and/or www.mantra.com/jai (Dr. Jai Maharaj)
2012-01-25 22:20:23 UTC
Rushdie is 'poor', 'sub-standard' writer: Katju
PTI
The Pioneer
http://www.dailypioneer.com
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Indraprasth aka New Delhi - Salman Rushdie is a "poor" and "sub-
standard writer" who would have remained largely unknown but for his
controversial book 'Satanic Verses', according to Markandey Katju,
till recently a judge of the Supreme Court.
Katju, who is now the Chairman of Press Council of India, criticised
the admirers of India-born author based in Britain, saying they
suffered from "colonial inferiority complex" that a writer living
abroad has to be great.
"Salman Rushdie dominated the Jaipur Literature Festival. I do not
wish to get into the controversy whether banning him was correct or
not. I am raising a much more fundamental issue," he said in a
statement here.
"I have read some of Rushdie's works and am of the opinion that he is
a poor writer, and but for 'Satanic Verses' would have remained
largely unknown. Even 'Midnight's Children' is hardly great
literature," Katju contended.
He went on to add that the "whole problem with the so-called educated
Indians of today is that they still suffer from the colonial
inferiority complex. So whoever lives in London and New York must be
a great writer, while writers living in India are inferior."
On the controversy surrounding Rushdie during the festival which
ended yesterday, he said, "I am not in favour of religious
obscurantism. But neither do I wish to elevate a sub-standard writer
into a hero."
Referring to the Jaipur festival, Katju said one would have expected
"serious discussion on literature, particularly indigenous
literature" of the likes of Kabir, Premchand, Sharat Chandra, Manto,
Ghalib, Faiz, Kazi Nazrul Islam and Subramania Bharti.
"Kabir and Tulsidas are no good because they lived on the ghats of
Benaras, whereas Rushdie is great because he lives on the ghats of
the Thames! This is the mental level of our 'intellectuals and
'literati'," the former SC judge said.
Katju maintained that the whole history of the great Indian
literature, rich in its variety, from Valmiki and Vyas to modern
times should have been discussed.
There could also have been a discussion on foreign writers like
Dickens, Shaw, Victor Hugo, Balzac, Flaubert, Upton Sinclair,
Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Gorki and Pablo Neruda, he said.
"Instead the total focus at Jaipur appeared to be Rushdie. Two
personalities linked with films were projected as 'the finest poets'
in India, though to my mind their work is of a very inferior order.
This is the low level to which the Jaipur Festival sank," Katju
contended.
He said India is facing massive socio-economic problems today and
literature should address these.
"The struggle which Kabir waged against narrow sectarianism, which
Sharat Chandra waged against the caste system and women's oppression,
which Faiz waged against despotism, which Subramania Bharti waged for
nationalism and women's emancipation, which Dickens and Gorki waged
against exploitation and social injustice -- these are the matters
which should have been discussed at Jaipur. Instead, Rushdie
dominated most of the show," he said.
Stating that the Indian people are thirsty for good literature, Katju
wondered, "Where is Premchand or Sharatchandra or Faiz of today?
Where is the Dickens and Victor Hugo of today?"
Turning to Russian writer Maxim Gorki, the Press Council Chairman
said when he used to step on the streets of Russia, he used to be
mobbed by the people "because he was so much loved by the people" as
he wrote about their lives and sufferings.
"Can an Indian writer of today make the same claim? When writers get
out of touch with the people and live in a world of their own, it is
no wonder that their writings are of no use," the former judge of the
apex court said.
http://dailypioneer.com/pioneer-news/top-story/37797-rushdie-is-poor-sub-standard-writer-katju.html
More at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com
Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti
-----
About the terrorist Goon Squad:
---------------------------------------------------------------------
As everyone knows, a goon is a bully or thug who terrorizes or tries
to do away with opposition.
"Myself, Mallu. Yourself?" (V. Bhattathiri) <***@gmail.com>
tries his best to be a bully -- telling others what and when to post,
where to post and where not to post, deliberately publishing lies
about others, stalking and abusing them with hate speech -- but fails
miserably. He is really stressed out, and like his lap dog Prem
Thomas (who currently posts as "P. Rajah" <***@this.com>, and issues
*death threats* to people), is priming himself for conditions such as
stroke and heart disease. Others in the Goon Squad include
Dayashankar M. Joshi "DMJoshi" <***@gmail.com> who displays
unquestioning obedience to Goon Squad thugs, and the instigator who
posts as "Bholu" <***@hotmail.com>
---------------------------------------------------------------------
o Not for commercial use. Solely to be fairly used for the educational
purposes of research and open discussion. The contents of this post may not
have been authored by, and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the
poster. The contents are protected by copyright law and the exemption for
fair use of copyrighted works.
o If you send private e-mail to me, it will likely not be read,
considered or answered if it does not contain your full legal name, current
e-mail and postal addresses, and live-voice telephone number.
o Posted for information and discussion. Views expressed by others are
not necessarily those of the poster who may or may not have read the article.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This article may contain copyrighted material the use of
which may or may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright
owner. This material is being made available in efforts to advance the
understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic,
democratic, scientific, social, and cultural, etc., issues. It is believed
that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title
17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without
profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included
information for research, comment, discussion and educational purposes by
subscribing to USENET newsgroups or visiting web sites. For more information
go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this article for purposes of
your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the
copyright owner.
Since newsgroup posts are being removed
by forgery by one or more net terrorists,
this post may be reposted several times.
PTI
The Pioneer
http://www.dailypioneer.com
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Indraprasth aka New Delhi - Salman Rushdie is a "poor" and "sub-
standard writer" who would have remained largely unknown but for his
controversial book 'Satanic Verses', according to Markandey Katju,
till recently a judge of the Supreme Court.
Katju, who is now the Chairman of Press Council of India, criticised
the admirers of India-born author based in Britain, saying they
suffered from "colonial inferiority complex" that a writer living
abroad has to be great.
"Salman Rushdie dominated the Jaipur Literature Festival. I do not
wish to get into the controversy whether banning him was correct or
not. I am raising a much more fundamental issue," he said in a
statement here.
"I have read some of Rushdie's works and am of the opinion that he is
a poor writer, and but for 'Satanic Verses' would have remained
largely unknown. Even 'Midnight's Children' is hardly great
literature," Katju contended.
He went on to add that the "whole problem with the so-called educated
Indians of today is that they still suffer from the colonial
inferiority complex. So whoever lives in London and New York must be
a great writer, while writers living in India are inferior."
On the controversy surrounding Rushdie during the festival which
ended yesterday, he said, "I am not in favour of religious
obscurantism. But neither do I wish to elevate a sub-standard writer
into a hero."
Referring to the Jaipur festival, Katju said one would have expected
"serious discussion on literature, particularly indigenous
literature" of the likes of Kabir, Premchand, Sharat Chandra, Manto,
Ghalib, Faiz, Kazi Nazrul Islam and Subramania Bharti.
"Kabir and Tulsidas are no good because they lived on the ghats of
Benaras, whereas Rushdie is great because he lives on the ghats of
the Thames! This is the mental level of our 'intellectuals and
'literati'," the former SC judge said.
Katju maintained that the whole history of the great Indian
literature, rich in its variety, from Valmiki and Vyas to modern
times should have been discussed.
There could also have been a discussion on foreign writers like
Dickens, Shaw, Victor Hugo, Balzac, Flaubert, Upton Sinclair,
Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Gorki and Pablo Neruda, he said.
"Instead the total focus at Jaipur appeared to be Rushdie. Two
personalities linked with films were projected as 'the finest poets'
in India, though to my mind their work is of a very inferior order.
This is the low level to which the Jaipur Festival sank," Katju
contended.
He said India is facing massive socio-economic problems today and
literature should address these.
"The struggle which Kabir waged against narrow sectarianism, which
Sharat Chandra waged against the caste system and women's oppression,
which Faiz waged against despotism, which Subramania Bharti waged for
nationalism and women's emancipation, which Dickens and Gorki waged
against exploitation and social injustice -- these are the matters
which should have been discussed at Jaipur. Instead, Rushdie
dominated most of the show," he said.
Stating that the Indian people are thirsty for good literature, Katju
wondered, "Where is Premchand or Sharatchandra or Faiz of today?
Where is the Dickens and Victor Hugo of today?"
Turning to Russian writer Maxim Gorki, the Press Council Chairman
said when he used to step on the streets of Russia, he used to be
mobbed by the people "because he was so much loved by the people" as
he wrote about their lives and sufferings.
"Can an Indian writer of today make the same claim? When writers get
out of touch with the people and live in a world of their own, it is
no wonder that their writings are of no use," the former judge of the
apex court said.
http://dailypioneer.com/pioneer-news/top-story/37797-rushdie-is-poor-sub-standard-writer-katju.html
More at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com
Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti
-----
About the terrorist Goon Squad:
---------------------------------------------------------------------
As everyone knows, a goon is a bully or thug who terrorizes or tries
to do away with opposition.
"Myself, Mallu. Yourself?" (V. Bhattathiri) <***@gmail.com>
tries his best to be a bully -- telling others what and when to post,
where to post and where not to post, deliberately publishing lies
about others, stalking and abusing them with hate speech -- but fails
miserably. He is really stressed out, and like his lap dog Prem
Thomas (who currently posts as "P. Rajah" <***@this.com>, and issues
*death threats* to people), is priming himself for conditions such as
stroke and heart disease. Others in the Goon Squad include
Dayashankar M. Joshi "DMJoshi" <***@gmail.com> who displays
unquestioning obedience to Goon Squad thugs, and the instigator who
posts as "Bholu" <***@hotmail.com>
---------------------------------------------------------------------
o Not for commercial use. Solely to be fairly used for the educational
purposes of research and open discussion. The contents of this post may not
have been authored by, and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the
poster. The contents are protected by copyright law and the exemption for
fair use of copyrighted works.
o If you send private e-mail to me, it will likely not be read,
considered or answered if it does not contain your full legal name, current
e-mail and postal addresses, and live-voice telephone number.
o Posted for information and discussion. Views expressed by others are
not necessarily those of the poster who may or may not have read the article.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This article may contain copyrighted material the use of
which may or may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright
owner. This material is being made available in efforts to advance the
understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic,
democratic, scientific, social, and cultural, etc., issues. It is believed
that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title
17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without
profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included
information for research, comment, discussion and educational purposes by
subscribing to USENET newsgroups or visiting web sites. For more information
go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this article for purposes of
your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the
copyright owner.
Since newsgroup posts are being removed
by forgery by one or more net terrorists,
this post may be reposted several times.