Writers read excerpts from The Satanic Verses in support of Rushdie who pulled out of Jaipur event amid security fears - Jason Burke in Jaipur - guardian.co.uk, 
Sri Lankan-born Canadian novelist Michael Ondaatje reads a book before presenting his talk at the Jaipur Literature Festival. Photograph: Manish Swarup/AP
Organisers of India's biggest literary festival said on Friday they feared for the future of the event after several high-profile writers read excerpts from Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses in support of the author. The novel is banned in India.
Rushdie was scheduled to appear at the festival in Jaipur in north-west India, but said on Friday he was pulling out after a warning that hitmen had been sent to "eliminate" him by an underworld crime boss based in Mumbai.
Following the announcement, British author Hari Kunzru, speaking on the festival's main stage, read a short passage from The Satanic Verses in front of a crowd of hundreds. Other authors followed, despite efforts by organisers, including the British writer William Dalrymple, to stop them. Kunzru used Twitter to state before the reading that he aimed "to defy bigots".
The Satanic Verses prompted outrage among many Muslim communities when it was published in 1988. Friday's protests could potentially carry a jail sentence for the readers and the organisers of the festival and allow authorities to close the event, which is expected to draw 60,000 visitors. Organisers issued a statement stressing that Kunzru and the other authors acted without their prior knowledge or consent, and saying they would not tolerate any illegal action at the festival.
More than 250 writers are due to take part in the festival, including playwrights David Hare and Tom Stoppard and novelists Ben Okri and Michael Ondaatje. Oprah Winfrey is due to speak on Sunday.
Rushdie's decision to withdraw comes after two weeks of mounting uncertainty. Around noon on Friday, organisers read out a brief statement from the 64-year-old explaining that he had "been informed by intelligence sources … that paid assassins from the Mumbai underworld may be on their way to Jaipur to eliminate me".
Full story.
Rushdie was scheduled to appear at the festival in Jaipur in north-west India, but said on Friday he was pulling out after a warning that hitmen had been sent to "eliminate" him by an underworld crime boss based in Mumbai.
Following the announcement, British author Hari Kunzru, speaking on the festival's main stage, read a short passage from The Satanic Verses in front of a crowd of hundreds. Other authors followed, despite efforts by organisers, including the British writer William Dalrymple, to stop them. Kunzru used Twitter to state before the reading that he aimed "to defy bigots".
The Satanic Verses prompted outrage among many Muslim communities when it was published in 1988. Friday's protests could potentially carry a jail sentence for the readers and the organisers of the festival and allow authorities to close the event, which is expected to draw 60,000 visitors. Organisers issued a statement stressing that Kunzru and the other authors acted without their prior knowledge or consent, and saying they would not tolerate any illegal action at the festival.
More than 250 writers are due to take part in the festival, including playwrights David Hare and Tom Stoppard and novelists Ben Okri and Michael Ondaatje. Oprah Winfrey is due to speak on Sunday.
Rushdie's decision to withdraw comes after two weeks of mounting uncertainty. Around noon on Friday, organisers read out a brief statement from the 64-year-old explaining that he had "been informed by intelligence sources … that paid assassins from the Mumbai underworld may be on their way to Jaipur to eliminate me".
Full story.
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