Tag: salman rushdie

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‘Knife’ – A Gripping Tale of Survival and Resilience

This was a necessary book for me to write: a way to take charge of what happened, and to answer violence with art,” the author says…reports Asian Lite News

Internationally renowned author and Booker Prize-winner Salman Rushdie’s new memoir, ‘KNIFE: Meditations After an Attempted Murder’, a gripping account of surviving an attempt on his life 30 years after the fatwa was ordered against him, will be published by Penguin Random House in more than 15 territories on April 16, 2024.  

Speaking out for the first time about the traumatic events of August 12, 2022, ‘Knife’ is a powerful, deeply personal and ultimately uplifting meditation on life, loss, love, the power of art, finding the strength to keep going—and to stand up again.  

“This was a necessary book for me to write: a way to take charge of what happened, and to answer violence with art,” the author says.

“It is a searing book, and a reminder of the power of words to make sense of the unthinkable. We are honoured to publish it, and amazed at Salman’s determination to tell his story, and to return to the work he loves,’ says Nihar Malaviya, CEO of Penguin Random House. 

Rushdie has been translated into over forty languages, his sixteen works of fiction include Midnight’s Children—for which he won the Booker Prize in 1981, the Booker of Bookers on the 25th anniversary of the prize and Best of the Booker on the 40th anniversary—   ‘Shame’, ‘The Ground Beneath Her Feet’, ‘The Satanic Verses’, ‘Haroun and the Sea of Stories’ and  ‘Quichotte’ (shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2019). In June 2007, he received Knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours and joined the prestigious Companions of Honour in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list in her Platinum Jubilee year. His new novel,  ‘Victory City’—a tale for our times, styled as an ancient epic and a testament to the power of storytelling—was published globally in February this year to major critical acclaim.

ALSO READ-Salman Rushdie makes 1st public appearance since stabbing

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Salman Rushdie makes 1st public appearance since stabbing

Salman Rushdie makes 1st public appearance since stabbing incident. (Photo:twitter.com/PENamerica)

His appearance at the 2023 Literary Gala at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan on Thursday night came as a surprise…reports Asian Lite News

Nine months after a near-lethal attack that left him debilitated and without vision in one eye, Booker Prize-winning author Salman Rushdie made his first appearance at the PEN Americas annual gala in New York City.

His appearance at the 2023 Literary Gala at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan on Thursday night came as a surprise as it had not been earlier announced.

PEN America honored the India-born author with the PEN Centenary Courage Award.

“Rushdie accepted the award in person, in his first public appearance since he was severely wounded in a knife attack nine months ago,” said the nonprofit organization that works to defend and celebrate free expression in the US and worldwide through the advancement of literature and human rights.

As the crowd greeted him with cheers and a standing ovation, the 75-year-old noted author said: “Well, hi everybody… It’s nice to be back — as opposed to not being back, which was also an option. I’m pretty glad the dice rolled this way.

“I just thought if there’s a right thing to chose as a re-entry, it’s this… It’s being part of the world of books, the fight against censorship and for human rights.”

Rushdie said he was accepting the award on behalf of the “heroes” who rushed the dias at the Chautauqua Institute in New York State and tackled his assailant after he was repeatedly stabbed on August 12, 2022.

“If it had not been for these people, I most certainly would not be standing here today. I was the target that day, but they were the heroes. The courage, that day, was all theirs. I owe my life to them.”

As a result of the murderous attack, Rushdie, who had received death threats from Iran in the 1980s after his novel ‘The Satanic Verses’ was published, lost sight in one of his eye, had three serious wounds in his neck, one hand incapacitated because the nerves in his arm were cut, as well as about 15 more wounds in his chest and torso.

Hadi Matar, 24, accused of stabbing Rushdie pleaded not guilty to second-degree attempted murder and assault charges when he appeared in court on August 18, 2022.

Concluding his speech, the author said: “Terrorism must not terrorise us. Violence must not deter us… The struggle goes on.”

PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel said: “After the shock of the attack, there was a long period when we had real doubts about whether Salman was going to make it and what kind of shape he might be in if he did. So to see him back, in action, at this event, with his PEN America family is a remarkable testament to his resilience and strength and a kind of emblem of our work — that in the face of lethal threats, the writer triumphs and the voice continues.”

ALSO READ: Manushi makes her Cannes red carpet debut

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‘Who will not be disturbed by this?’

Talk to her about the peculiar silence of moderate Muslims whenever violence manifests in the name of Islam, and she asserts that have a very “different character”…writes Sukant Deepak

Even as images of author Salman Rushdie being stabbed multiple times on stage in New York by Hadi Matar, suspected of being sympathetic to Shia extremism, continues to haunt, another author

against whom several fatwas shave been issued for her “anti-Islamic remarks” says that she is extremely disturbed after a religious leader, addressing a rally of thousands in Pakistan yesterday called for her to be assassinated.

Known for her writings on the oppression of women and criticism of religion, several of her works are banned in Bangladesh, the country of her origin. She has been living in exile since 1994. After living for more than 10 years in Europe and the US, she moved to India in 2004.

“While I have had several fatwas issued against me in the past, this is the first time that someone has announced my name in front of such a huge gathering and demanded that I be killed. Who will not be disturbed by this? Look at my Twitter handle, there are so many comments saying that after Rushdie, it is now my turn. I am still confused about whether to delete or retain those tweets. Maybe I should not, if something happens to me, people should get to know… Of course, I do have protection, but anyone will feel insecure after what happened to Rushdie, no?” she tells.

Talk to her about the peculiar silence of moderate Muslims whenever violence manifests in the name of Islam, and she asserts that have a very “different character”.

“While some progressive Muslims are against violence, they are afraid to speak as that might put their lives in danger. But then, silence is of two kinds — one that emerges from fear — and the other that comes from supporting them without speaking a word.”

Stressing that while many religions have slowly evolved, changed with the times and started considering man and women equal, one can still face dire consequences if Islam is criticised, Nasrin adds: “If I scrutinise Islam, rest assured, I will be attacked. Sadly, it has been exempted from criticism. Let us not forget that Islamic rule has been used for political purposes as well.

“Instead of laws based on equality and justice, they have rules against them. Children are being brainwashed to become fundamentalists and terrorists. So how do you expect change?” she concludes.

ALSO READ-Iran denies role in attack on Rushdie

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Salman Rushdie on ventilator after stabbing

Rushdie was stabbed at least once in the neck and in the abdomen, reports Asian Lite News

Author Salman Rushdie, who was stabbed at a literary event in New York state, is currently on a ventilator and unable to speak, according to his agent.

In a statement late Friday night, Rushdie’s agent Andrew Wylie said: “The news is not good… Salman will likely lose one eye; the nerves in his arm were severed; and his liver was stabbed and damaged,” dpa news agency reported.

The attacker stormed the stage at the event held in the Chautauqua Institution attended by hundreds of people at around 11 a.m. on Friday and stabbed the 75-year-old Indian-born novelist, according to a police spokesman.

Several event staff and spectators then rushed the suspect and brought him to the ground and a police officer arrested the 24-year-old male identified as Hadi Matar from Fairview, New Jersey, the spokesman said.

Rushdie was treated by a doctor who was in the audience until rescue workers arrived and took the author to hospital by helicopter.

He was stabbed at least once in the neck and in the abdomen, authorities said

The attacker is thought to have acted alone, the spokesman added.

Rushdie was giving a lecture at a cultural centre as part of a series titled “More than Shelter” which intended to discuss the US as a safe haven for exiled writers and persecuted artists.

Because of his 1988 work “The Satanic Verses”, a fatwa was issued against Rushdie by then-Iranian revolutionary leader Ayatollah Khomeini calling for the author’s death.

Some Muslims felt their religious sensibilities were offended by the work.

Whether Friday’s attack was at all related to the decades-old fatwa was unclear.

Rushdie’s publisher last year said the fatwa has long since stopped affecting the author’s life, and that he is no longer restricted in where he goes and no longer needs bodyguards.

The writer told German magazine Stern days earlier that he felt safe in the US, and that the threat was from a long time ago.

Writers including JK Rowling and Stephen King expressed their horror at the attack. US writers’ organization PEN America said it was “reeling from shock and horror at word of a brutal, premeditated attack” on Rushdie.

“Salman Rushdie has been targeted for his words for decades but has never flinched nor faltered,” PEN America chief executive Suzanne Nossel said in a statement.

Rushdie was born in Mumbai in 1947, the year of Indian independence.

He later studied history at Cambridge University in Britain.

He had his breakthrough as an author with the book “Midnight’s Children”, which was awarded the prestigious Booker Prize in 1981.

In it, he tells the story of India’s detachment from the British Empire based on the life stories of protagonists who are born at the precise moment of independence and are endowed with supernatural abilities.

Rushdie has published more than two dozen fiction, non-fiction, and other writings overall.

His style is referred to as Magic Realism, in which realistic events are interwoven with fantastic elements.

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Salman Rushdie leads Queen’s birthday honours list

Queen’s Birthday Honours: Salman Rushdie is named a Companion of Honour, an exclusive club with membership limited to just 65 people at any given time, for services to literature…reports Asian Lite News

Salman Rushdie, the Mumbai-born author of the Booker Prize-winning novel ‘Midnight’s Children’, leads a list of over 40 professionals and community champions of Indian-origin to be honoured in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

Rushdie is named a Companion of Honour, an exclusive club with membership limited to just 65 people at any given time, for services to literature in a list released yesterday night as the Jubilee Honours to mark the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II’s 70 years of service to the UK.

“It’s a privilege to be included in such illustrious company, both past and present,” said the 74-year-old author, who was the subject of a fatwa by Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini for his controversial novel ‘The Satanic Verses’ over 30 years ago.

The Companion of Honour is a special award granted to those who have made a major contribution to the arts, science, medicine, or government lasting over a long period of time.

Very few receive this high honour, which has been conferred on the likes of former British Prime Ministers Winston Churchill and John Major and renowned physicist Stephen Hawking in the past.

“Born in Bombay, he later attended Rugby School and King’s College, Cambridge, where he read History,” reads the citation for Salman Rusdhie, author of 14 novels.

“Beginning his career in advertising, ‘Midnight’s Children’ was twice (1993 and 2008) voted Best of the Bookers by the public. He was knighted for services to literature in 2007. He is also a storied author of non-fiction, an essayist, co-editor and a noted humanist,” it notes.

Others honoured with some of the higher royal awards coinciding with celebrations of the 96-year-old monarch’s 70-year reign, include a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for Avnish Mitter Goyal, Chair of Care England, for services to social care and philanthropy.

Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBEs) include hotelier Kishorkant (Vinu) Bhattessa for charitable and voluntary services, particularly during COVID-19, and Liverpool headteacher Rohit Naik for services to education.

Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) recognise a large number of British Indians who have contributed to their local community, including Councillors Pranav Bhanot and Ameet Jogia.

In the healthcare sector, Professor Indranil Chakravorty of the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO) and orthopaedic surgeon Professor Srimathi Rajagopalan Murali are among those to be conferred with an MBE.

Dr Chila Kumari Singh Burman, Sandeep Mahal, Professor Daljit Nagra and Dr Chithra Ramakrishnan are among those honoured with MBEs in the field of arts, culture and literature.

“I’m thrilled and humbled to receive this significant recognition for my academic and voluntary work,” said Dr Nikita Ved, Research Fellow and Lecturer in Medicine at the University of Oxford and co-founder of the 1928 Institute dedicated to British Indian research, who received an MBE for services to COVID-19 Response.

“Although myself and others have reservations on the phrase ‘Member of the British Empire’, I am accepting this award in the spirit of being acknowledged, particularly at my age as I feel many young people are overlooked for their hard work,” said the 32-year-old academic.

Further down the list, Varsha Kumari Mistry – a Forensic Practitioner at Scotland Yard – has been conferred a Medallist of the Order of the British Empire (BEM) for services to diversity and inclusion in policing and to the Hindu community.

In tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, recipients have been awarded for their outstanding contributions across all sectors, but in particular for sustained public service, the environment and sustainability, and youth engagement.

“This historic Platinum Jubilee is not only a celebration of the monarch but of the qualities she possesses,” said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

“The honours she confers this week reflect many of those qualities that have been invaluable from all different walks of life and to communities across the UK. I pay tribute to all of this year’s winners. Their stories of courage and compassion are an inspiration to us all,” he said.

A total of 1,134 candidates have been named for honours across different fields by the UK Cabinet Office – which compiles the list, with 13.3 per cent of the successful candidates from an ethnic minority background.

Others to receive high honours include a knighthood for crime writer Ian Rankin and CBEs for actor Damian Lewis and fashion designer Stella McCartney.

The honours list is annually published to coincide with the Queen’s official birthday celebrations in early June. This year is being marked with added pomp and ceremony as the Platinum Jubilee of the longest-serving British monarch.

ALSO READ-Queen offers thanks as Jubilee celebrations begin