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Obsession with India cripples Pak diplomacy: Rushdie: India Today - Latest Breaking News from India, World, Business, Cricket, Sports, Bollywood.
Obsession with India cripples Pak diplomacy: Rushdie
From The Midnight's Children to The Enchantress of Florence, author Salman Rushdie has been the subject of relentless admiration in most times and sometimes incomprehensible hatred. Excerpts from an interview.
Q: How does it feel to return to the country you grew up in?
A: I always love coming. I come as much as I can. I was here two months ago, but not in Delhi. So it's nice to be here to catch up with old friends.
Q: One of the fascinating trips you made was with your second son a few years ago, and you guys made a travelogue out of that. What is it that fascinates you about this country?
A: It's just about where I am from. It was about 10 years ago that I came with him (son), and he came again with me two months ago. He's getting the bug now, which I like.
Q: Is there any standout memory of those trips?
A: For me, a country is its people more than the places. I have managed to preserve and develop a lot of close friendships here.
Q: Is going back to Mumbai actually coming back to home?
A: There is a feeling of home about the place where you were born and brought up, which is different to anywhere else. I have lived a long time in London and New York and have homes there, but the birthplace and the place of your childhood are always very close to you.
Q: During the terrorist attacks of November 2008 in Mumbai, what was going through you?
A: I was horrified. It seemed pretty clear who was doing what, and I was hoping for the safety of the people and the staff inside the building (Taj Hotel). I was glued to the TV like everyone else.
Q: The Taj is special because there is a reference to it in The Midnight's Children.
A: The Taj is special to anybody who grows up in Bombay. It's a place all of us use and have a great affection for. I took part in some of the events in New York to discuss it. It seemed quite clear that what had happened was if not orchestrated by Pakistan, then certainly enabled by it. The big question about Pakistan is a global question now.
Q: What is the way forward in dealing with what at the best of times is a hostile neighbour?
A: I hope Pakistan is beginning to get the point. The sudden mass round-up of the Taliban leadership seems extraordinary. In 10 days they have managed to round up 10 people after having failed to capture anybody for the previous decade, which suggests they knew where they were.
Q: Has the West been too lenient towards Pakistan?
A: Certainly. If you are providing large amounts of aid to a country, it's perfectly reasonable to put in a few conditions, such as not sponsoring terrorism. If the Pakistan government is now moving against the Taliban, it's a very good sign. Next, they have to move against the other groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad.
Q: The problem India has is that Pakistan is cracking down on the Taliban, which is against their and American interests, but not necessarily those against Indian interests.
A: Yes, it has been a big problem. One of the reasons why Pakistan didn't clamp down on the so-called Afghan Taliban is because they saw those people as being supporters against the growth of Indian influence in Afghanistan. The obsession with India cripples Pakistani diplomacy.
Q: You spent nine years in exile. Is there a sense of closure to it?
A: It was not a good nine years of my life, but it's over now. So it does feel like an earlier chapter. There won't be a final closure. I have got to write about it.
Q: That book, as and when it happens, will perhaps be the closest autobiography that we can expect.
A: I don't want to write a full autobiography. I think there is a particular story to tell about this 10-year period and the attack on The Satanic Verses and the consequences of that.
Q: What was the toughest moment in those nine years?
A: In the early days, there was a great deal of concern that Iran's agents would succeed in reaching their targets. It wasn't just me after all. There were publishers, translators and many others who were in more danger because they weren't receiving the same kind of police protection. I was very worried about them too.
Q: There were some serious attacks. Did that upset you?
A: My Japanese translator was killed. My Norwegian publisher, who is a close friend, was shot three times at the back but survived without any permanent injuries.
Q: Were you surprised that the Indian government was the first to ban the book?
A: That was a particular sadness. Unfortunately you could say that the fire was lit here. I wish that was not so.
Q: When you look at modern-day Iran, do you see a small Ayatollah in the making in Ahmadinejad.
A: I have no view about Ahmadinejad. But the concern about Iran has to be about what was a theological dictatorship turning into a much more straightforward military dictatorship.
Q: How difficult was your personal life during those nine years?
A: Actually it was mostly very stable. The marriage of mine which was on the verge of ending anyway did end a couple of months after trouble began. But I was very fortunate to meet the mother of my second son. We were together for a decade, and throughout that time she was a great, loyal friend and ally.
Q: How do you manage to court such beautiful women? Have you ever sat and thought about it?
A: (smiles) No, there is no reason to think about these things.
Q: So you have never been surprised?
A: Why should one be surprised? Somebody has got to do it (smiles).
Q: Has your personal life been a thing you are uncomfortable with when you have to explain it to your children?
A: No, my children know everything about me. I have always had a very frank relationship with them. There is no doubt that children get involved and it can be painful for them.
Q: Do they ask you awkward questions?
A: No, they just turn me off (laughs).
Q: Has this thought ever crossed your mind that you may die alone?
A: Everybody has that (thought), everybody dies alone.
Obsession with India cripples Pak diplomacy: Rushdie
From The Midnight's Children to The Enchantress of Florence, author Salman Rushdie has been the subject of relentless admiration in most times and sometimes incomprehensible hatred. Excerpts from an interview.
Q: How does it feel to return to the country you grew up in?
A: I always love coming. I come as much as I can. I was here two months ago, but not in Delhi. So it's nice to be here to catch up with old friends.
Q: One of the fascinating trips you made was with your second son a few years ago, and you guys made a travelogue out of that. What is it that fascinates you about this country?
A: It's just about where I am from. It was about 10 years ago that I came with him (son), and he came again with me two months ago. He's getting the bug now, which I like.
Q: Is there any standout memory of those trips?
A: For me, a country is its people more than the places. I have managed to preserve and develop a lot of close friendships here.
Q: Is going back to Mumbai actually coming back to home?
A: There is a feeling of home about the place where you were born and brought up, which is different to anywhere else. I have lived a long time in London and New York and have homes there, but the birthplace and the place of your childhood are always very close to you.
Q: During the terrorist attacks of November 2008 in Mumbai, what was going through you?
A: I was horrified. It seemed pretty clear who was doing what, and I was hoping for the safety of the people and the staff inside the building (Taj Hotel). I was glued to the TV like everyone else.
Q: The Taj is special because there is a reference to it in The Midnight's Children.
A: The Taj is special to anybody who grows up in Bombay. It's a place all of us use and have a great affection for. I took part in some of the events in New York to discuss it. It seemed quite clear that what had happened was if not orchestrated by Pakistan, then certainly enabled by it. The big question about Pakistan is a global question now.
Q: What is the way forward in dealing with what at the best of times is a hostile neighbour?
A: I hope Pakistan is beginning to get the point. The sudden mass round-up of the Taliban leadership seems extraordinary. In 10 days they have managed to round up 10 people after having failed to capture anybody for the previous decade, which suggests they knew where they were.
Q: Has the West been too lenient towards Pakistan?
A: Certainly. If you are providing large amounts of aid to a country, it's perfectly reasonable to put in a few conditions, such as not sponsoring terrorism. If the Pakistan government is now moving against the Taliban, it's a very good sign. Next, they have to move against the other groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad.
Q: The problem India has is that Pakistan is cracking down on the Taliban, which is against their and American interests, but not necessarily those against Indian interests.
A: Yes, it has been a big problem. One of the reasons why Pakistan didn't clamp down on the so-called Afghan Taliban is because they saw those people as being supporters against the growth of Indian influence in Afghanistan. The obsession with India cripples Pakistani diplomacy.
Q: You spent nine years in exile. Is there a sense of closure to it?
A: It was not a good nine years of my life, but it's over now. So it does feel like an earlier chapter. There won't be a final closure. I have got to write about it.
Q: That book, as and when it happens, will perhaps be the closest autobiography that we can expect.
A: I don't want to write a full autobiography. I think there is a particular story to tell about this 10-year period and the attack on The Satanic Verses and the consequences of that.
Q: What was the toughest moment in those nine years?
A: In the early days, there was a great deal of concern that Iran's agents would succeed in reaching their targets. It wasn't just me after all. There were publishers, translators and many others who were in more danger because they weren't receiving the same kind of police protection. I was very worried about them too.
Q: There were some serious attacks. Did that upset you?
A: My Japanese translator was killed. My Norwegian publisher, who is a close friend, was shot three times at the back but survived without any permanent injuries.
Q: Were you surprised that the Indian government was the first to ban the book?
A: That was a particular sadness. Unfortunately you could say that the fire was lit here. I wish that was not so.
Q: When you look at modern-day Iran, do you see a small Ayatollah in the making in Ahmadinejad.
A: I have no view about Ahmadinejad. But the concern about Iran has to be about what was a theological dictatorship turning into a much more straightforward military dictatorship.
Q: How difficult was your personal life during those nine years?
A: Actually it was mostly very stable. The marriage of mine which was on the verge of ending anyway did end a couple of months after trouble began. But I was very fortunate to meet the mother of my second son. We were together for a decade, and throughout that time she was a great, loyal friend and ally.
Q: How do you manage to court such beautiful women? Have you ever sat and thought about it?
A: (smiles) No, there is no reason to think about these things.
Q: So you have never been surprised?
A: Why should one be surprised? Somebody has got to do it (smiles).
Q: Has your personal life been a thing you are uncomfortable with when you have to explain it to your children?
A: No, my children know everything about me. I have always had a very frank relationship with them. There is no doubt that children get involved and it can be painful for them.
Q: Do they ask you awkward questions?
A: No, they just turn me off (laughs).
Q: Has this thought ever crossed your mind that you may die alone?
A: Everybody has that (thought), everybody dies alone.
..he is British of Indian orgin ..not an Indian citizen 
