The right to offend

Salman Rushdie, the author of The Satanic Verses, is to visit India to attend the Jaipur festival. For reasons almost purely political, the Indian government has chosen cowardice over courage in its decision not to protect him from murderous religious fanatics:

The Indian government, on the other hand, is a direct beneficiary of not only electoral politics but of the powerful values on which this country was built. If the Indian government enjoys far greater dignity than the Pakistani government, if the Indian Army general has to plead his case with the government or fight in the Supreme Court against it for a one-year extension of his term while, historically, the situation has been the reverse in Pakistan, it is because of the philosophical foundation of modern India. But the government has often chosen the cowardice of practicality over the courage of morality. And it has, once again, failed to stand up against religious thugs because it is afraid that it will lose Muslim voters in UP and elsewhere, who are crying hoarse anyway saying that they are not so stupid. It is atrocious that a representative of such a government will allow himself to be a guest speaker at the Jaipur Literature Festival when his government has not guaranteed the security of Salman Rushdie.

Of course, it's important to remember that in relation to the same (shall we say, 'controversial') author, Western governments have been equally cowardly. At any rate, it's ludicrous to think that someone could be sentenced to death for writing a work of fiction, and most will recognize this correctly as an unqualified violation of and a challenge to free speech — which includes, one must come to accept, the right to offend.