V.S. Naipaul: destroy the intolerant
• Hodgepodge
Nobel Prize winning author Sir Vidia Naipaul has said countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran which foment religious war must be destroyed.
In an interview published in The Observer today, the 72-year-old India-born author, however, had a word of advice for the masses: Hate oppression, but fear the oppressed.
Nadira [Naipaul's wife] suggests he loves the controversy he causes. 'He's a full-time production. He and the cat! Because he is always in some controversy or another. It's like a hydra! One goes, another comes. Battling with the Muslim Council. Battling with India. Criticised for meeting the BJP.' The list goes on, and while his wife recounts it, Naipaul shakes his head a little. If you could see his eyes, you guess they might be twinkling.