By IANS,
London : Indian-origin writer Salman Rushdie says he is “desperately upset” by the terrorist attacks on Mumbai – his place of birth – and strongly disagrees with the view that peace ought to be made with Taliban militants in Afghanistan.
“I do think of Bombay as my hometown,” he told the Daily Telegraph in an interview.
“Those are the streets I walked when I was learning to walk. And it’s the place that my imagination has returned to more than anywhere else.
“So, of course, I have been desperately upset by what has happened there. It’s very strange that the three cities I have loved most – London, New York and Bombay – have been subject to major terrorists attacks in the last decade.”
Rushdie strongly disagreed with the view expressed by the departing British commander in Afghanistan, Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith, who says Taliban could play a part in a future Afghan government.
“That is not my view,” Rushdie told the paper, repeating with added emphasis: “That Is Not My View.
“What, these are the people you are going to make peace with? The people who have just burnt my hometown? No, thank you. It seems to me beyond moronic to think of such a thing. There are people in the world you have to defeat. And these are those people, in our time.”
The interview, published Monday, was held when the terrorist siege of buildings in Mumbai was coming to an end.