In India, it has become easy to attack cultural artefacts: Salman Rushdie

''Yes, I would write the Satanic Verses again,'' said author Salman Rushdie at the Express' Idea Exchange programme on Thursday evening, accompanying filmmaker Deepa Mehta whose adaptation of Midnight's Children will release in India soon.

"It is time we stop listening to people who didn't like the book, but to those who liked it. Books survive if enough people care about them,'' Rushdie said.

His relationship with India ''damaged'' because he wasn't allowed to visit the country for nine years, Rushdie is not surprised the movie will release in India. ''It is normal for films to release,'' he said. ''It will be a great moment when India will not feel the need for a censor board. What is wrong with the emergency? The Indian Express reported it,'' Rushdie said. Deepa Mehta added: ''There is nothing controversial about history.''

How did the collaboration go between the friends who worked together on the film – Rushdie wrote the screenplay, Mehta directed it – ''it is not always easy to work with friends, but we liked each other's work,'' was the common refrain.

Drawing on his bitter experiences at the Jaipur Literary Festival last year, which he was not allowed to attend because of protests from Muslims groups, Rushdie said: ''In India, it has become easy to attack cultural artifacts. People believe their identity is not defined by what you love, but by what you hate or are offended by.'' ''It is a spreading problem,'' he said.

And why does it happen? ''Because the people are apathetic and the state does not protect; the state should tell people some things are valuable. When it doesn't do this, smaller groups are allowed to get away with protests.''

''I was upset when India banned the Satanic Verses – the first in the world to do so. Thankfully in this age you cannot ban books, because you can download them!''

... contd.

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