Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses, a novel that ignited global controversy and led to a 36-year ban in India, has quietly re-entered the Indian market.
The book, banned in 1988 by the Rajiv Gandhi government, is now available in limited stock at Bahrisons Booksellers across Delhi-NCR.
“It has been a few days since we got the book, and the response has been very good so far. The sale has been good,” Bahrisons Booksellers’ owner Rajni Malhotra said.
Priced at ₹1,999, the book is exclusively available at Bahrisons stores in the capital region.
The bookseller announced the arrival of the novel on social media, stating: “@SalmanRushdie's The Satanic Verses is now in stock at Bahrisons Booksellers! This groundbreaking & provocative novel has captivated readers for decades with its imaginative storytelling and bold themes. It has also been at the centre of intense global controversy since its release, sparking debates on free expression, faith, & art.”
Manasi Subramaniam, Editor-in-Chief of Penguin Random House India, also shared the development on social media, quoting Rushdie: “'Language is courage: the ability to conceive a thought, to speak it, and by doing so to make it true.' At long last. @SalmanRushdie's The Satanic Verses is allowed to be sold in India after a 36-year ban.”
The re-entry follows a Delhi High Court decision in November, which closed proceedings on a petition challenging the government’s ban.
The court concluded that the absence of a formal notification from 1988 rendered the ban unenforceable.
“In the light of the aforesaid circumstances, we have no other option except to presume that no such notification exists, and therefore, we cannot examine the validity thereof and dispose of the writ petition as infructuous,” the court ruled.
The novel has a fraught history, with Iranian leader Ruhollah Khomeini issuing a fatwa against Rushdie following its publication.
The author spent nearly a decade in hiding, facing repeated threats. In 1991, Hitoshi Igarashi, the book’s Japanese translator, was murdered, and in 2022, Rushdie was attacked on stage during a lecture, leaving him partially blind.
Despite its availability, the book has drawn mixed reactions. While some celebrate its return as a triumph of free expression, others are hesitant due to its steep price.
“I would rather wait some more time till an Indian print of the book is available. I was only interested in it because of the controversy that has surrounded it for decades, (I am) not really a Rushdie fan,” said 33-year-old tech entrepreneur Bala Sundaresan.
Jayesh Verma, a 24-year-old Delhi University student, remarked, “To be honest, those who wanted to read it because of all the controversy have already read it by downloading a soft copy. Anyone else who buys it for ₹2,000 has to be a collector or a die-hard fan.”
However, others see it as a significant cultural milestone. Literature student Rashmi Chatterjee, 22, shared, “You can’t ignore the book, let alone its literary merit. It should be bought solely for being an argument against censorship. It marks a critical point in India’s literary history.”
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