KOCHI: Apologies upfront for the bitter pill ahead from the literary world. Hadi Matar, 24, was not even born when former Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa in 1989, calling for the execution of Salman Rushdie and the publishers of The Satanic Verses.
However, his mind seemed poisoned enough to stab the celebrated Indian-origin author multiple times at Chautauqua Institution in New York last Friday. Rushdie, ironically, was set to speak on ‘America’s role as an asylum for writers and other artists in exile and as a home for freedom of creative expression’.
The New Yorker quite bluntly termed it a “terrorist assault”. It added: “the dark apprehension is that the terrorist who assaulted Rushdie was a radicalized Islamic militant of American upbringing — like John Updike’s imaginary terrorist in the novel ‘Terrorist,’ apparently one raised in New Jersey....”
Hadi was born to Lebanese parents, who had migrated to the US. His mother, Silvana Fardos, told the Daily Mail that Hadi used to be a “very quiet” youngster; “everyone loved him”. She added that it was a 2018 trip to Lebanon that transformed him.
“I was expecting him to come back motivated, to complete school, to get his degree and a job,” she added. “But instead, he locked himself in the basement.... One time he argued with me asking why I encouraged him to get an education instead of focusing on religion.”
In the name of religion, author J K Rowling, too, received a death threat for tweeting that she felt “very sick” over the attack on Rushdie. “Don’t worry, you are next,” responded a tweeter, Meer Asif Aziz.
In India, ‘fierce’ journalist Rana Ayyub faced the heat after she tweeted “prayers” for Rushdie’s recovery. She later deleted the tweet, and cited a “grammatical error”!
Sad, scary times we live in. India has much to delve into, considering the alarming polarisation in society. It would be sheer dishonesty to view calls to behead ‘suspended’ BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma on charges of blasphemy with political lenses. I would emphasise this, as Prof T J Joseph, whose palm was chopped off by extremists citing ‘blasphemy’, lives not very far from my office.
Hadi’s attack had a distant Indian connection, too. India was the first country to ban The Satanic Verses, a couple of months before the ayatollah’s fatwa. In response, a seething Rushdie wrote to Rajiv Gandhi, hitting out that the government should be “ashamed”.
“The book was banned after representations by two or three Muslim politicians, including Syed Shahabuddin and Khurshid Alam Khan, both members of Parliament,” he wrote.
“These persons, whom I do not hesitate to call extremists, even fundamentalists, have attacked me and my novel while stating that they had no need actually to read it. That the Government should have given in to such fires is profoundly disturbing. You know, as I know, that Mr Shahabuddin, Mr Khurshid Alam Khan and their allies don’t really care about my novel. The real issue is the Muslim vote.”
Rushdie also had the foresight to caution Rajiv that his “action in the matter” would be “an important indicator for many people around the world”. “If you confirm the ban, I’m afraid I, and many others, will have to assume the worst,” he added.
What Rushdie feared did happen, eventually.
The good news trickling in is that the Booker-winning author has been moved out of ventilator support. “Though his life-changing injuries are severe, his usual feisty & defiant sense of humour remains intact,” said his son, Zafar, on Sunday.
Talking of Rushdie’s “defiant sense of humour”, a case in point was his response to a 1990 Pakistani film titled International Gorillay, which, apparently, showed ‘him’ being ‘punished’. Back then, Rushdie lived under security cover in Britain. Though the British Board of Film Classification initially denied clearance for the movie,the writer himself ensured its release.
Rushdie recalled the film in his memoir Joseph Anton: “At the end of the film ‘Rushdie’ was indeed killed — not by the international gorillay, but by the Word itself, by thunderbolts unleashed by three large Qurans hanging in the sky over his head, which reduced the monster to ash. Personally fried by the Book of the Almighty: there was dignity in that.”
The Indian government’s silence on the attack has been blaring. Not surprising, as he was scathing in his criticism aginst the current ruling dispensation. Rushdie is a fine writer and a champion of freedom of expression. They are reasons good enough to celebrate him.
“Human beings possess a natural ‘instinct’ for freedom,” he once said in a speech. “These rights involve neither liberal nor Western fictions but rather connect to our deepest needs as human beings.” Okay, it’s time for something sweet. What can be as sweet as the nectar of freedom, especially at a time India basks in the glory of 75 years of Independence? Here are some ‘free’ idioms for the season:
Free as a bird/the air: “Unencumbered; without constraints or restrictions”
Allow free rein: “To give one complete freedom to do what one wants or chooses”
Be footloose and fancy-free: “To be free of responsibilities, including romantic commitments”
Be home free: “To be assured of success because the most difficult part is over”
Free ride: “An unfair advantage or special treatment that a person receives without earning it or paying for it.”
Free-range kids: “Children who are granted ample freedom with limited parental supervision, within boundaries considered appropriate by their parents”
Break free: “To move away or separate from someone or something”
The best things in life are free: “Often the things that have the most value or quality cost nothing; the price of something does not always properly indicate its value”
Free spirit: “Someone who does not conform to social norms or expectations”
The truth will set you free: “Accepting the truth of a situation will allow you to move forward with and seek happiness in your life”