Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Aug 13: Salman Rushdie’s contentious book “The Satanic Verses” was banned by the Rajiv Gandhi government, and former Union Minister K Natwar Singh vehemently defended the decision on Saturday, saying it was made “purely” for law and order reasons.
91-year-old Singh, who was the minister of state for external affairs when the book was banned in 1988, said he was involved in the decision and had warned the then prime minister that the book could cause serious law and order problems because sentiments were running very high. This comes as attention has turned back to Salman Rushdie’s book in the wake of the attack on him on Friday in New York.
“I don’t think it (the decision to ban the book) was wrong because you see it had led to law and order problems, particularly in Kashmir. In other parts of India also there was disquiet,” Mr Singh told PTI.
“Rajiv Gandhi asked me what should be done. I said, ‘all my life I have been totally opposed to banning books but when it comes to law and order even a book of a great writer like Rushdie should be banned’,” the diplomat-turned-politician said.
“Rushdie’s “Midnight’s Children” is one of the great novels of the 20th century but the decision to ban “The Satanic Verses” was taken purely for law and order reasons,” Singh asserted.
The publication of the book “The Satanic Verses” had caused a huge uproar because many Muslims considered it to be blasphemous. Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of Iran, called for the execution of Rushdie in a fatwa.
Singh defended the action taken by the Rajiv Gandhi administration, saying, “I completely think it was justified because it was going to cause serious law and order problems as feelings were running very high, particularly among our Muslim population.” “I said, ‘the entire Muslim world is going to flare up, we have a large number of Muslims and apart from that, what the book contains at this time, is not acceptable’.”
Rushdie was stabbed on stage on Friday while being introduced at the event of the Chautauqua Institution in Western New York. Rushdie had received death threats for years after publishing “The Satanic Verses.”
Hadi Matar, of Fairview, New Jersey, was the suspect, according to the New York State Police; the reason why the act was committed is still a mystery.
Prior to the speech, the suspect rushed the platform and attacked the 75-year-old. The author underwent surgery after being taken to a nearby hospital.
Singh expressed his “extreme anguish” about the assault. “Here is a man 75 years old, not harming anybody and contributing to literature and then some rascal comes and nearly kills him and that too when he was making a speech in New York,” he said.
Singh said that MrRushdie fled England because there were more Muslims in the UK than there are in the United States.
“There is no doubt that he is one of the great writers of the 20th century. So I am very distressed. I did not know him personally but I admired his Midnight’s Children, I read it several times, it is high-class literature,” he said praising Rushdie for his contribution to the world of literature.
