Column | The ban order on Rushdie’s book might have gone missing, but its implications live on
4 months, 2 weeks ago

Column | The ban order on Rushdie’s book might have gone missing, but its implications live on

The Hindu  

St. 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
1 month, 2 weeks ago
Standing with Rushdie, protecting free speech
1 month, 3 weeks ago
The Satanic Verses – A 36 Year Ban In India Based On A Notification Nowhere To Be Found
2 months, 3 weeks ago
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3 months ago
Muslim organizations oppose renewed sale of 'The Satanic Verses' in India
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3 months ago
The book review that Rushdie says lit the Satanic Verses fire
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4 months, 2 weeks ago
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4 months, 3 weeks ago
Delhi HC lifts import ban on Salman Rushdie's 'The Satanic Verses' after 36 years due to 'untraceable' document
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4 months, 3 weeks ago
Delhi High Court permits man to buy Satanic Verses after Centre fails to produce notification banning the book
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4 months, 3 weeks ago
‘No such notification exists’: Delhi HC closes plea against 1988 ban on Salman Rushdie's 'The Satanic Verses'
4 months, 3 weeks ago
Notice banning import of "The Satanic Verses" doesn't exist, petitioner free to import it: Delhi HC
4 months, 3 weeks ago
Delhi HC closes plea against ban on Rushdie's 'The Satanic Verses'
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Delhi High Court Says Notification Banning Import Of Salman Rushdie's 'The Satanic Verses' Doesn't Exist As Authorities Fail To Trace It
4 months, 3 weeks ago
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2 years, 4 months ago
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Rajiv Gandhi govt. decision to ban Rushdie's book was justified, taken for law & order reasons: Natwar Singh
2 years, 7 months ago
'Rajiv Gandhi banned my book because of Muslim votes', Rushdie had said in a 1998 letter
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When India under Rajiv Gandhi became the first country to ban Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
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Salman Rushdie stabbing: Kangana Ranaut condemns attack, says 'shaken beyond words'
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Rajiv govt decision to ban Rushdie's book was justified, taken for law & order reasons: Natwar Singh
2 years, 7 months ago
Salman Rushdie stabbed in New York. Know the controversy surrounding author's 1988 book The Satanic Verses
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Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie attacked on lecture stage in New York
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Author Salman Rushdie attacked on lecture stage at New York event
2 years, 7 months ago
Key dates in the life of author Salman Rushdie
2 years, 7 months ago
Salman Rushdie stabbed: Javed Akhtar condemns 'barbaric attack' on The Satanic Verses author, urges action
2 years, 7 months ago
’I don’t want to hide’, says Salman Rushdie, 30 years after fatwa
6 years, 1 month ago
How many years to correct the mistake, Rushdie asks on Satanic Verses ban
9 years, 4 months ago
Salman Rushdie, threatened over book, defends free speech
10 years, 2 months ago
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11 years, 4 months ago

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