ADVERTISEMENT
Salman Rushdie pulls out of Jaipur Literary Festival for security reasons
New Delhi, January 20, 2012
Well-known writer Salman Rushdie has cancelled his plans to attend the Jaipur Literary Festival, which got underway in the capital of Rajasthan today, citing security issues and ending days of speculation about whether he would make an appearance at the event or not.
The organisers of the festival, now in its fifth year, read out a statement from the Booker Prize winning author, whose proposed visit was opposed by Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband and other Muslim groups angered by alleged blasphemous content in his 1988 novel, "The Satanic Verses".
With the organisers of the five-day event insisting that their invitation to him stood, there were concerns expressed about his security in some quarters.
