The Jaipur Literature Festival ended amid further controversy over the involvement of Salman Rushdie, whose scheduled appearance by video link was cancelled this afternoon for security reason.

Ram Pratap, owner of the festival’s venue, Diggi Palace, took the stage prior to Rushdie’s video appearance and said he had requested police and organizers cancel the video link after reports emerged of a potential disturbance if the address went ahead as scheduled.

He said there were reports of some 300 individuals who had entered the festival site and were intent on stirring up trouble if Rushdie was allowed to speak.

Rushdie had been scheduled to attend the event but withdrew after reported threats of violence against him – reports that Rushdie later claimed were manufactured by local authorities.

Despite the controversy, the festival, touted as one of Asia’s largest literary events, attracted more than 60,000 attendees and featured several notable authors and personalities including Tom Stoppard, Annie Proulx and Oprah Winfrey.

British-born Faith Singh, a Jaipur resident and a pioneer of the five-year-old festival, said it has become “one of the most popular and most enjoyable literary events” in the world.

“I am happy it is getting bigger by the year,” she said.

The festival included more than 300 writers, panellists, poets, critics, historians, biographers, television and print journalists, scriptwriters and playwrights.

One of the talk show presenters was renowned television star Oprah Winfrey from the United States.

Sri Lankan writer Shehan Karunatilak won the festival’s DSC Literature Prize for novel Chinaman about cricket.

“The festival has an emotional attachment to [Jaipur] from where it all started,” said Namita Gokhale, one of the festival’s organizers.

William Dalrymple, an author and one of the organizers of the festival, praised the diversity of writers and works spotlighted.

“The offerings were as diverse as religion, myth, art, architecture, archaeology, music, people’s movements, democracy, politics, wildlife,” he said.

Other festival participants included David Hare, Ariel Dorfman, Ben Okri, Kiran Nagarkar, Lionel Shriver and Michael Ondatje.

Related reports

Rushdie fails to show up at festival