Niyaz Khan: ‘Khan’ Surname Hinders My Literary Pursuits, Will Use Pen Name
Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS officer Niyaz Khan, author of ten thrillers, on Wednesday said that he saw his ‘Khan’ surname a hindrance to his ‘global literary identity’ and declared that he would use a pen name in his upcoming books to ‘conceal my religious identity’ to overcome the ‘shortcoming’.
Mr Khan, who is currently serving as deputy secretary in state public works department (PWD), said that he took the decision after being frustrated over not finding a publisher for his books in the USA and UK in the last seven years.
“I have approached more than 100 publishers in the USA and UK in the last seven years to publish my books. Despite my best efforts, I could not find a publisher in the two western countries. I strongly feel that my ‘Khan’ surname is a hindrance to my global literary identity since Islam phobia has now become a global phenomenon”, Mr Khan told this newspaper.
His book, ‘Brahmin The Great’, released recently has been widely acclaimed in literary circles in India.
The author-bureaucrat said that of around 100 publishers in USA and UK, whom he had sent his manuscripts of his books to publish, more than 50 had spurned his proposal while the remaining publishers did not even bother to reply.
“My literary works have been appreciated in India. But, my religious identity has become a major handicap for me to reach out to the global readers due to this”, he said.
Asked how celebrated writers like Salman Rushdie could get internationally reputed publishers for his works without facing any religious bias, he argued that hardly half-a-dozen Muslim authors got global literary identity.
Mr Khan said that his two upcoming books titled, ‘Innocents shoot’ and ‘Virus Killed My Lover’, both are thrillers, will find his pen name ‘Maiken A’ as author.
The two thrillers are likely to hit the market by the end of the year.
His thriller, “Brown Desert IV 786”, delving into the Israel-Palestine conflict, was released last year.
Mr Khan had shot into limelight seven years ago when he sought permission of the Madhya Pradesh government to interview Abu Salem, serving jail term in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts in Maharashtra, in prison to complete his book titled ‘Love Demands Blood’, revolving round the gangster’s romance with the Bollywood actor Monica Bedi.
But, the MP government had then shot down his request.
