A day after the Bharatiya Janata Party's humiliating debacle in Bihar, writer Salman Rushdie said that the people of India had shown that they did not want to live in a “Hindu fanatic country”. Rushdie was in Houston, Texas, on Monday to read from his latest book, Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights.
“The first opportunity that Indians got to express their dissatisfaction against the government, they used it at the ballot," said the acclaimed writer. "In Bihar, where [Narendra] Modi himself was the face of the election campaign, people proved that they are tolerant, inclusive and pluralistic. They have made it clear that they do not want to live in a Hindu fanatic country.”
He added: “The election results should be a wakeup call for the government to stop the physical violence and bring in moderate policies.”
His opinion on the election received a big applause from the audience.
Rushdie is all-too-familiar with the intimidation of religious fundamentalists. He spent roughly a decade in hiding after Islamic extremists threatened to kill him for his book Satanic Verses. Responding to a question on the rising intolerance in his country of birth, Rushdie said that it was indeed a “very difficult time for India at the moment. Within a year, India has changed so much in a way that I have never seen since the Emergency. Writers and rationalists have been killed and the government’s seeming unwillingness to take any responsibility is frightening,” Rushdie said. He added that what was sold to India as “a sleek modern business oriented model of governance is actually a movement of extraordinary sectarian violence.”
A strong proponent of free speech, Rushdie said that he was proud of the writers, artists and filmmakers protesting against the government’s attempts to curb people’s freedom of expression. He said it was good to see people speaking up since until recently, everyone was “bending and bowing” to the government.
“Until recently, everyone was bending and bowing to the government," the writer said. "But now people have started speaking up. I admire the courage of the protesters who are taking risks in these dangerous times where violence has reached people’s doorsteps. Democracy is not only about what happens on voting day. Democracy is about feeling safe to say things that are not necessarily in line with the ruling political party.”
Modi toadies
Last month, Rushdie was harangued by “Modi toadies” on Twitter after he came out in support of writer Nayantara Sahgal and others who had returned their Sahitya Akademi awards to protest against the silence over the killings of Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare and MM Kalburgi. He had tweeted:
After a series of hate messages, Rushdie had lashed back with the tweet:
The Booker Prize-winning author has been critical of the Congress government as well. The Satanic Verses was banned by the Congress of Rajiv Gandhi. In 2012, Rushdie had to pull out from the Jaipur Literature Festival after the ruling Congress in Rajasthan failed to reassure the Indian-born writer of his safety. There were growing fears following death threats by fundamentalists and Darul Uloom, Deoband’s vice-chancellor’s letter to the Union government demanding the author of The Satanic Verses be barred from entering India. This was surprising at the time because Rushdie had already visited the country five times since the controversy over the book erupted in 1988. He had also attended the Jaipur Literary Festival's inaugural edition in 2007.
Speaking of Twitter trolls, Rushdie said that he had enjoyed following the popular parody Twitter handle @RushdieExplainsIndia. “It was run by a knowledgeable and erudite person," he said. "I enjoyed his take on various issues. But the problem is that there is an irony deficiency on Twitter. Even though it was mentioned very clearly that it was a parody account, people started accusing me for all the tweets. So I politely asked Rohit Chopra to take it down. It is now called @IndiaExplained and still has as many followers.”
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“The first opportunity that Indians got to express their dissatisfaction against the government, they used it at the ballot," said the acclaimed writer. "In Bihar, where [Narendra] Modi himself was the face of the election campaign, people proved that they are tolerant, inclusive and pluralistic. They have made it clear that they do not want to live in a Hindu fanatic country.”
He added: “The election results should be a wakeup call for the government to stop the physical violence and bring in moderate policies.”
His opinion on the election received a big applause from the audience.
Rushdie is all-too-familiar with the intimidation of religious fundamentalists. He spent roughly a decade in hiding after Islamic extremists threatened to kill him for his book Satanic Verses. Responding to a question on the rising intolerance in his country of birth, Rushdie said that it was indeed a “very difficult time for India at the moment. Within a year, India has changed so much in a way that I have never seen since the Emergency. Writers and rationalists have been killed and the government’s seeming unwillingness to take any responsibility is frightening,” Rushdie said. He added that what was sold to India as “a sleek modern business oriented model of governance is actually a movement of extraordinary sectarian violence.”
A strong proponent of free speech, Rushdie said that he was proud of the writers, artists and filmmakers protesting against the government’s attempts to curb people’s freedom of expression. He said it was good to see people speaking up since until recently, everyone was “bending and bowing” to the government.
“Until recently, everyone was bending and bowing to the government," the writer said. "But now people have started speaking up. I admire the courage of the protesters who are taking risks in these dangerous times where violence has reached people’s doorsteps. Democracy is not only about what happens on voting day. Democracy is about feeling safe to say things that are not necessarily in line with the ruling political party.”
Modi toadies
Last month, Rushdie was harangued by “Modi toadies” on Twitter after he came out in support of writer Nayantara Sahgal and others who had returned their Sahitya Akademi awards to protest against the silence over the killings of Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare and MM Kalburgi. He had tweeted:
I support #NayantaraSahgal and the many other writers protesting to the Sahitya Akademi. Alarming times for free expression in India.
— Salman Rushdie (@SalmanRushdie) October 12, 2015After a series of hate messages, Rushdie had lashed back with the tweet:
Here come the Modi Toadies. FYI, Toadies: I support no Indian political party & oppose all attacks on free speech. Liberty is my only party.
— Salman Rushdie (@SalmanRushdie) October 12, 2015The Booker Prize-winning author has been critical of the Congress government as well. The Satanic Verses was banned by the Congress of Rajiv Gandhi. In 2012, Rushdie had to pull out from the Jaipur Literature Festival after the ruling Congress in Rajasthan failed to reassure the Indian-born writer of his safety. There were growing fears following death threats by fundamentalists and Darul Uloom, Deoband’s vice-chancellor’s letter to the Union government demanding the author of The Satanic Verses be barred from entering India. This was surprising at the time because Rushdie had already visited the country five times since the controversy over the book erupted in 1988. He had also attended the Jaipur Literary Festival's inaugural edition in 2007.
Speaking of Twitter trolls, Rushdie said that he had enjoyed following the popular parody Twitter handle @RushdieExplainsIndia. “It was run by a knowledgeable and erudite person," he said. "I enjoyed his take on various issues. But the problem is that there is an irony deficiency on Twitter. Even though it was mentioned very clearly that it was a parody account, people started accusing me for all the tweets. So I politely asked Rohit Chopra to take it down. It is now called @IndiaExplained and still has as many followers.”