
Column | The ban order on Rushdie’s book might have gone missing, but its implications live on
The HinduSt. Anthony, the patron saint of lost things, should be my personal saint. The government of India cannot find 405/12/88-CUS-III — its 1988 order banning the import of Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses. Now, in a Rushdie-esque twist, one can imagine The Satanic Verses ban lost somewhere in the overflowing Warehouse of Bans while babus scurry around desperately looking for it. Even Sandipan Khan’s lawyer admitted to The New York Times that this was not any glorious “freedom of expression judgement” but rather one about the “bureaucracy’s inefficiency.” It’s an ending more comical than happy. As that ban’s legitimate progeny proliferated and spread far and wide eating holes in society’s cultural fabric, we have realised that the ban button can feel more powerful than freedom of speech itself.
History of this topic

History Today: When Iran's Supreme leader issued a fatwa against Salman Rushdie
Firstpost
Standing with Rushdie, protecting free speech
Hindustan Times
The Satanic Verses – A 36 Year Ban In India Based On A Notification Nowhere To Be Found
Live Law
Read what Salman Rushdie wrote in open letter condemning Rajiv Gandhi for banning The Satani Verses
Op India
Muslim organizations oppose renewed sale of 'The Satanic Verses' in India
Op India
The book review that Rushdie says lit the Satanic Verses fire
India Today
Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses available in India
The Hindu
After a 36-year ban, author Salman Rushdie's 'The Satanic Verses' returns to India
Hindustan Times
Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses hits Delhi bookstores after 36-year ban
India Today
After Delhi HC ruling, can you buy Salman Rushdie’s ‘The Satanic Verses’ in India now?
Live Mint
Indian government ban on Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses quashed by court
ABC
India’s ban on Salman Rushdie ‘The Satanic Verses’ may end — thanks to missing paperwork
Associated Press
India’s ban on Salman Rushdie’s ‘The Satanic Verses’ may ease now. Why has the book been so controversial?
Firstpost
India can import Rushdie’s Satanic Verses after ban order ‘untraceable’
Al Jazeera
Delhi HC lifts import ban on Salman Rushdie's 'The Satanic Verses' after 36 years due to 'untraceable' document
Firstpost
Notification banning ‘The Satanic Verses’ untraceable, HC told
Hindustan Times
Salman Rushdie’s ’The Satanic Verses’ to stay banned in India as Delhi HC closes plea
Live Mint
After Centre fails to produce notification banning Satanic Verses, Delhi HC permits man to buy book
The Hindu
Delhi High Court permits man to buy Satanic Verses after Centre fails to produce notification banning the book
The Hindu
‘No such notification exists’: Delhi HC closes plea against 1988 ban on Salman Rushdie's 'The Satanic Verses'
Hindustan Times
Notice banning import of "The Satanic Verses" doesn't exist, petitioner free to import it: Delhi HC
Op India
Delhi HC closes plea against ban on Rushdie's 'The Satanic Verses'
Hindustan Times
Satanic Verses: India forced to lift decades-long ban on Salman Rushdie’s book due to bizarre legal loophole
The Independent
Delhi High Court Says Notification Banning Import Of Salman Rushdie's 'The Satanic Verses' Doesn't Exist As Authorities Fail To Trace It
Live Law
Salman Rushdie: Author of The Satanic Verses whose new book Knife reflects on 2022 attempt on his life
The Independent
Salman Rushdie: What is a fatwa and why did Iran issue one against the Satanic Verses author?
The Independent
How Salman Rushdie responded to the knife attack that almost killed him
The Independent
Rushdie’s Satanic Verses would probably not be published today, says Adichie
The Independent
The imaginary and real worlds of Salman Rushdie
The Hindu
Judge denies bail for Salman Rushdie’s attacker, bars interviews
India TV News
Salman Rushdie stabbed: Imran Khan condemns attack, says 'attack unjustifiable'
India TV News
Salman Rushdie ‘on the road to recovery,’ agent says
Associated Press
Salman Rushdie | The language of truth
The Hindu
Rajiv Gandhi govt. decision to ban Rushdie's book was justified, taken for law & order reasons: Natwar Singh
The Hindu
'Rajiv Gandhi banned my book because of Muslim votes', Rushdie had said in a 1998 letter
Firstpost
When India under Rajiv Gandhi became the first country to ban Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
Op India
Salman Rushdie stabbed: A look at ’fatwas’, attacks and controversies
Live Mint
Why Salman Rushdie’s book ‘The Satanic Verses’ remains so controversial
The Independent
Salman Rushdie stabbing: Kangana Ranaut condemns attack, says 'shaken beyond words'
India TV News
Rajiv govt decision to ban Rushdie's book was justified, taken for law & order reasons: Natwar Singh
India TV News
Salman Rushdie stabbed in New York. Know the controversy surrounding author's 1988 book The Satanic Verses
India TV News
Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie attacked on lecture stage in New York
Firstpost
Author Salman Rushdie attacked on lecture stage at New York event
Live Mint
Key dates in the life of author Salman Rushdie
Al Jazeera
Salman Rushdie stabbed: Javed Akhtar condemns 'barbaric attack' on The Satanic Verses author, urges action
India TV News
’I don’t want to hide’, says Salman Rushdie, 30 years after fatwa
Live Mint
How many years to correct the mistake, Rushdie asks on Satanic Verses ban
India TV News
Salman Rushdie, threatened over book, defends free speech
India TV News
Amid 'Satanic' Panic, One '80s Teen Discovered Rushdie's Charms
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