From discussions on blasphemy to intolerance, ‘Satanic Verses’ in Parliament over the years | Political Pulse News,The Indian Express
The Rajiv Gandhi government’s decision to ban the import of the book, the first country to do so, remains contested to this day, within the Congress as well as outside.
Celebrated writer Salman Rushdie, who is currently undergoing treatment after being attacked at an event in west New York, had found himself at the centre of a controversy in India and the Islamic world for his book ‘The Satanic Verses’ that came out in 1988. The Rajiv Gandhi government’s decision to ban the import of the book, the first country to do so, remains contested to this day, within the Congress as well as outside.
Former Minister of State for External Affairs, Natwar Singh, defended the decision on Saturday, arguing that “it was taken purely in view of the law and order situation”. Singh had also told The Sunday Express that the decision had nothing to with “appeasing” one community.
On the other hand, P Chidambaram, who was the Minister of State for Home Affairs in the Rajiv Government, said in November 2015 that “he had no hesitation in saying that the decision to ban the book was wrong”.
The issue had figured in the Parliament repeatedly during discussions over the years, with the A B Vajpayee government’s decision to allow him to travel to India triggering a political firestorm in 1999.
The Indian-born author came to India with Zafar, his son, in 2000, his first visit in over a decade, amid massive security. He subsequently came to attend the Jaipur Literary Festival in 2007, an event he had to cancel because of threats. He was not allowed to appear in a video interview at the festival in 2012. His last visit to India was in 2013, when he was also a guest on the Indian Express’ Idea exchange event.
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