Jaipur/London: There is a storm brewing over Salman Rushdie’s proposed visit to Jaipur for this year's literature festival. Darul Uloom Deoband, the Islamic institution, has asked the Central government to cancel Rushdie's visa for hurting the sentiments of Muslims in his book Satanic Verses. But Rushdie has refused to back down. Reacting to the seminary’s demand, the author tweeted, “Re: my Indian visit, for the record, I don't need a visa.”

Rushdie is one of the celebrity authors scheduled to participate in the annual literature festival that begins on January 20. On the second day of the festival, Rushdie is slated to discuss the nuances of English on the topic ‘Inglish, Amlish, Hinglish: The chutnification of English’.

He has two other sessions at the literature festival.

“Indian government should cancel his visa as Rushdie had annoyed the religious sentiments of Muslims in the past,” Maulana Abul Qasim Nomani, vice chancellor of Darul Uloom, demanded. “We will write to the external affairs ministry, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi if the government doesn’t cancel his visa,” Nomani said. Islamic clerics had issued a fatwa against Rushdie in 1989. The fatwa was later eased but not withdrawn.

Organisers of the festival said Rushdie would arrive in India according to the original schedule. Sanjoy Roy, managing director of Teamworks Productions, which produces the Jaipur Literature Festival, said, “A literature l
platform like the Jaipur festival is a place for free speech in the best democratic traditions. Salman Rushdie has attended several literary events and forums in India in recent years without incident. This includes his attending the Commonwealth Writers Prize awards in 2000, and the Jaipur Literature Festival in 2007.” “In plural societies such as ours, it is imperative that we continue to allow avenues for unfettered literary expression,” he added. In 2007, Rushdie attended the festival at Jaipur. The visit came despite protests by some Muslim groups.