Thaindian News

Jaipur, Jan 20 (IANS) Cancellation of author Salman Rushdie’s visit to the Jaipur Literature Festival evoked mixed reactions, with most people terming it a major jolt to the spirit of one of Asia’s biggest literature events and a threat to freedom of speech.

Jitendra Nigam, a Jaipur-based columnist, said that it is a very unfortunate that Rushdie’s visit has been cancelled.

“It was not about the visit of a particular author, it was about the freedom of speech in this country,” he said.

Nitisha Sharma, associated with local NGO Inaya Foundation, said that the state government and law enforcement agencies should have ensured proper protection for the author.

“The major reason behind the cancellation of the visit was that no one in the government firmly said that they could provide security to the author. Instead, every official and politician was saying that the organisers should persuade Rushdie to stay away from the event,” she said.

In the opinion of bank official Rohit Singh, the Congress party wanted to gain political advantages by cancelling his visit to Jaipur.

“The Congress was not in a situation to let the author participate in the event after protest by Muslim organisations. It was for the appeasement of the minority community that the author had to cancel his visit,” said Singh.

However, Abdul Rasool, a resident of Ramganj area in the city, said that it was a wise decision on the part of the fest organisers and the author himself that he decided to stay away from the event.

“The visit’s cancellation is in favour of our sentiments. It is better to have a peaceful fest then have Rushdie participating in it,” he said.

After days of controversy over his visit, Rushdie, author of “The Satanic Verses”, Friday announced he has called off his visit to the festival after intelligence sources told him that paid assassins from the Mumbai underworld were out to kill him.