Rushdie skips, backers read

suchithkc

Jaipur, Jan. 20: Salman Rushdie today pulled out of the Jaipur Literature Festival citing intelligence reports of a threat from paid assassins, and later expressed surprise when the organisers stopped apublic reading of copied passages from his banned book, The Satanic Verses.

The organisers and attending authors had earlier expressed solidarity with Rushdie, while groups that had protested his proposed visit welcomed the Indian-born British novelist's absence from the event.

Festival producer Sanjoy Roy read out an email from Rushdie that said: "I have now been informed by intelligence sources in Maharashtra and Rajasthan that paid assassins from the Mumbai underworld may be on their way to Jaipur to 'eliminate' me."

The email added: "While I have some doubts about the accuracy of this intelligence, it would be irresponsible of me to come to the festival in such circumstances; irresponsible to my family, to the festival audience, and to my fellow writers. I will therefore not travel to Jaipur as planned."

Rushdie had attended the festival in 2007. But this year, the Uttar Pradesh-based seminary, Darul Uloom Deoband, demanded that he not be allowed to enter India.

The Congress government in Rajasthan, a state that had witnessed riots last year, had said it was concerned about law-and-order disruptions, and had conveyed its views to the Centre.

At the event's opening session, each speaker underscored the right to expression while authors Hari Kunzru and Amitava Kumar decided to read out passages from The Satanic Verses as a mark of protest.

"Writers: assassins shouldn't be allowed to stifle. Writers join us in reading from Satanic Verses," Kumar had tweeted. But as he began reading out from a piece of paper, the organisers stopped him.

In response, Rushdie tweeted a question aimed at festival producer Sanjoy Roy and co-director William Dalrymple: "@amitavakumar says organizers asked him not to continue reading from Satanic Verses. Willie, Sanjoy: why did this happen?"

A little earlier, Rushdie had tweeted: "Very sad not to be at Jaipur. I was told Bombay mafia don issued weapons to 2 hitmen to 'eliminate' me. Will do video link instead. Damn."

Kumar and Kunzru did not actually read from a copy of The Satanic Verses but from a piece of paper on which they had copied extracts. Kumar interspersed the reading of Kunzru's Gods Without Men with a passage from the Verses. "Here's one of my favourite passages," he said as a preface.

In another session, authors Ruchir Joshi and Jeet Thayil started reading the excerpts from a piece of paper. Again, the organisers stepped in and asked them to stop.

The organisers of the festival issued a disclaimer tonight, distancing themselves from the protests. "Certain delegates acted in a manner… which was without the prior knowledge or consent of the organisers. Any views expressed or actions taken by these delegates are in no manner endorsed by the Jaipur Literature Festival," the statement said.

"The festival organisers are fully committed to ensuring compliance of all prevailing laws and will continue to offer their fullest co-operation to prevent any legal violation of any kind," the statement added.

"Any action by any delegate or anyone else involved with the festival that in any manner falls foul of the law will not be tolerated and all necessary, consequential action will be taken."

The organisers' stand may have been prompted by the Indian government's ban on the book as well as potential law-and-order problems. The fears were reflected in an unprecedented police frisking of each visitor at the festival: till last year, anyone could walk in without any checks.

Dalrymple had earlier said: "Rushdie's not coming is a result of a tragic game of Chinese whispers. The reality of Rushdie's writings are completely different from the way they have been cartooned and caricatured. It is a great tragedy but we hope he makes it in the future."

Many internationally celebrated authors at the event said they were saddened by the circumstances that led to Rushdie's pullout.

"It's a sad day for literature and India, and a victory for the reactionary forces," Ben Okri, the Booker Prize-winning Nigerian author, told The Telegraph.

He said that if he were in Rushdie's shoes, he would have pulled out too. "It is more important to have him safe for writing than something terrible happening to him. A writer's first job is to write well and truthfully, enrich our lives and not to get killed."

In Lucknow, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh was quick to distance the government from the development, calling it a "personal decision" by Rushdie.

Politicians weren't spared at the Jaipur session. Minister-poet Kapil Sibal, who writes poetry on his BlackBerry, was asked why the poet in him couldn't merge with the politician. "The poet and politician have already converged. Perhaps, you haven't met me enough," he said.

The minister was sprayed with questions on Internet censorship, Anna Hazare and education policies. Sibal was stumped when a young man in the audience wept and told him that he was jobless. He wanted a solution to unemployment.

Sibal looked uneasy but was rescued by the organisers.