'People are much more afraid,' Salman Rushdie said, speaking of the years following the fatwa Iranian clerics had declared against him. 'There has been a chilling effect. Now people think twice before they make... almost any remark about Islam. They think twice in case somebody decides to be offended.'
The 39-year-old gave birth to Krishna on February 20.
As External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee concluded his speech at the Conference, a delegate rose on his feet, displaying a Hindi daily, which had carried out a story on Wednesday on the personal website of the Consul General -- www.ausafsayeed.com -- alleging that it was selling Rushdie's books online.
Rushdie's comments came at a time when extremists have again driven a literary figure into hiding -- this time Martin Rynja, a Dutch-born London publisher who had agreed to release The Jewel of Medina, a controversial novel about the Prophet Muhammad.
Indian-born novelist Sir Salman Rushdie, whose book Satanic Verses inflamed the Islamic world, regularly demanded money from British detectives who protected him, according to a former protection officer. Ex-special branch detective Ron Evans, who guarded Sir Salman for three years at the height of the threats on his life generated by a fatwa issued by the Iranian Ayatollah, has claimed this in his autobiography On Her Majesty's Service.
Salman Rushdie was named winner of the Best of the Booker award for Midnight's Children. When voting closed on July 8, over 7,800 people had voted (online and SMS) for the six shortlisted titles, with 36 percent voting for Midnight's Children.
Two Booker prize winners Kiran Desai and Salman Rushdie will be the major attractions of 2007's 10-day Jaipur Heritage International Festival, which begins on January 13.
Booker-prize winning British author Ian McEwan, a close friend of Salman Rushdie, had offered the latter a place to hide when a death decree was issued against the controversial Indian-origin author by Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini.A detailed profile of the Atonement author in the New Yorker reveals that for a few days following the death sentence issued by Khomeini in February 1989, Rushdie had taken refuge at McEwan's cottage in Cotswolds, in central England.
There was no doubt about Pakistan's complicity in the Mumbai attacks, internationally acclaimed India-born author Salman Rushdie has said and urged Britain to stop aid to Islamabad for failing to act against terrorists operating from its soil.
Pulitzer-prize winning author Jhumpa Lahiri's new collection of short stores, Unaccustomed Earth, has gone to number 1 in The New York Times bestseller list less than two weeks after its publication on April 1. She is the only Indian novelist after Salman Rushdie to achieve the feat.
Straw, however, revealed his own doubts on whether Rushdie deserved the honour bestowed on him, saying he could not comprehend the author's writings.
As Gordon Brown prepares to succeed Prime Minister Tony Blair, the naming of Rushdie in the honours list and subsequent events have created the impression of a clueless party.
As criticism mounted across the Pakistan political spectrum for granting knighthood for Rushdie, Britain defended its decision saying that the writer was honoured for his literary contribution.
Debut writer Mohammed Hanif and former winner Salman Rushdie were among 13 writers selected for the longlist of this year's Man Booker Prize for fiction. The judges chose writers from Australia, India, Ireland, Pakistan and the UK from 112 entries.
Rushdie, whose latest book Shalimar the Clown is set against the backdrop of Kashmir, said terrorists have brought 'an intolerant Islam into the Kashmir valley'.
Rushdie went into hiding in 1989 after the Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini issued him with a death threat following the publication of his book, The Satanic Verses. He returned to public life only 10 years later when Tehran withdrew its support for the death sentence.
Having tied the knot four times himself, controversial Indian-origin writer Salman Rushdie says he doesn't think marriage is necessary. Attacking the institution of marriage, Rushdie said he did not believe in it and that women rushed to the altar only because they wanted to wear a 'wedding dress'. The author of The Satanic Verses has been married four times, most recently to Padma Lakshmi, from whom he split last year.
They do not represent the quest for human justice. That, I think, is one of the great mistakes of the left," Rushdie said.
The archive, including personal diaries written during the decade that he spent living in hiding from Islamic extremists, is being bought by the Emory University in Athlanta.
Actress Nandita Das' directorial debut 'Firaaq' has won a special prize at the 49th Thessaloniki Film Festival in Greece, before its release here.
The recent knighthood of Rushdie provoked anti-British sentiments across the Islamic fraternity with hardliners in Iran reviving calls for his murder.
The chief minister, who spoke from a written text, said he had set a precedent that should be followed by former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, whose grandfather was also granted knighthood.
A partial strike to protest the British knighthood to Indian born writer Salman Rushdie affected normal life in Srinagar on Friday.
Opposing the knighthood of writer Salman Rushdie, a forum of Muslim journalists on Wednesday asked the British government to withdraw it.
India-born author Salman Rushdie and Indian Canadian filmmaker Deepa Mehta will collaborate to produce a movie based on his prize winning novel Midnight's Children.
Achebe is probably best known for his first novel, Things Fall Apart, written in 1958.
India-born Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children is the bookies' favourite to win the 'Best of Booker' prize that will be announced this month to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the prestigious award.
The Booker Of Booker winner will now have to compete against 41 others vying for the new Best of the Booker award.
Aravind Adiga has won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2008 for his debut novel The White Tiger.
Rushdie, who faced flak from Muslim leaders across the world for his 1988 book Satanic Verses, is presently in the city and staying at the residence of industrialist Adi Godrej in suburban Juhu.
India-born British novelist Sir Salman Rushdie, voted the best of the Bookers in a public poll in Britain for his Midnight's Children, has even failed to make it to the shortlist for the '2008 Man Booker Prize'.
"I have no hesitation in saying that the ban on Salman Rushdie's book was wrong," Chidambaram, who was MoS, home affairs, when the ban was imposed in October 1988, said speaking at the Times LitFest in New Delhi.
Three Indian authors are on the 2008 Booker Prize long-list. Will any of them win the feted prize?
In a letter to The Guardian, Rushdie, who last week won the Best of the Bookers award, said that he had broken wine writer Malcolm Gluck's record for book signings. Gluck's claimed his record is 1,001 copies in 59 minutes, set at a wine warehouse in London in 1998.
'It was deranged thinking. I was more off-balance than I ever had been, but you can't imagine the pressure I was under. I simply thought I was making a statement of fellowship. As soon as I said it, I felt as if I had ripped my own tongue out,' he was quoted having told to the programme by The Sunday Times.
The Awards recognise books written last year by writers based in the UK and Ireland.
The justification came in the wake of threats issued by Al Qaeda's deputy chief to punish the United Kingdom for honouring Rushdie.
Director Rahul Dholakia's film opens a festival in the US.
Sir Salman has been spotted with a new companion, screenwriter Patrice Jorden.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances