Salman Rushdie's 'The Satanic Verses' returns to India after 36-year ban

New Delhi: British-Indian novelist Salman Rushdie's controversial book The Satanic Verses has quietly returned to India 36 years after it was banned by the Rajiv Gandhi government.

A "limited stock" of the book, which caused a furore against its author and content that was deemed blasphemous by Muslim organisations the world over, has been selling at Bahrisons Booksellers in the national capital for the past few days.

"It has been a few days since we got the book and the response has been very good so far. The sale has been good," Bahrisons Booksellers' owner Rajni Malhotra told PTI.

The book, priced at Rs 1,999, is only available at Bahrisons Booksellers stores across Delhi-NCR.

"@SalmanRushdie's The Satanic Verses is now in stock at Bahrisons Booksellers! This groundbreaking & provocative novel has captivated readers for decades with its imaginative storytelling and bold themes. It has also been at the centre of intense global controversy since its release, sparking debates on free expression, faith, & art," the bookseller said in a post on X.

Manasi Subramaniam, Editor-in-Chief, Penguin Random House India, also posted on the social media platform, quoting Rushdie.

"'Language is courage: the ability to conceive a thought, to speak it, and by doing so to make it true.' At long last. @SalmanRushdie's The Satanic Verses is allowed to be sold in India after a 36-year ban. Here it is at Bahrisons Bookstore in New Delhi," she wrote.

Other bookstores, including Midland Book Shop and Om Book Shop, do not plan to import the book.

In November, the Delhi High Court closed the proceedings on a petition challenging the Rajiv Gandhi government's ban on the import of the novel, saying since authorities have failed to produce the relevant notification, it has to be "presumed that it does not exist".

The order came after government authorities failed to submit the notification dated October 5, 1988, which banned the import of the book.

"In the light of the aforesaid circumstances, we have no other option except to presume that no such notification exists, and therefore, we cannot examine the validity thereof and dispose of the writ petition as infructuous," the court said.

The book ran into trouble shortly after its publication, eventually leading to Iranian leader Ruhollah Khomeini issuing a fatwa calling on Muslims to kill Rushdie and his publishers. Rushdie spent nearly 10 years in hiding in the UK and the US.

In July 1991, the novelist's Japanese translator Hitoshi Igarashi was killed in his office.

On August 12, 2022, Lebanese-American Hadi Matar stabbed Rushdie on stage at a lecture, leaving him blind in one eye.

Even though the book is available for purchase at Bahrisons, it evoked a mixed response from readers, especially due to its price.

Bala Sundaresan, a tech entrepreneur, who has always wanted a physical copy of the book was surprised to hear the price.

"I would rather wait some more time till an Indian print of the book is available. I was only interested in it because of the controversy that has surrounded it for decades, (I am) not really a Rushdie fan," the 33-year-old said.

Jayesh Verma, a 24-year-old Delhi University student, said it only makes sense for a collector or a "die-hard" Rushdie fan to buy the book at its current price.

"To be honest, those who wanted to read it because of all the controversy have already read it by downloading a soft copy. Anyone else who buys it for Rs 2,000 has to be a collector or a die-hard fan," he said.

However, some like literature student Rashmi Chatterjee plan to buy the book for "its place in India's literary history".

"You can't ignore the book, let alone its literary merit. It should be bought solely for being an argument against censorship. It marks a critical point in India's literary history," the 22-year-old said.