Here are key dates in the life of the British writer Salman Rushdie:
June 19, 1947: He is born in Bombay, now Mumbai, in India.
- 1981: His second novel, "Midnight's Children", wins the Booker Prize. In 2008 it is named the "Booker of Bookers" after winning a public vote for the best Booker-winning novel in 40 years of the award.
- 1988: "The Satanic Verses" is released and swiftly banned in Bangladesh, Pakistan, South Africa and other countries. It is banned for import to India.
- 1989: Iran issues a fatwa, or religious decree, that calls for Rushdie to be killed for insulting Islam in "The Satanic Verses". He is driven underground and for over a decade lives between safe houses and under the pseudonym Joseph Anton.
- 1990: Newsweek publishes an essay by Rushdie, "In Good Faith", in which he seeks to defend the novel.
- 1993: He participates in the founding the International Parliament of Writers aimed at protecting writers and freedom of speech. It is dissolved in 2003.
- 2005: "Shalimar the Clown" is published, with many narrative threads revolving around Kashmir.
- 2007: He is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to literature, prompting widespread Muslim protests, notably in Pakistan.
- 2009: Iran says the fatwa is "still valid".
- 2012: Publication of his memoir "Joseph Anton", looking back at his years underground.
- 2015: "Two Years, Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights", is released.
- 2016: Having lived in New York for around 20 years he becomes a US citizen.
- 2020: He is short listed for the Booker Prize for "Quichotte", a modern version of the Cervantes classic.
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