Bookmarked Musings: Much ado about nothing – Rushdie’s Satanic Verses by Ramlal Agarwal

Ramlal Agarwal’s essay is based on unraveling the plot of Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses and his response to the novel.

Ever since the Satanic Verses by Rushdie was published in 1988, it has had horrendous ramifications. There have been a number of instances of arsenic and vandalism. A Japanese writer named Hitoshi  Igarari, who translated it, was stabbed to death. The novelist himself was murderously stabbed at Chautauqua Institution in New York on August 12, 2022, and has been struggling for life. J. K. Rowling received similar threats for sympathizing with the writer. The book has been banned in many countries, and India was among the first countries to do it within a month of its publication in 1989. Therefore, Indian readers only know from hearsay that it is about Mohammad, the prophet, and his sexual adventures. The present essay is based upon unraveling its plot and its tapestry.