New Delhi, December 25
British-Indian novelist Salman Rushdie’s controversial book ‘The Satanic Verses’ (The Satanic Verses) has quietly come to India 36 years after it was banned by the then Rajiv Gandhi government. The book was termed as anti-Islamic blasphemy and strongly opposed by the Muslim community around the world. Its ‘limited stock’ is being sold at Bahrisons Booksellers in the national capital for the past few days.
Rajini Malhotra, owner of Bahrisan’s Booksellers, told this news agency, “It’s been a few days since we received the book and the response so far has been great. Sales are going well.” Priced at Rs 1,999, it is available exclusively at Baharisan’s Booksellers stores across Delhi-NCR.
In this regard, in a post on social media platform X (X), the book publisher said, “The Satanic Verses by @SalmanRushdie is now in stock at Bahrisons Booksellers! This brilliant and provocative novel has captivated readers for decades with its imaginative storytelling and bold themes. It has also been the center of intense global controversy since its release, sparking debates on freedom of expression, belief and art, among others.”
@SalmanRushdie ‘s The Satanic Verses is now in stock at Bahrisons Booksellers!
This groundbreaking & provocative novel has captivated readers for decades with its imaginative storytelling and bold themes. It has also been at the center of intense global controversy since it’s pic.twitter.com/e0mtQjoMCb
— Bahrisons Bookseller (@Bahrisons_books) December 23, 2024
Manasi Subramaniam, Editor-in-Chief, Penguin Random House India, publisher of the book, has also posted on the social media platform with reference to Rushdie. He said in his tweet, “Language is courage: the ability to imagine an idea, speak it, and in doing so make it true.” @SalmanRushdie’s The Satanic Verses finally gets permission to sell in India after 36 years of ban. Here it is available at Bahrisons Bookstor, New Delhi.”
‘Language is courage: the ability to conceive a thought, to speak it, and by doing so to make it true.’
At long last. @SalmanRushdie’s The Satanic Verses is allowed to be sold in India after a 36-year ban. Here it is at Bahrisons Bookstore in New Delhi.
📸: @Bahrisons_books pic.twitter.com/fDEycztan5
— Manasi Subramaniam (@sorcerical) December 23, 2024
Other bookstores like Midland Book Shop and Om Book Shop have no plans to import the book. Earlier, in November last, the Delhi High Court had stopped proceedings on a petition challenging the Rajiv Gandhi government’s ban on the novel, saying that the authorities had failed to submit the relevant notification. The High Court said in its order, therefore, that it ‘must be presumed not to exist’.
The order came after government officials failed to produce a notification dated October 5, 1988, which banned the import of the book. The High Court had said, “In view of these circumstances, we have no alternative but to hold that no such notification exists and therefore we cannot examine its validity and dismiss the writ petition as infructuous.” is settled.”
The book was mired in huge controversy shortly after its publication. Due to this, at that time the supreme leader of Iran Ruhollah Khomeini (Ruhollah Khomeini) issued a fatwa to kill Rushdie and his publishers. As a result, Rushdie spent nearly 10 years in hiding in the UK and the US.
In July 1991, the Japanese translator of this novelist Hitoshi Igarashi (Japanese translator Hitoshi Igarashi) was murdered in his office. Similarly, on August 12, 2022, Lebanese-American Hadi Matar (Lebanese-American Hadi Matar) attacked Rushdie with a knife on stage while giving a lecture. Due to this attack, Salman Rushdie lost the light in one of his eyes.
Although the book is available for purchase at Bahrisans, it has received mixed reactions from readers, especially because of its price. Most of the readers are considering the book to be quite expensive, but despite this, there is a huge interest in it among the readers. -News-Patiala