Daily Online Alochona: Nov 27, 2007

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

[mukto-mona] Fwd: An Appeal

In a message dated 11/28/2007 12:51:07 AM Eastern Standard Time, GopalSengupta writes:

Hon'ble Dr. Manmohan Singh

Prime Minister

Government of India

South Block, Raisina Hill,
New Delhi,
India-110 011.
Telephone: 91-11-23012312.
Fax: 91-11-23019545 / 91-11-23016857.

Hon'ble Prime Minister,

The recent agitation in Kolkata demanding that the visa of Taslima Nasreen should be invoked and that she should be asked to leave the country is most unfortunate. Ms. Nasreen has applied for Indian citizenship, and in accordance with the ruling of the Supreme Court, no person can be denied permission to reside while the application for citizenship is pending. Ms. Nasreen has been residing in Kolkata for sometime and felt at home. Ms. Nasreen is a South Asian. Universal Brotherhood and Human rights being India's civilizational values, Government of India should allow Ms. Nasreen to permanently reside in India in accordance with Indian law.

A small section of Muslims is agitated that Ms.Nasreen has authored books with text derogatory to Islam while she was in Bangladesh. We recall the story of a Jewish woman who always threw rubbish on Prophet Mohammed whenever he passed her house. When she didn't one day, Prophet Mohammed inquired why she didn't and learnt that she was not well. Prophet went to inquire about her health and wish her well. We note that many Muslim religious leaders had condemned the attack on Ms. Nasreen in Hyderabad.

I call upon the West Bengal Government to do everything to see that Ms. Nasreen can reside peacefully. The statement of the Chairperson of the Left Front in West Bengal stating that if there was any law and order problem, Ms.Nasreen could be asked to leave her residence in Kolkata is also very unfortunate. I also appeal to the Prime Minister of India to take speedy steps to grant her Overseas Citizenship by virtue of which she will have life time Indian Visa.

With warmest regards,

Yours truly,

Gopal Sengupta

Canada

gopalsengupta@aol.com

CC:

Shri Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee

Chief Minister, West Bengal

Pages

Editorial
Govt should clarify its
position on Taslima
Taslima Nasreen, one of Bangladesh's most controversial writers, has reportedly been on the run in India after extremist Muslims of West Bengal demanded her expulsion from their country. She initially left Bangladesh in 1994 after huge street protests by Islamist extremists who decried her writings as blasphemous and demanded that she be punished for hurting religious sentiments. Originally making her way to India, she then spent a few years in different Western countries until she chose a couple of years back to return to the Indian state of West Bengal – a place she describes as 'closest to what I know as home'.
   However, as it appears from the recent protests against her in Kolkata, the capital of the communist-run state, the government of the officially proclaimed secular India has been exposed to difficulties as regards providing her with a safe home. 'Mentally distressed', she is now reportedly hiding at a government residence in New Delhi under tight security. The union cabinet of India has reportedly reached a consensus to ensure her safety, while in parliament the Communist Party of India argued for granting her Indian citizenship and the Bhartiya Janata Party demanded that Taslima be granted permanent visa and asylum in the country. But we wonder what the government of Bangladesh, of which Taslima is a citizen by birth, is going to do about the issue. Otherwise critical of the past administrations of Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina, the government of Fakhruddin Ahmed in this case has so far followed in the footsteps of its predecessors: maintaining complete silence – an opportunist position indeed – about an issue causing enormous embarrassment to the country across the world.
   Taslima, an overtly atheist writer, proclaims herself to be a 'humanist', while boldly expressing her views about religions, particularly from the perspectives of women's rights, which many a faithful does not feel comfortable with. We believe many of her interpretations of religious propositions seriously lack sound political, philosophical and historical understanding of the religious texts concerned, while we have doubts about her contributions in advancing the feminist cause of the women she is apparently writing for, but we have no doubt about her democratic right, the inalienable right that is, to put forward her views on issues of public importance. In this regard, we also believe that it is the responsibility of a government in a democratic dispensation to protect the rights of every citizen in expressing their views – a responsibility the subsequent governments of Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina failed to discharge, particularly in the case of Taslima Nasreen.
   The non-partisan incumbents of the day, who made a pledge to us to work to improve on whatever democratic norms that political governments had practiced, should come forward to pave the way for Taslima to return home safely and provide adequate security to her here in Bangladesh. Most importantly, the government should make its position clear to the public, at home and abroad, on whether there is any official bar on her return to Bangladesh in the first place and whether the government is ready to provide her with adequate security if she returns home. If the government fails to do so, it will fail us, the citizens of the country, in our attempts to tell the world that we are not a moribund society incapable of accommodating dissenting views. This is a real test for a government, apparently comprising some highly educated individuals, in proving that they are capable of standing up to the basic democratic spirit of accommodating opposing views, particularly when they are tolerating many an obscurantist interpretation of religion by the obscurantist Islamists who oppose Taslima's right to put forward her interpretations of religion/s.

Taslima Nasreen controversy

I am perplexed that the Islamic organisations are so sensitive and swift in taking action against any religious intruder who hurts Islamic ideology. Ironically, they are not sensitive at all to other religions. Are Indians bending their knees to these organisations who issue fatwas? I think the government should handle these organisations with a firm hand. Otherwise these organisations will start ruining India.
   Isn't India a secular democracy? Why are the Indians continuously being dictated by some rigid Islamic fundamentalists? There is certainly a law in the country and all should abide those. If the Indian government has given Taslima Nasreen the permission to stay there, what's their problem?
   I fail to understand why a government (provincial or central) lets itself be blackmailed by any institution or persons, irrespective of their religions or affiliations. The Indians are lucky to have a constitution that protects freedom of speech. This right must be protected otherwise India may end up with conditions like that in Pakistan.
   Gopal Sengupta
   Canada

* * *
   I believe, Taslima Nasreen should be allowed to come back to Bangladesh and face her trial. If any person can prove that she hurt the feelings of any community and caused distress, she can be convicted by law of the land. She should also be prepared to spend a few months behind bars, if she gets convicted. Then it will be the responsibility of the state to ensure her safety and security after the trial, each and every citizen of Bangladesh deserves that sort of safety and security from the state. Let us take it as a test case for our independent judiciary. I believe we are matured enough to clean up our messes ourselves. We cannot spend ages as being victims of blackmails of some fundamentalist circles forever.
   MH Khan
   On e-mail

__._,_.___

***************************************** Sign the Petition : Release the Arrested University Teachers Immediately : An Appeal to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/university_teachers_arrest.htm ***************************************** Daily Star publishes an interview with Mukto-Mona http://www.mukto-mona.com/news/daily_star/daily_star_MM.pdf ***************************************** MM site is blocked in Islamic countries such as UAE. Members of those theocratic states, kindly use any proxy (such as http://proxy.org/) to access mukto-mona. ***************************************** Mukto-Mona Celebrates 5th Anniversary http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/5_yrs_anniv/index.htm ***************************************** Mukto-Mona Celebrates Earth Day: http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Earth_day2006/index.htm ***************************************** Kansat Uprising : A Special Page from Mukto-Mona http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/kansat2006/members/ ***************************************** MM Project : Grand assembly of local freedom fighters at Raumari http://www.mukto-mona.com/project/Roumari/freedom_fighters_union300306.htm ***************************************** German Bangla Radio Interviews Mukto-Mona Members: http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/german_radio/ Mukto-Mona Celebrates Darwin Day: http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/index.htm ***************************************** Some FAQ's about Mukto-Mona: http://www.mukto-mona.com/new_site/mukto-mona/faq_mm.htm **************************************************** VISIT MUKTO-MONA WEB-SITE : http://www.mukto-mona.com/ **************************************************** "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it". -Beatrice Hall [pseudonym: S.G. Tallentyre], 190

Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___

[vinnomot] Fwd: An Appeal

In a message dated 11/28/2007 12:51:07 AM Eastern Standard Time, GopalSengupta writes:

Hon'ble Dr. Manmohan Singh

Prime Minister

Government of India

South Block, Raisina Hill,
New Delhi,
India-110 011.
Telephone: 91-11-23012312.
Fax: 91-11-23019545 / 91-11-23016857.

Hon'ble Prime Minister,

The recent agitation in Kolkata demanding that the visa of Taslima Nasreen should be invoked and that she should be asked to leave the country is most unfortunate. Ms. Nasreen has applied for Indian citizenship, and in accordance with the ruling of the Supreme Court, no person can be denied permission to reside while the application for citizenship is pending. Ms. Nasreen has been residing in Kolkata for sometime and felt at home. Ms. Nasreen is a South Asian. Universal Brotherhood and Human rights being India's civilizational values, Government of India should allow Ms. Nasreen to permanently reside in India in accordance with Indian law.

A small section of Muslims is agitated that Ms.Nasreen has authored books with text derogatory to Islam while she was in Bangladesh. We recall the story of a Jewish woman who always threw rubbish on Prophet Mohammed whenever he passed her house. When she didn't one day, Prophet Mohammed inquired why she didn't and learnt that she was not well. Prophet went to inquire about her health and wish her well. We note that many Muslim religious leaders had condemned the attack on Ms. Nasreen in Hyderabad.

I call upon the West Bengal Government to do everything to see that Ms. Nasreen can reside peacefully. The statement of the Chairperson of the Left Front in West Bengal stating that if there was any law and order problem, Ms.Nasreen could be asked to leave her residence in Kolkata is also very unfortunate. I also appeal to the Prime Minister of India to take speedy steps to grant her Overseas Citizenship by virtue of which she will have life time Indian Visa.

With warmest regards,

Yours truly,

Gopal Sengupta

Canada

gopalsengupta@aol.com

CC:

Shri Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee

Chief Minister, West Bengal

Pages

Editorial
Govt should clarify its
position on Taslima
Taslima Nasreen, one of Bangladesh's most controversial writers, has reportedly been on the run in India after extremist Muslims of West Bengal demanded her expulsion from their country. She initially left Bangladesh in 1994 after huge street protests by Islamist extremists who decried her writings as blasphemous and demanded that she be punished for hurting religious sentiments. Originally making her way to India, she then spent a few years in different Western countries until she chose a couple of years back to return to the Indian state of West Bengal – a place she describes as 'closest to what I know as home'.
   However, as it appears from the recent protests against her in Kolkata, the capital of the communist-run state, the government of the officially proclaimed secular India has been exposed to difficulties as regards providing her with a safe home. 'Mentally distressed', she is now reportedly hiding at a government residence in New Delhi under tight security. The union cabinet of India has reportedly reached a consensus to ensure her safety, while in parliament the Communist Party of India argued for granting her Indian citizenship and the Bhartiya Janata Party demanded that Taslima be granted permanent visa and asylum in the country. But we wonder what the government of Bangladesh, of which Taslima is a citizen by birth, is going to do about the issue. Otherwise critical of the past administrations of Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina, the government of Fakhruddin Ahmed in this case has so far followed in the footsteps of its predecessors: maintaining complete silence – an opportunist position indeed – about an issue causing enormous embarrassment to the country across the world.
   Taslima, an overtly atheist writer, proclaims herself to be a 'humanist', while boldly expressing her views about religions, particularly from the perspectives of women's rights, which many a faithful does not feel comfortable with. We believe many of her interpretations of religious propositions seriously lack sound political, philosophical and historical understanding of the religious texts concerned, while we have doubts about her contributions in advancing the feminist cause of the women she is apparently writing for, but we have no doubt about her democratic right, the inalienable right that is, to put forward her views on issues of public importance. In this regard, we also believe that it is the responsibility of a government in a democratic dispensation to protect the rights of every citizen in expressing their views – a responsibility the subsequent governments of Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina failed to discharge, particularly in the case of Taslima Nasreen.
   The non-partisan incumbents of the day, who made a pledge to us to work to improve on whatever democratic norms that political governments had practiced, should come forward to pave the way for Taslima to return home safely and provide adequate security to her here in Bangladesh. Most importantly, the government should make its position clear to the public, at home and abroad, on whether there is any official bar on her return to Bangladesh in the first place and whether the government is ready to provide her with adequate security if she returns home. If the government fails to do so, it will fail us, the citizens of the country, in our attempts to tell the world that we are not a moribund society incapable of accommodating dissenting views. This is a real test for a government, apparently comprising some highly educated individuals, in proving that they are capable of standing up to the basic democratic spirit of accommodating opposing views, particularly when they are tolerating many an obscurantist interpretation of religion by the obscurantist Islamists who oppose Taslima's right to put forward her interpretations of religion/s.

Taslima Nasreen controversy

I am perplexed that the Islamic organisations are so sensitive and swift in taking action against any religious intruder who hurts Islamic ideology. Ironically, they are not sensitive at all to other religions. Are Indians bending their knees to these organisations who issue fatwas? I think the government should handle these organisations with a firm hand. Otherwise these organisations will start ruining India.
   Isn't India a secular democracy? Why are the Indians continuously being dictated by some rigid Islamic fundamentalists? There is certainly a law in the country and all should abide those. If the Indian government has given Taslima Nasreen the permission to stay there, what's their problem?
   I fail to understand why a government (provincial or central) lets itself be blackmailed by any institution or persons, irrespective of their religions or affiliations. The Indians are lucky to have a constitution that protects freedom of speech. This right must be protected otherwise India may end up with conditions like that in Pakistan.
   Gopal Sengupta
   Canada

* * *
   I believe, Taslima Nasreen should be allowed to come back to Bangladesh and face her trial. If any person can prove that she hurt the feelings of any community and caused distress, she can be convicted by law of the land. She should also be prepared to spend a few months behind bars, if she gets convicted. Then it will be the responsibility of the state to ensure her safety and security after the trial, each and every citizen of Bangladesh deserves that sort of safety and security from the state. Let us take it as a test case for our independent judiciary. I believe we are matured enough to clean up our messes ourselves. We cannot spend ages as being victims of blackmails of some fundamentalist circles forever.
   MH Khan
   On e-mail

__._,_.___

__,_._,___

[mukto-mona] PREZ POLITICS: Mansoor Ijaz on "A Muslim Belongs in the Cabinet"

From SAJAforum, the newsy SAJA blog - new South Asian stuff daily:
http://www.sajaforum.org

Mansoor Ijaz, financier and former Fox News Channel foreign affairs analyst,
has an op-ed in today's Christian Science Monitor. The piece is called "A
Muslim Belongs in the Cabinet: Muslims are Uniquely Qualified to Help Deter
Islamist Threats." Some excerpts:

>>>>
I asked Mr. Romney whether he would consider including qualified Americans of
the Islamic faith in his cabinet as advisers on national security matters,
given his position that "jihadism" is the principal foreign policy threat
facing America today. He answered, "...based on the numbers of American Muslims
[as a percentage] in our population, I cannot see that a cabinet position would
be justified. But of course, I would imagine that Muslims could serve at lower
levels of my administration."

Romney, whose Mormon faith has become the subject of heated debate in
Republican caucuses, wants America to be blind to his religious beliefs and
judge him on merit instead. Yet he seems to accept excluding Muslims because of
their religion, claiming they're too much of a minority for a post in
high-level policymaking. More ironic, that Islamic heritage is what qualifies
them to best engage America's Arab and Muslim communities and to help deter
Islamist threats.
<snip>
[Romney] and other candidates for the presidency from both political
parties, should actively begin searching for American Muslims and Arab
Americans who can serve in primary decisionmaking cabinet level posts. To do
otherwise is to risk promulgating policies that once again put the US straight
in the sights of the terrorists who seek to bring America down.
<<<<

See the full piece and listen to a 10-minute interview of Ijaz by Josh Burek,
the Monitor's opinion editor, here:
http://www.sajaforum.org/2007/11/prez-politics-m.html

What do you think? Post your comments at that link, too.

[ See all the items in SAJAforum's "Presidential Politics" category
http://www.sajaforum.org/2008race.html ]

*****************************************
Sign the Petition : Release the Arrested University Teachers Immediately : An Appeal to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh

http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/university_teachers_arrest.htm

*****************************************
Daily Star publishes an interview with Mukto-Mona
http://www.mukto-mona.com/news/daily_star/daily_star_MM.pdf

*****************************************

MM site is blocked in Islamic countries such as UAE. Members of those theocratic states, kindly use any proxy (such as http://proxy.org/) to access mukto-mona.

*****************************************
Mukto-Mona Celebrates 5th Anniversary

http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/5_yrs_anniv/index.htm

*****************************************
Mukto-Mona Celebrates Earth Day:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Earth_day2006/index.htm

*****************************************
Kansat Uprising : A Special Page from Mukto-Mona

http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/kansat2006/members/

*****************************************
MM Project : Grand assembly of local freedom fighters at Raumari

http://www.mukto-mona.com/project/Roumari/freedom_fighters_union300306.htm

*****************************************
German Bangla Radio Interviews Mukto-Mona Members:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/german_radio/

Mukto-Mona Celebrates Darwin Day:

http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/index.htm

*****************************************

Some FAQ's about Mukto-Mona:

http://www.mukto-mona.com/new_site/mukto-mona/faq_mm.htm

****************************************************

VISIT MUKTO-MONA WEB-SITE : http://www.mukto-mona.com/

****************************************************

"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".
-Beatrice Hall [pseudonym: S.G. Tallentyre], 190
Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/

<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/join

(Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:mukto-mona-digest@yahoogroups.com
mailto:mukto-mona-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
mukto-mona-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:

http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

[mukto-mona] Recirculating, in case you missed it: Video:The Misssing in Pakistan


Subject:	Asiapeace (ACHA) Fw: [Abdalian] Nothing but Shame.
Date:	11/27/2007 10:19:18 A.M. Eastern Standard Time
From:	omarali502000@yahoo.com

We have posted this earlier, but I think a repeat posting is not out of place. Just like Tehelka's courageous exposure of state sponsored terrorism in Gujarat, this is an example of a few people making a difference by exposing the horrendous underside of the torture and disappearance methods that have been perfected in Musharraf's illegal military state. Please watch and please forward to others.

http://missinginpakistan.wordpress.com/

__,_._,___

[mukto-mona] The man who was right, but lost - Shashi Taroor on Azad

"Islam," Azad averred, "has now as great a claim on the soil of India as Hinduism. If Hinduism has been the religion of the people here for several thousands of years Islam also has been their religion for a thousand years. Just as a Hindu can say with pride that he is an Indian and follows Hinduism, so also we can say with equal pride that we are Indians and follow Islam. I shall enlarge this orbit still further. The Indian Christian is equally entitled to say with pride that he is an Indian and is following a religion of India, namely Christianity."

THE SHASHI THAROOR COLUMN

The man who was right, but lost

Azad certainly has a place in the history of ideas that make our nation what it is today.

Photo: The Hindu Photo Library

Honoured place: Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.

In my last column I traced the life and political career of Maulana Azad, India's leading Muslim nationalist, during the struggle against the British. But it is above all as a visionary of the place of Muslims in India's civilisational history — and therefore in its present and its future — that Azad must be remembered.

When he became President of the Indian National Congress at Ramgarh in 1940, Azad delivered perhaps the greatest testament of the faith of a religious Muslim in a united India. He declared that "every fibre of my being revolted" against the thought of dividing India on communal lines. "I could not conceive it possible for a Musulman to tolerate this," he declared, "unless he has rooted out the spirit of Islam from every corner of his being." It galled him that the secularised Jinnah claimed to speak for India's Muslims and to assert their claims to being a separate nation, while the Maulana was both a deeply committed Muslim and a passionate Indian. "I am a Musulman and proud of the fact," he said to his majority non-Muslim Congress audience. "Islam's splendid traditions of thirteen hundred years are my inheritance. I am unwilling to lose even the smallest part of this inheritance. In addition, I am proud of being an Indian. I am part of that indivisible unity that is Indian nationality."

Historic claim

Then he added — and this is the key part: "I am indispensable to this noble edifice. Without me this splendid structure of India is incomplete. I am an essential element which has gone to build India. I can never surrender this claim. It was India's historic destiny that many human races and cultures and religions should flow to her, and that many a caravan should rest here.... One of the last of these caravans was that of the followers of Islam. They came here and settled for good. We brought our treasures with us, and India too was full of the riches of her own precious heritage. We gave her what she needed most, the most precious of gifts from Islam's treasury, the message of human equality. Full eleven centuries have passed by since then. Islam has now as great a claim on the soil of India as Hinduism."

It took courage to say this. The Maulana was not immersing his Islam in any soft and fuzzy notion of Indian secularism, still less was he uncritically swallowing Hindu professions of tolerance and inclusiveness. He was, instead, asserting his pride in his religious identity, in the majesty and richness of Islam, while laying claim to India for India's Muslims. He dismissed talk of Partition by arguing that he was entitled — just as any Hindu was — to a stake in all of India, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, from the Khyber Pass to Khulna; why should he accept the Pakistani idea of a narrower notion of Muslim nationhood that confined Indian Muslims to a truncated share of the heritage of their entire land? He was a far more authentic representative of Indian Islam than Jinnah, and it is part of the great tragedy of 1947 that it was Jinnah who triumphed and not Azad.

Bridging diverse opinions

Partition was, of course, less a triumph for Indian Muslims than an abdication. Azad realised this, and amongst those Muslims who opposed Partition, he represented a key bridge between secularists like Rafi Ahmed Kidwai and Saifuddin Kichlew, on the one hand, and Deobandi Muslim fundamentalists like Maulana Maudoodi (who felt that Islam should prevail over the world at large and certainly over India as a whole, and believed it to be treasonous — both to India and to Islam itself — to advocate that the religion be territorially circumscribed as Jinnah and the Muslim Leaguers did). Critics like Keonraad Elst have associated Azad with the latter view, seeing him as a surrogate fifth columnist for an eventual Islamicisation of the whole of India. While there is no denying that in some of his appeals to Muslim supporters Azad may have given grounds for such beliefs, Elst and others overlook the profundity of Azad's lifelong engagement with the multi-religious civilisational heritage of his homeland. "Islam," Azad averred, "has now as great a claim on the soil of India as Hinduism. If Hinduism has been the religion of the people here for several thousands of years Islam also has been their religion for a thousand years. Just as a Hindu can say with pride that he is an Indian and follows Hinduism, so also we can say with equal pride that we are Indians and follow Islam. I shall enlarge this orbit still further. The Indian Christian is equally entitled to say with pride that he is an Indian and is following a religion of India, namely Christianity." What became the great cliché of "unity in diversity" emerged from Azad as an affirmation of the equality of the rights of all of India's communities to be themselves.

Today, Maulana Azad is largely forgotten. To Pakistanis, he was a pathetic figure on the wrong side of history; to Indian Muslims, a symbol still, but little more; to other Indians, a name associated with medical colleges and other institutions rather than the progenitor of a legacy to either cherish or contest. His tomb lies largely neglected in Delhi. In the history of nations, the great rewards go to the winners, and Azad, by his own lights, failed in the most important cause of his life. But in the history of the ideas that make up the intellectual underpinnings of any country, there must be an honoured place for those who, whether they won or lost, had the great merit of being right. Maulana Azad was right. That is his legacy — and ours.

http://www.hindu.com/mag/2007/11/25/stories/2007112550180300.htm

With Regards

Abi

__,_._,___

[mukto-mona] Two materials on Taslima

Edit:Citizen Taslima 28 Nov 07 (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Editorial/TODAYS_EDITORIAL_Citizen_Taslima/articleshow/2573584.cms)
Those on the look out for ironies in politics would savour this. The BJP, not an unqualified supporter of the right to freedom of expression, is rooting for Taslima Nasreen whereas the CPM, which claims to uphold secular values, wants her to keep off Kolkata.

The BJP wants the government to treat Taslima, on the run from Islamic fundamentalists in Bangladesh and West Bengal, as a political refugee. The CPM would perhaps prefer to reserve its opinion on the matter. The party appears to believe that support for Taslima could lead to a loss of Muslim
votes in West Bengal.

All secular-minded people would agree with the BJP in this matter even if the party's decision has a political design to it. Taslima has been living in India since 2004. Islamic fundamentalists hate her and have physically assaulted her many times.

The open display of hostility from the religious right has prevented the government from acceding to her request for Indian citizenship. This should not be the case. Our Constitution gives pride of place to secularism and protects the right to free speech.

Of course, it is not an unqualified right. But fringe radical elements in the society can object to anything and everything. They have low tolerance levels and take the law in their hands at the first instance. More often than not, the Indian state acquiesces to their demands. Such tame surrender by the state has added muscle to their activities and isolated moderate opinion.

The Left Front government in West Bengal has also followed the same pattern and gave in to pressure from Muslim fundamentalists. Unfortunately, such acts give credence to the accusation of the political right that secularism is a euphemism for 'minority appeasement'.

There is every reason now for all secular-minded people to support Taslima's plea for citizenship. That should make it easy for the administration to protect her rights as a human being and a professional writer.

Since the BJP recognises the artist's right to freedom of speech, it should now take the lead to persuade M F Husain to end his exile.

Husain was forced to flee the country after various sangh parivar outfits filed a slew of cases against him for hurting the sensibilities of Hindus, a charge that Islamic fundamentalists have raised against Taslima. Hindu fanatics, like their Muslim counterparts vis-a-vis Taslima, have issued death threats to Husain.

Husain, one of the finest artists of his times, is an icon of secular India. His forced exile is a blot on our secular and liberal credentials. So is the failure to give citizenship to Taslima.
>>
Taslima blames it on Kolkata police by Marcus Dam (http://www.hindu.com/2007/11/28/stories/2007112858910100.htm)
"They put pressure on me; I was driven out"

I was advised to go to Jaipur against my wishes
Hope of being able to return to Kolkata keeps me going

KOLKATA: The controversial Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen on Tuesday held certain top officials of the Kolkata police responsible "for putting mental pressure" on her and finally getting her to leave the city on November 22.
Ms. Nasreen rejected the police contention that she had left on her own.
"I was under tremendous mental pressure for nearly three months while in Kolkata to leave the State for some time for reasons of my security. And then came the events of November 21," she told Hindu The over telephone.
Ms. Nasreen, who left the city for Jaipur a day after demonstrations led by the All-India Minority Forum demanding that her visa be revoked turned violent, was shifted from the Rajasthan Guest House in Delhi late on Monday night to a "safe place," where the Centre is taking care of her security.
While in Kolkata "there were suggestions that I go to certain other parts of the country and even abroad. But I kept refusing as I did not want to leave home," Ms. Nasreen said. "All these months I was not even allowed to step outside my house."
Attack in Hyderabad
Security had been tightened since she returned here from Hyderabad following an attack on her by activists of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen at a function held in that city on August 9 to mark the release of the Telugu translation of her book Sokhe.
On the remark by police authorities that she had left Kolkata of her own volition, Ms. Nasreen said: "I deny that flatly. I have been driven out of the State after withstanding three months of mental pressure from certain police officials. Finally I was advised to go to Jaipur at the instance of someone trusted to them [the police] and much against my wishes."
Her being shunted from Jaipur to the national capital under heavy security cover and then to another undisclosed location late on Monday night has left Ms. Nasreen shaken. "You can well imagine the state of my mind," she said.
"I keep hoping that I will be able to return to Kolkata, which is my home, at the earliest. That is all that keeps me going."

__._,_.___

***************************************** Sign the Petition : Release the Arrested University Teachers Immediately : An Appeal to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/university_teachers_arrest.htm ***************************************** Daily Star publishes an interview with Mukto-Mona http://www.mukto-mona.com/news/daily_star/daily_star_MM.pdf ***************************************** MM site is blocked in Islamic countries such as UAE. Members of those theocratic states, kindly use any proxy (such as http://proxy.org/) to access mukto-mona. ***************************************** Mukto-Mona Celebrates 5th Anniversary http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/5_yrs_anniv/index.htm ***************************************** Mukto-Mona Celebrates Earth Day: http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Earth_day2006/index.htm ***************************************** Kansat Uprising : A Special Page from Mukto-Mona http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/kansat2006/members/ ***************************************** MM Project : Grand assembly of local freedom fighters at Raumari http://www.mukto-mona.com/project/Roumari/freedom_fighters_union300306.htm ***************************************** German Bangla Radio Interviews Mukto-Mona Members: http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/german_radio/ Mukto-Mona Celebrates Darwin Day: http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/index.htm ***************************************** Some FAQ's about Mukto-Mona: http://www.mukto-mona.com/new_site/mukto-mona/faq_mm.htm **************************************************** VISIT MUKTO-MONA WEB-SITE : http://www.mukto-mona.com/ **************************************************** "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it". -Beatrice Hall [pseudonym: S.G. Tallentyre], 190

__,_._,___

[vinnomot] Re: [khabor.com] NetZero M. Anwar - the greatest sycophant of Tarek Zia ?

Baksal was a product of facist BAL, CPB ,NAP.agents of the then indo soviet axis.

they not only killed democracy but also planted grass on its grave.they did it to be remain in power till kiamot.

But almighty Allah was the obstacle .so the dream to be in power life long was smased on august 15 1975.

then people of bangladesh regain freedom. they regain all rights sanched by the baksalist .

for you kind information as a hovt service holder Shaheed Zia was compeled to join baksal the only party headed by mujib.

AbdurRahim Azad <Arahim.azad@gmail.com> wrote:

WRT: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/khabor/message/6832

Mr. NetZero M. Anwar

As far as I have understood by reading the history, Awami League is not a party based on a particular

ideology (like Islam or or Communism). It is a pragmatist party based on programs.The BAKSAL had

many authorotarian tenets some of which we see in todays' CTG.

As far as I understand BAKSAL was a national party with pro-people socialistic objectives. It seemed

to be an socio-political experiment with a national vanguard party. In any case , it didn't last for more

than 3 months which is a very small part of our history.

I didn't find a comprehensive list of people who didn't (or couldn't) continue with Mujib's objectives.

[Please provide me with one!] . As far as i know, General Zia jumped into the bandwagon of

BAKSAL at the very onset, out of his own free will. The rest is history.....

What I have seen during last 2-3 years that you have been using the word BKSAL, BKSALISM etc

as a slogans to impose your own views on others and as propaganda verbage [perhaps not without

any insidious intent]. You are free to put forward your logical points to explain your perspectives......

.....not through sloganeering. Hope, in future, you will maintain the decoram of the forums by being

logical and keeping yourself within the contexts.

Please answer this question(s):

What happened to your unqualified support for Tarek Zia?

Had you been just a Su-somoyer Bondhu of Tarek?

Have you changed your color, because the situation has changed?

Note: I am just a silent onlooker on contemporary history, the history that is being

         unfolded in front of our eyes. I am not an activist. I don't belong to BNP, AL or

         any other political party. It does not mean that I am neutral. Yes, I am biased.

         I am biased towards libertarian values and oppose all kinds of authoritarianisms,

         particularly the right-wing authoritarianism, not matter what camouflage it wears.

Syed Aslam

On 11/26/07, mohiuddin@netzero.net <mohiuddin@netzero.net> wrote:

Mr. Aslam,

You did not answer my question regarding Awami lovers who betrayed its leaders philosophy of BKSAL. What Mujib could have done to current Awami Leaguers who became oppoertuinsts to abandoned his dream project ?

Please answer this question if you have any .

Thanks.

M.Anwar

Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage. __._,_.___

__,_._,___

RE: [mukto-mona] Troubles of Taslima Nasreen

WRT: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/message/45146

Dear Mr.Asghar,

Salman Rushdie wrote The Satanic Verses to make some fun. I
don't believe that he is a socially conscious writer with a neck for any
serious social work to salvage the Muslims from this morass. But Taslima had a
great opportunity in this respect. She has social consciousness and could work
diligently among the masses to create some awareness. But her personal aggrandizement
made her oblivious to her real mission. She showed short sightedness and found
refuse in vulgarity. She wanted something overnight without realizing the
actual hurdles on the way to reform a system which has been hijacked by the
most reactionary Islamic clerics. There is no magic in this struggle. It's hard
and needs passionate work. Her failure to realize that made a refugee in a
foreign land. Anyone wants to plunge him/her into the struggle to dismantle
this citadel of Islamic ignorance and dogmas must work from the grass root
level. Nothing can be done or will be effective if we do not sit with those
masses that are the bases of the vicious and reactionary mullahs. Taslima had
that golden opportunity but she has miserably missed it.

I met a guy in my work place who struggled to find some time
and a place to worship during the working hours. Sensing trouble I warned him
that this may jeopardize his employment. He bluntly told me that Allah is the
sustainer so he does not care. He was a good person with a family of six to
take care. I met his wife, a head to toe covered woman and tried to explain
some hard facts and figures of a real life. Next day he came to me with tearful eyes and
said last night when I thought of the hungry faces of my kids I discovered a
new logic. I must be practical.

This is field work and it pays. Our approach should be
pragmatic, scientific, logical and above all passionate. Killing a mullah,
tearing down a mosque, burning the Koran or making fun of Muhammad is not going
to do the job. A very few of us know what they really mean but not a billion
Muslims. The real work must be from within not from outside.

Akbar Hussain

*****************************************
Sign the Petition : Release the Arrested University Teachers Immediately : An Appeal to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh

http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/university_teachers_arrest.htm

*****************************************
Daily Star publishes an interview with Mukto-Mona
http://www.mukto-mona.com/news/daily_star/daily_star_MM.pdf

*****************************************

MM site is blocked in Islamic countries such as UAE. Members of those theocratic states, kindly use any proxy (such as http://proxy.org/) to access mukto-mona.

*****************************************
Mukto-Mona Celebrates 5th Anniversary

http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/5_yrs_anniv/index.htm

*****************************************
Mukto-Mona Celebrates Earth Day:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Earth_day2006/index.htm

*****************************************
Kansat Uprising : A Special Page from Mukto-Mona

http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/kansat2006/members/

*****************************************
MM Project : Grand assembly of local freedom fighters at Raumari

http://www.mukto-mona.com/project/Roumari/freedom_fighters_union300306.htm

*****************************************
German Bangla Radio Interviews Mukto-Mona Members:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/german_radio/

Mukto-Mona Celebrates Darwin Day:

http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/index.htm

*****************************************

Some FAQ's about Mukto-Mona:

http://www.mukto-mona.com/new_site/mukto-mona/faq_mm.htm

****************************************************

VISIT MUKTO-MONA WEB-SITE : http://www.mukto-mona.com/

****************************************************

"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".
-Beatrice Hall [pseudonym: S.G. Tallentyre], 190
Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/

<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/join

(Yahoo! ID required)

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:

http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

[vinnomot] Shaheed Zia :Father of Democracy in Bangladesh

dear all ,

Iwould like to remind you some facts.1972- 1975 is the dark period for Bangladesh and democracy. Mujib and BAL killed democracy establishing Baksal. all political party was banned.there was scope to differ with baksal and Mujib.they also banned all newspapers .

Shaheed Zia establish multi party democracy in Bangladesh.freedom of press also established by zia.

Question may be raised why the same words again?

one Engineer poted some wrong things in yahoo groups.we should clarify the things

Zia was a patriotic and democratic he believe in multiparty system. he is the father of multi party system in bangladesh.

zia not only established jamat he established BAL CPB and other political party.

and mujib as dictator and killer od democracy banned all political party except his own.

this the difference between father of democracy and killer of democracy.

Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage. __._,_.___

__,_._,___

[mukto-mona] Taslima Vs Kolkata Police

Prasun offered Kerala option to Taslima in Sept by Anjan Chakraborty
(http://thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=1&theme=&usrsess=1&id=178170)
KOLKATA, Nov. 27: The state government had asked controversial
Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen to leave West Bengal in September
and shift base to Kerala because of "security concerns" in Kolkata.
The then city police commissioner, Mr Prasun Mukherjee, met Ms Nasreen
at her residence on 7 Rowdon Street on 27 September along with a
senior IPS officer of the state police and conveyed the government's
message. In the two-hour meeting with Ms Nasreen, Mr Mukherjee told
her that the state government was worried about her security and would
make arrangements to secretly move her to Kerala where the local
government would provide her with adequate security.
Ms Nasreen requested the then city police chief for some time before
she could make up her mind. After the two senior IPS officers had
left, Ms Nasreen called up her close friends in the city for advice,
one of whom was Mr Sujato Bhadra, secretariat member of the
Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR).
"I was standing outside Raj Bhavan at that time after meeting the
Governor, Mr Gopalkrishna Gandhi, over the Rizwanur Rehman case. I
advised her that if the state government was concerned about her
security and wanted her to move to Kerala, then they should announce
that in public and not move her secretly," Mr Bhadra said. Ms Nasreen
got a similar response from her other friends in Kolkata and when Mr
Mukherjee called her up the following day, she insisted that the state
government should make a public announcement. "To this, Mr Mukherjee's
response was not favourable and he threatened Taslima to face the
consequences for having ignored the state government's warning,"
alleged Mr Bhadra.
When contacted, Mr Prasun Mukherjee, now ADG (Telecom) after he was
unceremoniously removed from the post of city police chief following
the Rizwanur case, said: "Whatever I have done is known to the state
government. I have been to her house, requested her to move to Kerala
and the state home secretary knows everything about it. I am not in
that post anymore, so before asking me, you should ask him first."
The statement of the former police chief contradicts the home
secretary's claim that he did not know about Ms Nasreen leaving the
city and he had seen everything on television. The home secretary's
comment was not available as his cell phone was switched off.
This was not all. The Statesman has learnt that after failing to
secure Ms Nasreen's nod for the proposed shift to Kerala in September,
the state government once again prodded her to leave West Bengal in
October. This time, a senior IPS officer of Kolkata Police called her
up on 15 November and requested her to leave the city in view of
security concerns as there was a protest rally in the city on 17
November, called by hard-line minority organisations who were
demanding among other things, cancellation of her visa.
"This time, the senior IPS officer requested her to move to Rajasthan
where the government, he claimed, would provide her with a place to
stay in and adequate security. He insisted that Taslima's Rowdon
Street residence could come under attack," alleged Mr Bhadra.
Members of the APDR also met representatives of Mr Siddiqullah
Chowdhury, leader of Jamait-e-Ulema-i-Hind and requested them to break
the ice about Ms Nasreen's stay in India.
"We requested them to soften their stand on Taslima's visa
cancellation and that this should not be their primary demand.
They had agreed somewhat and the rally on 17 November passed off
peacefully," Mr Bhadra added. When asked if he had any knowledge about
any meeting between Mr Chowdhury and the then city police chief over
Taslima, Mr Bhadra said: "Not that I know of."
Feedback (Internet)
Do you think the ASSHOLE Chief Minister(Shaitan) did not know this
from Prasun the Foot-Licker? (PA CHATA PRASUN - Police CHIEF, the
Criminal conspirator in Riz murder).

Note: Prasun Mukherjee was described as representative of Shubho shakti(power of the good) by Buddhadeb who used police administration to get him elected as president of Cricket Association of Bengal, albeit in vein, against Jagmohan Dalmia, existing president, whom Buddhadeb described as the face of ashubho shakti (power of the evil).

__,_._,___

Re: [mukto-mona] Please Attend & Publish

WRT: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/message/45158

Good Initiative. Go Ahead.

Didi

*****************************************
Sign the Petition : Release the Arrested University Teachers Immediately : An Appeal to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh

http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/university_teachers_arrest.htm

*****************************************
Daily Star publishes an interview with Mukto-Mona
http://www.mukto-mona.com/news/daily_star/daily_star_MM.pdf

*****************************************

MM site is blocked in Islamic countries such as UAE. Members of those theocratic states, kindly use any proxy (such as http://proxy.org/) to access mukto-mona.

*****************************************
Mukto-Mona Celebrates 5th Anniversary

http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/5_yrs_anniv/index.htm

*****************************************
Mukto-Mona Celebrates Earth Day:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Earth_day2006/index.htm

*****************************************
Kansat Uprising : A Special Page from Mukto-Mona

http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/kansat2006/members/

*****************************************
MM Project : Grand assembly of local freedom fighters at Raumari

http://www.mukto-mona.com/project/Roumari/freedom_fighters_union300306.htm

*****************************************
German Bangla Radio Interviews Mukto-Mona Members:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/german_radio/

Mukto-Mona Celebrates Darwin Day:

http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/index.htm

*****************************************

Some FAQ's about Mukto-Mona:

http://www.mukto-mona.com/new_site/mukto-mona/faq_mm.htm

****************************************************

VISIT MUKTO-MONA WEB-SITE : http://www.mukto-mona.com/

****************************************************

"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".
-Beatrice Hall [pseudonym: S.G. Tallentyre], 190
Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/

<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/join

(Yahoo! ID required)

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:

http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Daily Online Alochona

Banner Advertiser

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

[mukto-mona] Fwd: An Appeal

[vinnomot] Fwd: An Appeal

[mukto-mona] PREZ POLITICS: Mansoor Ijaz on "A Muslim Belongs in the Cabinet"

[mukto-mona] Recirculating, in case you missed it: Video:The Misssing in Pakistan

[mukto-mona] The man who was right, but lost - Shashi Taroor on Azad

[mukto-mona] Two materials on Taslima

[vinnomot] Re: [khabor.com] NetZero M. Anwar - the greatest sycophant of Tarek Zia ?

RE: [mukto-mona] Troubles of Taslima Nasreen

[vinnomot] Shaheed Zia :Father of Democracy in Bangladesh

[mukto-mona] Taslima Vs Kolkata Police

Re: [mukto-mona] Please Attend & Publish

Blog Archive

Link List

Addvertise

Reffaral Link