Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses On Indian Bookshelves After 35 Years

The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie

India-West News Desk

NEW DELHI – Salman Rushdie’s controversial 1988 novel The Satanic Verses has made its way back to Indian bookshops, decades after being banned for sparking riots and outrage over its alleged blasphemy. The return of the novel, long shrouded in controversy, is tied not to a debate about free speech but to missing government paperwork.

Inspired by the life of the prophet Muhammad, the novel became a global flashpoint for freedom of expression when Iran’s then-supreme leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa calling for Rushdie’s assassination. This forced the author into hiding for a decade. India, where Rushdie was born, banned the book in 1988 after violent protests erupted.

The recent overturning of the ban came after Delhi’s High Court ruled that the original government notification banning the book could not be found in bureaucratic records. “We have no other option except to presume that no such notification exists,” the court stated last month.

The reappearance of the book has been met with strong demand. At Bahrisons Booksellers in New Delhi’s Khan Market, the store manager reported brisk sales despite the novel’s high price of 1,999 rupees. “We’re selling out,” he noted to The Guardian. Penguin Random House India, the book’s publisher, also celebrated the development. Editor-in-chief Manasi Subramaniam posted on social media, “At long last, @SalmanRushdie’s The Satanic Verses is allowed to be sold in India.”

Some Muslim organizations have called for the ban to be reinstated, arguing that the book insults Islamic beliefs and threatens social harmony in a country where Muslims make up 14% of the population.

The novel’s return comes two years after Rushdie suffered a brutal attack in upstate New York, where he was stabbed multiple times during a public event. The attack left him critically injured, resulting in the loss of an eye. Hadi Matar, 26, has been charged with second-degree attempted murder.

Also Read: ‘Satanic Verses’ Now In India: Officials Can’t Find Paperwork On Ban