Yesterday Praveen Swami reported that
Local intelligence officials in Rajasthan invented information that hit men were preparing to assassinate eminent author Salman Rushdie in a successful plot to deter him from attending the Jaipur Literature Festival, highly placed police sources have told The Hindu.
I didn’t post about it yesterday only because it was a little thin (and it’s absolutely extraordinary), so I decided to wait.
Now Salman Rushdie has said on Facebook and Twitter:
I have investigated this myself and am now convinced that the story is true. I was lied to by the Rajasthan authorities, and don’t know when I have felt so angry.
Staggering. So much for secular India.
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F
January 22, 2012 at 1:48 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Bunch of asses. One more item on the list showing governments and their intelligence operations being bad actors.
Achrachno
January 22, 2012 at 5:43 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Was this suppression of speech by Muslm local officials, or a bunch of lazy incompetents who just didn’t want to be bothered protecting him? Either way, they should be disciplined, IMO.
Deepak Shetty
January 22, 2012 at 7:02 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
So much for secular India
India has always been multi-religious , not secular (I think Im borrowing that from Shashi Tharoor).
That usually works out to pampering every single religion.
Ian MacDougall
January 22, 2012 at 7:34 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
According to the Council on Foreign Relations (a US-based think-tank):
“Although home to a Hindu majority, India has a Muslim population of some 150 million, making it the state with the second-largest Muslim population in the world after Indonesia. While many Indian Muslims achieve celebrity status and high-profile positions abroad and in India’s government—the current president is Muslim—India’s booming economy has left the nation’s largest minority group lagging behind. Muslims experience low literacy and high poverty rates, and Hindu-Muslim violence has claimed a disproportionate number of Muslim lives. Yet Muslims can impact elections, using their power as a voting bloc to gain concessions from the candidates who court them.”
150 million Muslims is a helluva social influence. Anywhere. Could it be just possible that certain Muslims and certain police have cooked this plot up between them?
I know it sound far-fetched, but what other cogent explanation is there?
http://www.cfr.org/india/indias-muslim-population/p13659
platyhelminthe
January 23, 2012 at 3:47 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Presumably, then, the authorities acted illegally and thus face the threat of prosecution? No?
Valencia Blackaby
January 27, 2012 at 3:36 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
yes i believe that but even a desperate lesbian would turn down LuMann LOL im doing a little better
Yen Dario
January 31, 2012 at 3:20 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
You very welcome John, it is my way of “giving back” to a hobby that has been so rewarding to me.
Sweden Rock Festival 2008 Reportage
January 22, 2012 at 11:31 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
[...] No Jaipur Literature Festival for you | Butterflies and Wheels [...]
here
May 25, 2012 at 10:02 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
the book. that doesn’t mean all those…
people liked the book or even read it-just that the marketing campaign was successful enough to convince people to buy the book.but good writing can triumph over good marketing, which is why good writing is a form of marketing in itself….