‘Muslim countries must rethink terror’

JAIPUR: Salman Rushdie, author and winner of the Booker of Bookers, ended his self-imposed ban on speaking to the media on the last day of the Jaipur Literary Festival. Rushdie patiently discussed an expansive range of issues, demonstrating the same amiability that had marked his exchanges with literati and fans at the festival.

On terrorism: The opposite of fighting is not, or should not be, submission. Terrorism needs to be fought, and the only way of doing that is to deny it legitimacy. Muslim countries across the world need to rethink if they want to be represented by terrorists. When they come to a unanimous decision, they will be able to defeat terrorism. We also need a world that is broader and accepting in its outlook.

On India and Mumbai: I actually feel the urge to come back to India and write a book. But I can’t do that on flying visits. Maybe I will live here for a few months like Suketu [Mehta, author of Maximum City] did to understand the new India. The Bombay I grew up in has changed in many ways. Though the basic structure remains the same, too many changes have come within the city. Also, the periphery - or what I would assume was the periphery when I was living in the city — is now an integral part of the city.

Therefore I need to come back and learn Mumbai anew. Whether I am writing about India or not, it remains a part of me and shapes my being since I grew up here. All my novels have always had a central Indian character and that will not change.

On his writing: I think there has been a change in the way I write and though I wish to ascribe that to larger issues, the truth is that I am simply growing old. I am no longer the young thirty-something man who wrote Midnight’s Children. Basically, what happens is that age brings experience, which would translate into both concision and control. To explain this simply: had I been young, Shalimar the Clown would have been at least 600 pages, not the under-400 pages book that I managed it to be. When I read my earlier books I feel there were some bits that could have been different, but that only comes with hindsight. And by definition, hindsight cannot be about the present. So, as people change and grow older, the subject matter of their thought differs and changes. And ultimately it is this that dictates the way one writes.

On racism and the Shilpa Shetty controversy: There is an adage, “If you can’t handle the heat, get out of the kitchen.” I believe two participants of the show walked out on the first day. Also, you need to understand that [Jade] Goody, who was Shetty’s closest adversary, was evicted by 82 per cent vote by the people after the show. So I think there is a message there.

Having said that, I agree that racism exists and is extremely damaging. Until one experiences racism, one does not see oneself as the other. When I was in school there was a lot of racism. In fact, my sister was a victim of a racist attack. Of course, I have never experienced it in the recent past.