Essay, Biography or Paragraph on “Salman Rushdie” great author complete biography for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

Salman Rushdie

Salman Rushdie is a highly acclaimed writer whose books continue to trigger arguments on the nature of free speech and an author’s social responsibility. His book, Midnight’s Children, brought him critical acclaim and the Booker Prize in 1981. He was born in Mumbai, India, on June 19, 1947, almost exactly two months before India gained her independence from Britain. His parents, Anis Ahmed and Negin Rushdie, were devout Muslims, and Salman grew up a believer in the Islamic faith. The Rushdies were wealthy, and at the age of 14, Rushdie left for England to attend Rugby School. He had always idealised the British society, so it was a shock for him to find that he was considered an outsider at school. During this period of his life, he poured his thoughts into a short autobiographical novel called The Terminal Report. It made him seriously consider writing as a profession.

When he graduated from Rugby, he went to Pakistan, where his family had moved since he had left for England. But even at home he was now an outsider. He began to excel in school, studying history in class and English literature on his own. Rushdie graduated in 1968 with a Master of Arts in history with honours, and again returned to his family’s home in Karachi. He returned to London in 1970. Rushdie married a British woman, Clarissa Luard, making him a British subject. To pay the bills, Rushdie worked as an advertising copywriter. His first book, Grimus: A Novel, was published in 1976. His third book, Shame, which criticised the leaders and society of Pakistan, also won acclaim when. it was published in 1983, but not to the degree of Midnight’s Children. The Jaguar Smile, a short travel book, chronicled Rushdie’s. brief trip to Nicaragua in 1986. The Satanic Wrses was published in 1988 and earned widespread critical praise. This story of migration presents challenges against Islam and brought about widespread pro-test from Muslims. It was almost immediately banned in India. The most severe reaction, however, came from the Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. On Valentine’s Day, 1989, a `fatwa’, or decree, from the Ayatollah was announced, sentencing not only Salman Rushdie, but also all of the publishers and translators of The Satahic T4rses, to death. Rushdie immediately entered into hiding in London. Bounties, which quickly rose to number in mil-lions, were placed on his head for this blasphemy against Islam. Rushdie had to live under constant police protection. Dunn’ g his years in hiding, Rushdie wrote a series of novels and stories, among them Haroun and the Sea of Stories (1990) and The Moor’s Last Sigh (1995). The Ground Beneath Her Feet was published in 1999.