Human rights activists slam attempts to scuttle Salman Rushdie's participation at Jaipur Lit Fest

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“This is an opportunistic stand. The Chief Minister has given in too easily,” charged Kavita Srivastava, general secretary of People's Union for Civil Liberties, Rajasthan. Ms. Srivastava, along other human rights activists staged a rally at Jaipur Ambedkar Circle here on Tuesday in protest against attempts at stopping Mr. Rushdie.

“We condemn such protests against Mr. Rushdie's visit. The Chief Minister has gone all the way to Delhi to say that Mr. Rushdie is a security risk. This is just a clumsy excuse to stop him,” Ms. Srivastava said.

“Most of the opposition to Mr. Rushdie from the Muslim groups is based on misinformation. Muslims can protest against the visit of Mr. Rushdie though the protests appear to me as a diversion from the basic issues facing the Muslim community in Rajasthan. I wish Jaipur Muslims knew their priorities,” observed M.Hasan, Muslim intellectual and former Professor at the HCM Rajasthan Institute of Public Administration. “I have a strong feeling that the coming elections in UP has got something to do with all this,” noted Prof. Hasan, one of the regulars at the Festival.

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