Gautam
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Mr Rushdie is due to attend the Jaipur
Literature Festival at the end of
January.
The 64-year-old writer sparked
Muslim anger with his 1989 book The
Satanic Verses.
He lived in hiding for many years after
Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini issued a
fatwa over the book.
It was regarded as blasphemous by
many Muslims, who protested by
burning the book in public.
"Indian government should cancel his
visa as Rushdie had annoyed the
religious sentiments of Muslims in the
past," the Darul Uloom Deoband
seminary's Vice-Chancellor Maulana
Abul Qasim Nomani said in a release.
He said he had put his request in
writing to Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh and Congress president Sonia
Gandhi.
"In case of no response from the
government, the Darul Uloom Deoband
will take appropriate action," he said.
Darul Uloom is based in the northern
Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which is
going to the polls in February. The
seminary's demand to cancel the
author's visa has drawn support from
several political parties.
Correspondents say no political party
wants to antagonise the Muslim
community, which constitutes 18% of
the state's voters.
This is not the first time Mr Rushdie
has visited India. He has made many
private visits to the country and also
visited the Jaipur Literary Festival in
2007.
"Regarding my Indian visit, for the
record, I don't need a visa," Mr
Rushdie wrote on the micro-blogging
site Twitter.
Organisers of the festival said the
Indian-origin author did not require a
visa.
BBC News - India seminary wants Rushdie visa cancelled
Literature Festival at the end of
January.
The 64-year-old writer sparked
Muslim anger with his 1989 book The
Satanic Verses.
He lived in hiding for many years after
Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini issued a
fatwa over the book.
It was regarded as blasphemous by
many Muslims, who protested by
burning the book in public.
"Indian government should cancel his
visa as Rushdie had annoyed the
religious sentiments of Muslims in the
past," the Darul Uloom Deoband
seminary's Vice-Chancellor Maulana
Abul Qasim Nomani said in a release.
He said he had put his request in
writing to Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh and Congress president Sonia
Gandhi.
"In case of no response from the
government, the Darul Uloom Deoband
will take appropriate action," he said.
Darul Uloom is based in the northern
Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which is
going to the polls in February. The
seminary's demand to cancel the
author's visa has drawn support from
several political parties.
Correspondents say no political party
wants to antagonise the Muslim
community, which constitutes 18% of
the state's voters.
This is not the first time Mr Rushdie
has visited India. He has made many
private visits to the country and also
visited the Jaipur Literary Festival in
2007.
"Regarding my Indian visit, for the
record, I don't need a visa," Mr
Rushdie wrote on the micro-blogging
site Twitter.
Organisers of the festival said the
Indian-origin author did not require a
visa.
BBC News - India seminary wants Rushdie visa cancelled