I walk, daily removing the stones fixated in my path
Drowning I sink in the deep sea of prohibitions
Who is mine except me alone.
-Obhiman
Come all ye seculars, ye liberals, ye feminists, ye communists, come and assemble in a big hall of shame. For once, deride yourself for being the embodiment of your hollow ideals, your vacuous morals. How could you let a woman, a self proclaimed atheist, an avowed secularist and most importantly a refugee from persecution at the hands of religious militants, get hounded, abused, assaulted and forced to flee India. Did your secular heart not bleed at this injustice? Did your feminist tongue not rot inside your mouth when you kept mum? Did your liberal mind not get a hemorrhage at the ignominy that was heaped on her? In case you are still wondering who this wretched woman is- She is Taslima Nasrin. She is the one who your Jamaat -e-Secularists failed to protect, who your Hizb-ul-Liberalism failed to speak up for. So these days, when you and your ilk are contemplating returning awards and shaming the nation and the government, do also repent for your defeaning silence that abetted the harrassment of a poor refugee.
Taslima Nasrin-Will no Indian intellectual stand up for her?
Taslima Nasrin was a relatively unknown writer in Bangladesh, till such time her book Lajja took her country by the storm. For the first time, here was an author, a Muslim woman, who was speaking of the injustices heaped on Bangladeshi Hindus. Readers may note that the subject of the book is a typical Liberal-Secular subject of discourse- the state of minorities. The book in itself was quite unremarkable except for the fact that it suddenly showed mirror to self-proclaimed Bangladeshi liberals and seculars who used to discuss the plight of Hindus in their mansions and villas, sipping champagne and playing cards. Unfortunately, instead of serving as a rallying point to unite all liberal elements in Bangladesh to campaign for minority rights, Lajja served to bring together her countrymen under the banner of religion. Her book was deemed to be blasphemous and she was declared to be a Mortad, or an Apostate from Islam. Islamists elements, religious militants, Fundamentalists of all colour banded together. Bounty was declared on her head, there were Fatwas, calls were made for her to be executed and she was publicly villified.
Bangladeshi government spoke of putting her on trial to face blasphemy charges. Fearing for her safety, Taslima fled Bangladesh. Her Bangladeshi passport was revoked, she was denied entry into her Bangladesh even when her mother and father were on their death bed.
So, Dear Seculars. Are your eyes misty? Does Taslima fit the bill of someone you would want to protect? Here is what happened next. For six years, she was allegedly denied Visa by India. When she visited Mumbai for the launch of Marathi translation of her book, fundamentalists called for her to be burnt alive. Eventually, in 2004, she got residential permit and settled in Kolkata. Taslima continued write articles and pieces for Indian media during this period. Her literary activism combined with her fearless tongue however continued to plague her. In Kolkata she was the subject of at least one Fatwa that asked for her face to be blackened. Another group offered money for her beheading. There were shrill calls for her to flee India. But Taslima persevered. However, things were turning bleak.
She was assaulted by MLAs of Owaisi’s AIMIM while releasing a book in Hyderabad. In Kolkata, Old Fatwas against her were revived, and a new one called for unlimited money for her killing. Violent protests by an “All India Minority Forum” caused chaos in Kolkata. The stage had been set. Taslima was once again forced to flee. The saddest part of all of this is that the Communist government in West Bengal was actively involved in aiding and abetting Taslima’s flight. They chose Taslima as the political tool to regain the Muslim votebank that Mamta Bannerjee was pulling away from them. Communist Leader, Biman Bose had once openly asked for Taslima to leave West Bengal.
Ultimately, a Secular and Liberal Communist government hounded Taslima Nasrin, the atheist Muslim woman, the liberal Bangladeshi refugee, the Humanist author, out of West Bengal. Inspite of her statements, “I do not want to leave India for any other country” and ” I would like to live in India till my death” and “Kolkata is where my heart lies”, Taslima was moved from one place to another, including house arrest in Delhi, when she finally sought refuge in Sweden and thence in the US.
Taslima assaulted in Hyderabad- Guess how many awards were returned?
Even today, Taslima continues to speak her heart out. She continues to long for a return to Bengal-her homeland. But her experience in India has made her see the true face of secularists. Something that educated Indians like us are only now beginning to see. Taslima still abides by the tenets of secularism, liberalism, feminism et al, but she loudly castigates Indian Liberal-secularists for their hollow promises. During the Award Wapsi drama, she openly said that most Indian seculars are pro-Muslim and anti-Hindu. One can’t blame her. Her secular Indian compatriots who remained silent when she was attacked by Muslim fanatics were now crying rivers on the fate of Muslims under Modi government. We didn’t hear from the Sagarikas and the Barkhas on how India displayed its intolerance in forcing Taslima to flee. We didn’t hear from the Prannoys and the Rajdeeps on how the government’s conduct had shamed India. Instead we heard the then Home Minister Pranab Mukherjee who said that Taslima Nasrin was harming India’s relations with friendly countries.
Open your eyes, My dear Secularists. Let hypocrisy not cloud your ideals, Let political favours not bend your morals. May you one day find the courage to protest and return Awards for the treatment meted out to Taslima Nasrin.
Nobody is allowing me to cross the field;
Each time I try to run,
Half way they pull me back suddenly by my frock,
They frighten me
-Bhoy
References:
http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article505.html
http://www.dnaindia.com/…/report-taslima-nasreen-hits-out-a…
http://www.thehindu.com/…/taslima-nasree…/article7016166.ece