Rushdie hopes for new relationship with India<\/p>\n
NEW DELHI (AP): On his first visit to India in 12 years,
\nauthor Salman Rushdie said he hoped to begin a new relationship
\nwith the country of his birth, where his controversial book
\nSatanic Verses was banned following protests by Muslims across
\nthe world.<\/p>\n
\"This long rift between India and myself is now completely
\nover. I hope we can just turn the page and begin a new page,\"
\nRushdie told reporters Friday.<\/p>\n
Rushdie went into hiding in Europe and London after Muslim
\nextremists issued a religious edict calling for his death for
\nalleged blasphemy.<\/p>\n
Bodyguards surrounded Rushdie and photographers mobbed him as
\nhe walked into a New Delhi hotel where the Commonwealth Writer's
\nPrize was announced.<\/p>\n
Rushdie, a contender for the prize given to writers from the
\nUnited Kingdom and its former colonies, did not win. The prize
\nfor best book went to J.M. Coetzee of South Africa for Disgrace.
\nThe prize for best first book went to Jeffrey Moore of Canada for
\nPrisoner in a Red Rose Chain.<\/p>\n
Small demonstrations by Muslim organizations were held in New
\nDelhi to protest the Indian government's decision to grant
\nRushdie a visa.<\/p>\n
\"My message to Indian Muslims is that I've never been their
\nenemy and if they read my book, they would see that,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Rushdie said he would like the ban on Satanic Verses to be
\nlifted but had not sought a meeting with any government official
\nand neither had he been offered one.<\/p>\n
\"I'm just here to restore a broken connection. I'm here as a
\nwriter among writers for a literary event and as an Indian among
\nIndians,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Rushdie has been in India for eight days with his 20-year-old
\nson and said he had visited his house at Solan in the Simla Hills
\nand taken trips to Agra and Fatehpur Sikri.<\/p>\n
In an interview with BBC Radio, Rushdie said that what he had
\nmost enjoyed was being able to visit major tourist attractions -
\nsuch as the Taj Mahal - without going in disguise.<\/p>",
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