Rushdie visit to India comes to an end

Indian government capitulates to Islamic whims

The cat is out of the bag once more; it has been proved time and again that the Indian government remains religiously incapable to save any individual from the wrath of Islamic fundamentalists and this time, with the cancellation of impending visit of Salman Rushide, worldwide acclaimed author, to India to attend the Jaipur Literature Festival, the Indian state structure comes full circle.

Readers may remember only a few days back Rushdie’s defiance (his boldness that he would come to India defying any threat) was praised majorly here and a meticulous article - Rushide-like defiance indispensable for Hindus (http://indianmotherland.blogspot.com/2012/01/rushide-like-defiance-indispensable-for.html) was also written. But the time has changed and the same position is reversed. Nevertheless, it’s not the fault of Rushdie at all; he is a person known to have been facing all these ever since the publication of “The Satanic Verses”. It’s a shame for the Indian government that has failed to save the renowned author from the clutch of Islamic fundamentalists.

In accordance with the press statement of Sanjoy K Roy, producer of the mega festival, Salman Rushdie has stated that he had 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" him.

"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," he said as the five-day literary meet kicked off today. "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 (sic)," he stated in public. 

Is there any need to ascertain the jubilant organizations therefore? The first and foremost, in this case, happens to be Darul Uloom Deoband, imperative Islamic seminary in India, protesting against the visit from the very beginning. As per Maulana Abul Qasim, Vice-Chancellor of Darul Uloom Deoband, “It is a victory of democracy because some Muslim organisations, including Darul Uloom Deoband, had opposed the visit to India in a democratic way." Other members of the cacophony are also not lagging. Mohammad Salim, national secretary of Jamat-e-Islami Hind, has termed this as a good development as Rushdie happens to be a "criminal from our religious point of view." 

Well, even if the Indian government prefers to remain mum and watch the surge of Islamic fundamentalism from a safe distance (propelled by its inherent ineptitude to give in to Islamic pressures for ever and a day), protests (however few they are) against this development can be heard.

On the word of William Dalrymple, Co-director, "Salman is a writer of enormous breath and writes on huge variety of subjects. His passionate engagement with Indian Islamic history shows he is as far as can possibly be removed from Islamophobia.” "He is one of India's greatest writers and in a more just world his arrival here would have been welcomed by people showering rose petals on the road,"

Sanjoy K Roy, found fuming, said candidly, "It shows a shocking lack of vision and integrity... Easily what many people do is ban or burn or stop, which in a country that boasts of diversity of opinion, is ridiculous and unacceptable....And this is not only about this case, today it is an A group of organisations, tomorrow it will be another,"

The issue is surely troubling sane minds a great deal but they’re really helpless as the largest democracy in the world is ever ready to capitulate to Islamic wishes exhibiting its spinelessness at every time.