Rushdie, Absent From Festival, Appears on Indian Television Though Salman Rushdie's video address to a literary festival was cancelled because of threats by people enraged by his book "The Satantic Verses," India's NDTV still broadcast an interview with Mr. Rushdie, whose book has been banned in India. Mr. Rushdie had cancelled an in-person appearance at the Jaipur Literature Festival in India that began last week after Rajasthan police reported there were death threats against the author. As my colleagues have chronicled on this blog and in other spaces, Mr. Rushdie at points expressed a belief that the threats against him were fabricated; the police rebutted those claims; and festival participants read from "The Satanic Verses" in his absence to express solidarity.) Mr. Rushdie was then to appear by video, but when even that appearance was cancelled NDTV interviewed Mr. Rushdie about his experience. The video is available on CNN's INDLive site: In it, Mr. Rushdie points out his many visits unimpeded to India, including four years ago to the same Jaipur festival. He also expresses his profound disappointment, and his belief that the Indian political establishment caves to extremist viewpoints for electoral reasons. The transcript of the entire interview can be found here. In the interview with Barkha Dutt, the author says in part: The politicians are too, let's say, in bed with those groups to wish to oppose them for narrow electoral reasons, in which the police forces are unable to secure venues against demonstrators even when they know the demonstration is on its way. Later, he condemns the behavior of his detractors: I've been cast as this so called enemy of Islam, which seems ludicrous to anyone who knows how I have written and spoken over the years, the real enemies of Islam are the leaders, the Deobandis, the various extremist leaders and their followers, who behave like this, because what they do is to strengthen the extremely negative image of Islam as an intolerant, repressive, and violent culture, as an ideology masquerading as a gentle faith, whereas actually what happens every time it's crossed, or every time it dislikes something, is that it resorts to threats and violence. People like this, who behave like this, are the ones who feed that image and they are the ones responsible for the negative views of Islam in the world, and they should be called the enemies of the faith. Mr. Rushdie reiterates his belief that the information fed to him by Rajathstan police officials regarding the threat to his life was suspect. He also says he will be undeterred. I mean this is a scandal state of affairs and believe me it will not stop me coming to India. I will come to India as many times as I choose to. Do what I will and I will not allow these religious gangsters and their cronies in the government to prevent me.