New Delhi: Acclaimed writer Salman Rushdie, author of the controversial 'The Satanic Verses' as also bestsellers like 'Midnight's Children' and 'Shame', on Saturday denounced "disgraceful vote bank politics" being practised in the country and said "95 per cent of Muslims in India are not interested in violence being done in their name".
Returning to India two months after he was stopped from attending the Jaipur Literary Festival, Rushdie spoke at the concluding dinner at the two-day India Today Conclave at the Taj Palace Hotel here.
The event was marked by tight security presence but devoid of the kind of protests that had marred the Jaipur event by radical Muslim groups protesting his visit.
Rushdie, who was happy at the "lack of interest and protest in my visit" this time around to his land of birth, was, however, severe on politicians of the subcontinent, both in India and Pakistan, who pandered to "religious fanaticism" and indulged in "political opportunism", an allusion to those who cancelled their speaking engagements at the conclave because of his presence....
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02:29 PM, Mar 19, 2012
New Delhi: Author Salman Rushdie's literary session at the India Today Conclave has been postponed by a day to Saturday following a sudden change in schedule, the organisers said. The organisers refused to cite any specific reason for the change and said the session would be open for select invitees only. Tight security arrangements are in place here to prevent any trouble during the visit of Salman Rushdie, the controversial...
03:19 PM, Mar 16, 2012
