The controversy over Booker Prize winning author Salman Rushdie's no-show at the Jaipur Literature Festival refuses to die down. There are reports that the author will address the Jaipur Literature Festival via video conference on Tuesday.
Rushdie was meant to speak on the opening day of the Jaipur Literature Festival. But an Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband called for protests against Mr Rushdie's visit and demanded that his visa be cancelled.
However, Rushdie decided against attending the Literature Festival in person, claiming that he was informed by intelligence sources in Maharasthra and Rajasthan that paid hitmen were "on the way to Jaipur to kill me".
Four authors - Hari Kunzru, Amitava Kumar, Jeet Thayil and Ruchir Joshi struck a defiant note by reading from the banned book on Friday after Rushdie called off his visit citing death threats. All the four authors left Jaipur amidst speculation that
Rushdie's controversial book, 'The Satanic Verses', was published in 1988. It continues to provoke anger among a section of Muslims who say it is blasphemous and presents a distorted interpretation of the Quran.
In 1989, Iranian spiritual leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for Mr Rushdie's assassination. The writer was forced to go into hiding and change his residence repeatedly. The UK, where he was staying, backed him.
Meanwhile, in what could further stoke the controversy, a section of authors at the Jaipur Literature Festival launched a campaign demanding immediate lifting of the 23-year-old ban on the book 'The Satanic Verses'.
