“The great concern is that year after year, rising numbers of journalists are being killed in pursuit of their work. They are increasingly seen as not being neutral but rather as combatants by one side or the other.”

British novelist and essayist, born 1947. His fiction explores identity, colonialism, and cultural displacement through intricate, genre-blending narratives. Known for works like *Midnight’s Children* and *The Satanic Verses*, which sparked global controversy.