Opinion-Salman Rushdie- The SoftCopy


Right to freedom of expression under threat Is our country really democratic or is it the “mobocracy” ruling us? Are we really independent? If we are democratic, then why can’t Salman Rushdie visit the land he was born in? The recent incident in which Rushdie was effectively denied entry into his own country makes me wonder how can we live in a country where the common citizen can’t even exercise his fundamental rights.
	Of banned books and the mafia An Indian’s mind is impossible to decipher. We don’t really know what we are doing, do we? First we force creative geniuses like M.F. Hussain and Salman Rushdie to flee the country, and then we provide asylum to Taslima Nasreen, an author who fled her home country for the very same reason: blasphemy.
The shame called ‘Indian democracy’ “Oops!...I did it again!” This song by Britney Spears in many ways symbolizes Indian democracy and the current controversy involving Salman Rushdie and the Jaipur Literature Festival. “Extremist groups” threatened catastrophe if Rushdie visited India, and the government watched the entire episode unfold like a mute spectator, as it did in the cases of M.F. Hussain, Balbir Krishan, A.K. Ramanujan and Taslima Nasreen, to name just a few.
	The loopholes in our democracy Following M.F. Hussain’s exile, India is amid another controversy involving an attack on democratic rights now that Muslim right-wingers have managed to keep Salman Rushdie away from the Jaipur Literature Festival.
Salman Rushdie vs Indian democracy The episode of Salman Rushdie’s failure to attend Jaipur Literature Festival is yet another blow to freedom of speech and expression in the largest democratic state in the world. As in the case of the legendary painter M.F. Hussain, India has shown that it is unwilling to proved safe shelter for great artists who choose to express their “out of the box” ideas in ways of their own choosing.
	No country for free spirits I’m starting to see a pattern, really. It was M.F. Hussain in 2006, Taslima Nasrin in 2007 and now Salman Rushdie. An artist and two writers. What is the common thread, you ask? Why, they’re Muslims who exercised their freedom of expression.
Rushdie—yet another polemicist shunned The Jaipur Literature Festival 2012 is over. A certain Mr. Salman Rushdie refrained from attending it. Rushdie’s appearance at the festival was canceled, with the author citing alleged threats to his life from conservative Muslims and underworld gunmen who, it was reported, had been hired to kill him.
	The dawn of the theocratic age As globalization accelerates and the barriers between countries fade, countries tend to cling to their culture and traditions. This has led to the rampant growth of fundamentalism across the world. Constant watchfulness and paranoia in governments has led to acts like SOPA, PIPA and CCTVs on every corner. It is turning states into cowards that bow down to fear and are way too willing to give up freedom in the name of security.
Much ado over ‘Verses’ “Secular India,” the slogan shouted out at every election, is turning out to be a statement with a lot of question marks, thanks to the emotional, eyeball-grabbing so-called religious heads who mount protests every time someone opens up to speak against GOD.
	Indian politics’ uncomfortable relationship with the arts Arts are principally a reflection of contemporary society that has inflamed popular emotions and institutions since antiquity. All the artists whose works of arts, be it literature, painting, motion pictures et cetera took an anti-institutional take on matters have long been detested by fundamentalists and also disowned by governments over political pressures.