Rushdie's India Fear: A Satirist Forgets His Own Satire

• The author finds Salman Rushdie's recent fear of contemporary India ironic, given his history of surviving clerical vengeance and a near-fatal attack.
• Rushdie's past dangers stemmed from global fanaticism and a fatwa, resulting in book bans, riots, and the murder of translators, not from a nation-state.
• The article points out that India's Congress government banned "The Satanic Verses" in 1988, while the current government, which Rushdie now fears, lifted the ban.
• The author argues that "Hindu India" never physically harmed Rushdie, issued a fatwa, or incited violence against him, unlike the ideological threats he previously faced.
• The piece suggests Rushdie's current stance reflects a "selective memory" and convenience, overlooking who truly threatened him versus who protected him.

Why It Matters: It critiques Salman Rushdie's current fears, highlighting his selective memory of past threats.