Why You Should Read All the Banned Books. Including The Satanic Verses.
If you are a self respecting reader of any worth you must have read at least some of the following books.- To Kill a Mokingbird, Ulysses, Catcher in the Rye, Brave New World, Animal Farm, Grapes of Wrath, Lord of the Flies, Gulliver’s Travels , Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Yes they are no ordinary books but familiar literary classics taught today in virtually all leading universities around the world . Yet these are also the books that were banned in different times for one reason or other.
This begs the question. Are most banned books brilliant? Or lets put it this way. Do politicians and the clergy ban certain books because they are brilliant?
Take for example the Chatholic Church’s Index Librorum Prohibirorum. The Index was the list of books banned by the church and regularly printed until 1966. It had in it not only the books of literary giants like John Milton and Francis Bacon but also the works of the greatest scientific and intellectual minds that we have ever known namely Kepler, Voltaire, Pascal, David Hume, Jean-Jacques Rousseau etc.
Publications like Oxford bring out lists like `100 best books’ that literary snobs like yours truly regularly scour to see what books we can tick off our bucket list. Its virtually a compilation of all the banned books in the world.
With few exceptions – (like Taslima Nasreen’s Lajja which was just a bad book very badly written ) most banned books in my opinion are outstanding and have stood the test of time.
Banned books are fantastic for the obvious reasons. They question the status quo, challenge existing paradigms, question idiotic beliefs no matter how sacred, and provoke you to think anew. The very reasons the politicians and the clergy would not want you to touch them. But what is good writing if it won’t give you a fresh perspective. And what is freedom of expression without the freedom to offend. Because for how long can you read Paulo Choelho or Chetan Bhagat
Rushdi’s Satanic Verses may not be an outstanding book. Its admittedly not even Rushdie’s best book. Midnight’s Children stands too tall for comparison. But it asks a fundamental question.
What’s In The Satanic Verses that get’s the Mulla’s goat.
Most people who rile against The Satanic Verses have not read it. Ayatolla Khomeini certainly did not read it nor have the Deobandis. In fact most liberals, even the highly roused ones at the Jaipur Literary Festival have not read it either. They speak up for Rushdie being flag- waving activists of the freedom of expression . I got my copy long before flipkart.com came to our doorsteps. Just like everyone else those days , I got my copy deviously via a relative visiting Europe.
Is the book against Islam? Yes the chapter `The Return to Jahilia ’ is certainly a pointed satire on Prophet Mohammed and his wives but it would be a very narrow reading of the book to say that its an attack on Islam alone. It infact takes on all three Semitic religions namely Christianity, Islam and Judaism.
The books asks a crucial question. Must we trust a man who goes up some mountain and claims to speak with God and writes the so –called godly instructions in a book that all must revere? But it was not only Prophet Muhammad who was `enlightenend’ on a hill by a God. Moses, one of the most revered prophet of both the Jews and Christians went up Mount Sinai to confabulate with God before coming back with the commandments. Abraham , Noha , Joshua, and every Old Testament prophet claimed to have a direct hotline with God.
Unlike in the East, religious enquiry has never been the tradition in Semitic religions . If you are a true Christian you have to believe in the immaculate conception or the Resurrection. Doubting any of them is striking at the very core of Christianity. Similarly you cannot question any of the verses in the Koran. More now for fear of losing your head than for any other reason.
In the East, religious enquiry has been the corner stone of faiths like Hinduism and Buddhism. That’s why its so hard to understand the Hindu zealots who go crazy when any different interpretations of the Hindu texts are offered or their Gods painted in the nude. (Remember A.K. Ramanujan’s brilliant `Three Hundred Ramayans’. And we all know what they did to M. F. Hussain). But travel down South East Asian countries and you will see living examples of different versions of the Ramayana enacted in places as far off as Bali. And you just have to visit the National Museum in Delhi to see the Hindu Gods in the buff all etched in bronze and stone.
In the East truth came not so much from the sacred texts or Gods but from a deep enquiry that every individual could do for himself.
What is meditation if not an open enquiry into everything? Broadly speaking the sacred texts of the East for example the Upanishads and the Diamond Sutra urged one to question, to explore and live a life based on ones observations.
There is no such scope of questioning in the Semitic faiths. If you want any truth its there in the Bible and the Koran or the Torah. And there can be no debate about it.
The Satanic Verses is an attempt at questioning as it is an satire on the Semitic faiths . According to some accounts, though disputed by many Muslim scholars, it is believed that Prophet Mohammad during the course of dictating the Koran, got few verses from the Koran deleted . He claimed those verses had been inspired by the devil. The Satanic Verses asks how does one verify which verse was inspired by the devil and which by God. The book also offers examples of how the Prophet conveniently deleted verses that harmed his business interests and included verses that profited him personally. The Satanic Verses had tried to start a debate on all these questions. But all it did was open a can of worms.
Very nice. It seems like a conspiracy to stop people from using their brains and revolting against the religious heads and all those who have power.
Yes Himanshu its something like that too.
informative and engaging write-up.I am surprised about the Lajja mention – found the book very well researched and written. Not surprised about its ban, though.
Im glad you found it informative Akhila. Maybe its a personal taste then. Did not rally enjoy Lajja so much.
another good write up Sanjay. really enjoyed it.. have read couple of banned books and it gives totally different view to problems/discussion and beliefs.
Thanks Pankaj.
quite a thoughtful write-up..
my opinion.. inherently any religious school of thought (east or west) is irrational … reasoning and introspection is at the other end of the spectrum..
there is a fine line between bringing up a radical view-point and deeply offending someone.. some authors do tend to publish brazen views to attract controversies and in turn provide the much needed PR for their work.
Thanks Easwarc, I agree with you. However I think the right to offend is intrinsic to the freedom of expression. One can of course protest against the offending book, hold demonstrations etc but banning it is certainly not the way.