Almost four decades after ban, The Satanic Verses is on a bookshelf, in a store

The Khan Market bookstore has posted a message about its latest acquisition on X, and including a mention of the controversy surrounding the book. “The Satanic Verses is now in stock at Bahrisons Booksellers! This groundbreaking and 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, and art,” it posted Tuesday.

On August 12, 2022, Rushdie, facing an Iranian fatwa over the book, was stabbed multiple times by 24-year-old Lebanese-American Hadi Matar who was quoted as having justified the attack saying Rushdie had “attacked Islam.”

The sale of the book, which is available in Delhi only at Bahrisons for now, has begun a month-and-a-half after the Delhi High Court noted in response to a plea that it has no other option “except to presume that no such notification (about a ban) exists”.

This was after government authorities failed to produce the said October 5, 1988, notification banning the import of The Satanic Verses.

The Satanic Verses is being sold at Khan Market’s Bahrisons Booksellers

The ban had been ordered by the Rajiv Gandhi government at a time when it was trying to balance Muslim sentiments and a rising Ayodhya temple movement. Two years earlier, the government had passed a law overturning a Supreme Court order for alimony to be paid to Shah Bano, under pressure from some Muslim quarters, who called it intervention in Islamic personal law. Facing backlash over this from Hindu groups, the Rajiv government had facilitated removal of locks to a structure containing idols at the disputed Ram temple site. The temple movement that surged after this eventually paved the way for the BJP’s meteoric rise.

Before The Satanic Verses row, the Rajiv government was left further bruised by the Bofors scandal and an anti-defamation Bill, which was criticised for trying to censor the media. Finally, under increasing calls from Muslim clerics, the government banned the book on October 5, 1988, via a Customs order. Later, it would use that as a fig-leaf, saying it was not the book that was banned, but just its import. Among those who castigated Rajiv for the “capitulation” was Rushdie himself, who wrote an open letter to the then PM.

On Tuesday, as the book made a return, there was conspicuous silence from the political class.

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, who was Union Minister of State for Home Affairs in the Rajiv government, said a few years ago that the decision to ban the book was wrong. He reiterated his view when contacted. “I maintain the same view that I said in 2015,” he told The Indian Express.

When contacted, his party colleague and Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor said Tuesday: “This is a welcome development. I had opposed the original ban but the argument made at the time was concern about law and order, and the risk of violent disturbances. I believe that 35 years later, that risk is minimal. Indians should have the right to read all of Rushdie’s works and judge their content for themselves.”

Kolkata-based Sandipan Khan, whose 2019 petition seeking that the notification banning the import of The Satanic Verses be set aside led to the High Court order last month, is himself yet to lay his hands on a copy. On the phone, he said: “I tried to (get a copy), but could not. It is good news if the book is now available at stores.”

While the publishers of The Satanic Verse, Penguin US, were unavailable for comment, Bahrisons said it received a consignment from its US distributor this Saturday. When contacted, Penguin Random House India declined to comment saying their offices were closed until January 6.

A bookstore executive, on the condition of anonymity, said: “What happened in court is of no concern to us. Technically, we have not even imported it. We simply placed the order with the distributors and they supplied it to us. The shipment has to pass through Customs check, which was cleared.”

About whether there is a ban or not, an issue that the court order did not touch upon, the source said: “It is simple. If there was a ban, it (shipment) would not have come. Books are for the masses… and we took all the copies made available (by the distributor).”

At the bookstore Tuesday, salespersons were seen informing inquisitive readers about the new addition to their store. At least one of them was unaware of what the book was about and, after reading the blurb, asked whether it was a new publication.

It’s “very good”, a salesperson said. “Yeh banned tha, kahin bhi nahin milti thi. Ab ban hat gaya hai (This was a banned book, it could not be bought anywhere. Now the ban is removed).”

Convinced, the woman bought the book. Meanwhile, another pointed it out to a friend, surprised at seeing it in the store. “Oh, this is that book which was basically banned for the longest time!” she exclaimed.

Khan added hopefully, “If the book is available at Bahrisons, maybe it will now become available in other cities and stores.”

If Bahrisons expects some quibbles, they are about the price, a steep Rs 1,999. The official admitted The Satanic Verses “is a bit on the expensive end”. “There is a certain duty to be paid and the air fare as well,” the official said, adding that the gains were much higher. “This is simply a win of tolerance over intolerance.”