In its first response to the stabbing of Salman Rushdie, India on Thursday condemned the “horrific attack” on the famend novelist and wished him a speedy restoration.
Rushdie, 75, was stabbed within the neck and torso on August 12 on the Chautauqua Institute in New York.
India has at all times stood in opposition to violence and extremism. “We condemn the horrific attack on Salman Rushdie and we wish him a speedy recovery,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi stated in his weekly media briefing.
The assault on Rushdie drew world condemnation and an outpouring of help for the writer.
Rushdie spent years in hiding after Iran’s supreme chief, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a ‘fatwa’ for his demise in 1989 following the publication of his novel ‘The Satanic Verses’.
In the aftermath of the assault, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that Iranian state establishments incited violence in opposition to Rushdie and that the novelist has constantly stood for common rights to freedom of expression and freedom of faith.
Hadi Matar, a 24-year-old man, was recognized because the alleged attacker.
After the assault, Iran denied any reference to the attacker.
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
