Salman Rushdie Slams Modi, Warns of Growing Hindu Nationalism

During a September 2026 appearance on PBS’s Firing Line with Margaret Hoover, novelist Salman Rushdie didn’t hold back. When the host mentioned a New York mayor’s description of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “war criminal,” Rushdie paused, then said, “I think he’s responsible for some of that violence.” He stopped short of the exact label, noting there wasn’t a formal war, but added plainly, “He has a very brutal side.”

The conversation quickly turned to India’s democratic climate. Rushdie voiced a worry that’s been echoing through literary circles for months: journalists, writers, scholars and university professors are feeling the squeeze. “There’s an assault on the freedoms of the press and on intellectual life,” he told Hoover, highlighting a pattern of intimidation that, in his view, threatens the country’s secular foundations.

History, too, is under attack, according to the author. He accused the current administration of trying to rewrite India’s past, painting a simplistic picture where “Hindus are good and Muslims are bad.” Such a narrative, he argued, fuels division and drowns out the pluralism that once defined the nation.

Yet amid the gloom, Rushdie found a sliver of optimism. He singled out India’s young people and its women, saying they are the ones pushing back against imposed limits. “Their energy, their courage— that’s where hope lives,” he said, believing they can reclaim a truly secular India.

The discussion then shifted to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the right‑wing volunteer organisation behind much of today’s Hindu nationalist surge. Rushdie warned that the RSS is not content to stay within India’s borders. Its ideology, he cautioned, is making inroads in the United States, threatening to export an intolerant strain of Hinduism that runs counter to the country’s founding principle of secularism.

In sum, Rushdie’s message was clear: India’s democratic experiment faces serious challenges, from political brutality to the global spread of a polarising brand of nationalism. He urged vigilance, dialogue and, above all, the relentless participation of youth and women to keep the promise of a diverse, free society alive.