A “limited stock” of The Satanic Verses For the past few days, it is being sold at Baharisans booksellers in the national capital. Photo: @sorcerical
British-Indian novelist Salman Rushdie’s controversial book The Satanic Verses Rajiv Gandhi has quietly returned to India after 36 years of banning by the government.
“Limited stocks” of the book, which has sparked outrage by its author and Muslim organizations worldwide over content deemed blasphemous, have been on sale at Bahrainis booksellers in the national capital for the past few days.
Read this also N Ram’s 1988 interview with Salman Rushdie The Satanic Verses Banned: ‘My book was put in jail’
“We have had the book for a few days now and the response has been very good so far. Sales are good,” said Rajni Malhotra, owner of Baharisons Booksellers. PTI.
Priced at ₹1,999, the book is available exclusively at Baharisons Booksellers stores across Delhi-NCR.
“@SalmanRushdi’s The Satanic Verses is now in stock at Bahrisons Booksellers! This groundbreaking and provocative novel has captivated readers for decades with its imaginative storytelling and bold themes. It has been at the center of intense global controversy since its release, sparking debates. Free Speech , faith and art,” the bookseller said in a post on X.
Read this also Penguin India refused to publish The Satanic Verses, Congress said
Mansi Subramaniam, Editor-in-Chief, Penguin Random House India also posted on the social media platform quoting Mr. Rushdie.
“‘Language is courage: the ability to think, to speak it, and by doing so to make it true.’ Finally @SalmanRushdie’s Satanic Verses is allowed to be sold in India after 36 years of ban,” she wrote.
Other bookstores, including Midland Book Shop and Om Book Shop, are not planning to import books.
In November, the Delhi High Court closed proceedings on a petition challenging the Rajiv Gandhi government’s ban on the import of the novel, saying that it “must be presumed not to exist” as the authorities failed to produce the relevant notification. .
Read this also According to legal scholars, only books are prohibited from importation
The order came after government officials failed to submit a notification banning the import of books on October 5, 1988.
“In the light of the above circumstances, we have no option but to assume that no such notification exists, therefore we cannot examine its validity and dispose of the writ petition as infructuous,” the court said.
The book ran into trouble soon after publication, with Iranian leader Ruhollah Khomeini eventually issuing a fatwa calling on Muslims to kill Mr. Rushdie and his publishers. Rushdie spent nearly 10 years in hiding in Britain and America
In July 1991, Hitoshi Igarashi, the novelist’s Japanese translator, was murdered in his office.
On August 12, 2022, Lebanese-American Hadi Mater stabbed Mr. Rushdie on stage at a lecture, blinding him in one eye.
Mixed reaction
Although the book is available for purchase at Baharisans, it has received mixed reviews from readers, especially because of its price.
Bala Sundaresan, a tech entrepreneur who always wanted a physical copy of the book, was shocked to hear the price. “I want to wait a little longer until the Indian print of the book is available. I was interested in it because of the controversy that surrounded it for decades, (I’m) not really a fan of Rushdie,” said the 33-year-old.
Jayesh Verma, a 24-year-old student at Delhi University, said it only makes sense for a collector or Rushdie fan to buy the book at current prices.
“Honestly, because of all the controversies, those who want to read it have downloaded the soft copy and read it. Anyone who buys it for Rs 2,000 must be a collector or a die-hard fan,” he said.
However, some like Rashmi Chatterjee, a literature student, plan to buy the book for “its place in India’s literary history”.
“You can’t ignore the book, let alone its literary merit. It should be bought just for the argument against censorship. It’s a turning point in India’s literary history,” the 22-year-old said.
published – December 25, 2024 at 08:54 pm IST