. However, after no conclusive response, he moved the Delhi High Court.
After government departments failed to produce the notification in court for over five years, the Delhi High Court ruled last month that it had to “presume” that “no such notification exists.”
With inputs from agencies