There are two things in Indian history - one is the incredible optimism and potential of the place, and the other is the betrayal of that potential - for example, corruption. Those two strands intertwine through the whole of Indian history, and maybe not just Indian history. Salman Rushdie betrayalcorruptionhistory share on social
I can walk into a bookshop and point out a number of books that I find very unattractive in what they say. But it doesn't occur to me to burn the bookshop down. If you don't like a book, read another book. If you start reading a book and you decide you don't like it, nobody is telling you to finish it. Salman Rushdie bookbookshopburn share on social
If you take a look at history, you will find that the understanding of what is good and evil has always existed before the individual religions. The religions were only invented by people afterwards, in order to express this idea. Salman Rushdie evilexistexpress share on social
A mature society understands that at the heart of democracy is argument. Salman Rushdie argumentdemocracyheart Change image and share on social
The whole story of migration and what that has done in interconnecting the planet is obviously something I've written about a lot. Salman Rushdie haveinterconnectlot Change image and share on social
Rohinton Mistry's celebrated novel 'Such a Long Journey' was pulled off the syllabus of Mumbai University because local extremists objected to its content. Salman Rushdie celebratecontentextremist Change image and share on social
Self-censorship is a lie to yourself; if you are going to be trying to seriously create art, to create literary art, and you decide to hold back, to censor yourself, then you are a fool to yourself and it would be better that you kept your mouth shut and did not speak. Salman Rushdie artbackcensor share on social
What I've always tried to find in my books are points at which the private lives of the characters, and also my own, intersect with the public life of the culture. Salman Rushdie bookcharacterculture Change image and share on social
The thing that always attracted me to New York was the sense of being in a place where a lot of people had a lot of stories not unlike mine. Everybody comes from somewhere else. Everyone's got a Polish grandmother, some kind of metamorphosis in their family circumstances. That's a very big thing - the experience of not living where you started. Salman Rushdie attractbigcircumstance share on social
The great concern is that year after year, rising numbers of journalists are being killed in pursuit of their work. They are increasingly seen as not being neutral but rather as combatants by one side or the other. Salman Rushdie combatantconcerngreat share on social