Imran Khan was greeted at the Kolkata Literary Meet by a roaring crowd, a heated exchange between the media and the organisers, and, of course, swooning ladies. The chaos and euphoria that the cricketer-turned-politician evo-ked clearly had all the tell-tale signs of it becoming the most sought-after event at the 36th Kolkata Book Fair. Before things could spill out of control, Imran walked up to the dais and quipped: “Thanks for the warm welcome.” Sanity returned.
The session began with author Rahul Bhattacha-rya reading excerpts from Pakistan: A Personal Hist-ory by Imran Khan but the course of the day gradually moved to contemporary and controversial issues.
The Rushdie question was among the first to crop up and without mincing words, Imran put across his views. “In a human community, the pain and sensitivity of other human beings cannot be ignored. It is without a doubt that Rushdie inflicted the ultimate pain on Muslims by writing derogatory things about the Prophet. The way the Jews are sensitive about the Holocaust, the sensitivities of the Muslim community should be respected.”
Moving to his home ground, Imran stressed that for the last 20 years he was the lone voice against corruption in Pakistan, but the message was lost in other issues, but today people have realised that poverty and unemployment are all a direct consequence of having a corrupt government. And, finally, that his movement to bring political change in Pakistan has become a tsunami of sorts.
Imran also blamed the rise of radicalism on the wrong policies of the government.
“It is a fact that Pakistan had no involvement in the September 11 terror attacks, yet my country has paid a big price by joining the war on terror, It has left 40,000 people killed and maimed. And I would blame this catastrophe leading to rise of radicalism.”