Rushdie will have the final word: video chat to go ahead

No permission was needed, no undertaking given

PTI | January 24, 2012



Ending the suspense, Jaipur Literature Festival organisers today said the video session with the controversial author Salman Rushdie will take place as planned after Rajasthan government gave the go ahead.

"We have received information that there was no requirement of any permission," Festival producer Sanjoy Roy told reporters. The five-day festival ends today.

The Rushdie session - 'Midnight's Child' - is planned for 3.45 pm where the India-born author will discuss his childhood, his work, problems faced in the past years and the adaptation of his novel Midnight?s Children into a film.

Rushdie had pulled out of the event citing death threats.

"We are going ahead with the link at 3.45 pm," he said.

Roy also said the state government has not asked the organisers to give any undertaking.

A delighted Roy said the video session is expected to be last for about an hour and it will be according to the law of the land.

"It is needless to say that any conversation here will be according to the law of the land. We hope it would happen peacefully," he added.

Roy said the organisers are delighted that the entire controversy over the video link with Rushdie will be put to rest. He said yesterday that Rushdie is currently in Europe.

The 65-year-old author's Satanic Verses has been banned in India for allegedly hurting the sentiments of the Muslim community. The book cast a shadow on the Festival when four authors read out passages from it leading to complaints against them and the organisers in courts in Jaipur and Ajmer.

Also read:

'Raj govt had received inputs of SIMI threat to Rushdie'

Comments

 

Other News

El Niño threatens India’s Rabi crops

India’s southwest monsoon ended with a 13% rainfall deficit in 2026, its weakest performance in a decade, raising concerns over agricultural production, water security and the upcoming rabi season. With El Niño expected to persist into early 2027, experts warn that declining soil moisture, dep

Regulating the data advantage: India’s new e-Commerce framework

For over a decade, India’s e-commerce story has rested on a simple premise: platforms connect buyers and sellers, while data fuels efficiency, personalisation, and scale. However, as the market matured, its structure has revealed a growing imbalance. E-commerce platforms, especially marketplace ent

Changing weather patterns, climate change responsible for Nepal floods

The interaction between active Western Disturbances, increased atmospheric moisture and the region’s complex topography aswell as global warming are important factors behind intense rainfall in the Himalayas, leading to flash floods in Nepal, according to meteorologists. Nepal

A right she cannot reach

Last summer, the two of us spent several weeks in rural Madhya Pradesh with a non-profit that works on gender justice through women’s self-help groups. We went in with a notebook full of laws. The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act. The Dowry Prohibition Act. Free legal aid for every wo

Tier-2 cities lead India’s digital credit push

Digital payments have become a reflex for urban India, but the confidence earned in paying has not yet carried over to borrowing. That is the central finding of `How Urban India Pays Report 2026`, released by Pahlé India Foundation in collaboration with Amazon Pay. Based on a survey of 5,149 consu

India calls for doubling bilateral trade with UK by 2030

Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal has called upon businesses in India and the United Kingdom to translate the opportunities created by the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) into expanded trade, investment, partnerships and job creation. Addressing the Bu

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter