South Africa: Indian origin author assaulted for praising Salman Rushdie

Johannesburg, March 24: An Indian-origin author in South Africa was brutally attacked and abused for praising the controversial writer Salman Rushdie.

The writer, Zainub Priya Dala was attacked last week after she expressed her love towards Rushdie's writing at a school function in Durban. The works of Salman Rushdie had created controversy and faced widespread criticism from the Muslim community.

Dala's new novel 'What about Meera' was ready to be launched on Saturday, March 21. Unfortunately it was postponed due to the attack.

According to the reports, a group of three men followed the writer when she was going to attend a festival.

The writer was forced to stop her vehicle. However, two of the men came to the car, one allegedly putting a knife to her throat while the other struck her in the face with a brick. The attackers also abused Dala verbally.

Dala said the reason of the attack might be a result of her comment during a writing forum for schools earlier in the week. She and other two authors were asked to comment on their favourite authors.

Dala replied that she liked the styles of Rushdie and Indian author Arundhati Roy. This eventually led to a number of teachers and students attending the workshop walking out in protest.

Meanwhile, Salman Rushdie also criticized the attack. Rushdie said the attack on Dala was "appalling and disgraceful".

"I'm so sorry to hear this. I hope you're recovering well. All good wishes," Rushdie said in a tweet.

.@zpdala I'm so sorry to hear this. I hope you're recovering well. All good wishes.@ImranGarda

— Salman Rushdie (@SalmanRushdie) March 20, 2015

In her reply, Dala said, "Thank you. I have my family and children around me and am recovering."

The writer has filed an assault case with the police.

However, there have been no arrests yet amid an appeal for any witnesses to come forward.

OneIndia News