Sir Ahmad Salman Rushdie is a British Indian novelist and essayist best known for his controversial novel The Satanic Verses. Born in Mumbai, India, on June 19, 1947, Rushdie is considered one of the most prominent and celebrated writers of the 20th and 21st centuries. He has been awarded numerous literary prizes, including the Booker Prize in 1981 for his second novel, Midnight’s Children.

Rushdie’s early life was marked by cultural and religious diversity. He was raised in a Muslim family but his parents were also influenced by Hindu and Parsi traditions. He attended the Cathedral and John Connon School in Mumbai and then studied history at King’s College, Cambridge. After graduation, he worked as an advertising copywriter and television producer in London before starting his writing career in earnest. His first novel, Grimus, was published in 1975 and received mixed reviews. It was his second novel, Midnight’s Children, that brought him international recognition. The novel is set in India and tells the story of a child born at the stroke of midnight on the day of India’s independence from British rule. The book was awarded the Booker Prize and was later named the “Booker of Bookers,” recognizing it as the best novel to have won the prize in its first 25 years.