Not much. Well, the only difference is that Bal Thackeray doesn’t exhort his lampoons to kill authors: he only tells them to burn their books. Khomeini on the other hand asked for the head of Salman Rushdie for writing The Satanic Verses.
So what should the normal citizen do? Burn the copies of Shiv Sena’s mouthpiece Samna in which he has asked his “boys” to destroy the copies of Shivaji – The Hindu King in Muslim India, a book written by James Laine? I know this is not going to happen.
The best reply would be, read the book. The book should be read by as many people as possible. In fact, if possible, the book should be available for free for sometime. It should be gifted for all occasions: let it be a birthday gift, an anniversary gift, or just-for-the-heck-of-it gift.
And what is the government doing? I mean, you can just barge into any shop and pick up the copies and then burn them? A pathetic statement on our law and order situation.
It’s good that HC lifted the ban, but it reeks of dirty politics. If ban on this book can be lifted, then why not on The Satanic Verses too? It seems the government can antagonize the Hindus but not the Muslims. This is double standards.
Still, as a country, it’s shameful that people like Bal Thackeray exist amidst us and are considered respected figures. What moral ground do we have then to criticize the Taliban?
