NEW DELHI – Salman Rushdie’s controversial 1988 novel The Satanic Verses has made its way back to Indian bookshops, decades after being banned for sparking riots and outrage over its alleged blasphemy. The return of the novel, long shrouded in controversy, is tied not to a debate about free speech but to missing government paperwork.

Delhi’s Bahrisons Booksellers are selling a ’limited stock’ of Salman Rushdie’s controversial novel ‘The Satanic Verses’. It will be available in Pune soon. However, the development has been criticised by some Muslim organisations.

Salman Rushdie's controversial book 'The Satanic Verses' is back on sale in India after a 36-year ban, sparking renewed debate on freedom of speech and religious sentiments.

While the book has generated significant interest from readers, publishers, and authors alike, many other bookstores have decided not to import it. This selective availability has added to the growing discussions around its release.

Maulana Yasood Abbas of the All India Shia Personal Law Board (AISPLB) emphasised the importance of maintaining respect for Muslim sentiments.

Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses has arrived at a bookstore in India 37 years after it was published. An import ban by Rajiv Gandhi government kept it away from Rushdie's native country for almost four decades.

The Satanic Verses', banned in 1988, reappears in India. Muslim groups urge government to reinstate ban, citing offence to sentiments. Available at Bahrisons Booksellers.

British-Indian novelist Salman Rushdie's controversial book "The Satanic Verses" has quietly returned to India 36 years after it was banned by the Rajiv Gandhi government.

Back in 1988, the content of Salman Rushdie's book 'The Satanic Verses' received major backlash as the members of the Muslim community raised objections, claiming that it was blasphemous and offensive to the Islamic faith.

Salman Rushdie’s controversial book The Satanic Verses is available again in Indian bookstores after a court lifted a three-decade ban. The availability of the book in bookstores followed last month’s decision by a court in India over a challenge to the government’s 1988 decision to ban imports of the novel by Rushdie, who was born in Mumbai.