Dear Alochoks:
It seems that Pranab Mukherjee babu's 'dhamak,' not to
hurt the sentiment of Indian citizen while she remains
as a guest in the country, has had an immediate effect
on the "rebel" Taslima.
This incident is indicative of Taslima's double
standard, her hypocrisy, as not only has she willingly
compromised to delete the alleged section of her book
that raised controversy, but also it exposes the fact
that contrary to her claim of being an eternal
non-conformist, she would rather, prefer personal
benefit: living in India than remain a rebel to the
cause, the persona that she had assumed so long.
It also indicates that although she willingly
acknowledges that she had hurt public sentiment, the
reason for her deletion, but she would only honor the
sentiment of the Indian citizen, not the sentiment of
Bangladeshi people.
In other words, Taslima only intends to prove the
Orwellean maxim: some are more equal than the others.
In her case, the Indians over the Bangladeshis. This
being the case, Taslima has unmasked her own hypocrisy
as well as the so-called secular Indian government:
Taslima proves that she was an opportunist all along,
and that the Indians' claim of protecting freedom of
speech was but an anti-Bangladeshi propaganda.
Enjoy the reading. Ciao.
Curzon
===============================
Taslima Nasreen removes comment
Controversial Bangladeshi feminist writer Taslima
Nasreen has said she will withdraw some
"controversial" lines from one of her books.
The lines are from Dwikhondito (Split into two) which,
some Muslim groups say, are derogatory to Islam.
The book was banned by the government in India's West
Bengal state where a quarter of the population is
Muslim.
There have been violent protests against Ms Nasreen by
Muslims in West Bengal's capital, Calcutta, recently.
She has been moved from one city to another in the
last few days for her own safety after these protests
and is now lodged in a safe house in the capital,
Delhi.
The Indian government has pledged to continue to host
and protect Ms Nasreen.
But External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told
parliament that India expected its guest to behave as
one.
'Upset'
Ms Nasreen told TV channels on Friday that she would
be dropping some lines from Dwikhondito, her 2003
autobiography.
She said she had not wanted to "hurt anybody's
religious sentiments" while writing the book.
"Now that some people in India have said they are
upset with what I have said, I have decided to drop
the controversial portions of the book and have told
the publisher to take necessary action," Ms Nasreen
said.
"After these portions are removed, I think there will
be no more scope for controversy and all the tension
so far caused should die down."
Leading writers in Bengal have welcomed Ms Nasreen's
move.
"It is a clever and a timely move. It is not a
surrender to the fundamentalists but a compromise to
tackle the present situation where Muslims across the
board are feeling upset ," said Abul Bashar.
Shirshendu Mukherjee said Ms Nasreen's move should
"assuage ruffled sentiments".
However, noted painter Shuvaprassana said Ms Nasreen
had compromised by withdrawing the lines.
"This is a compromise that she has been forced into
for the sake of getting refuge. But if she can drop
two pages to get refuge in India, she can drop three
pages and go back to Bangladesh," he said.
Death threats
Critics have accused the writer of calling for the
Koran to be changed to give women greater rights,
something she denies.
Ms Nasreen fled Bangladesh in the early 1990s after
death threats and has spent the last three years in
Calcutta after a long stay in Europe.
Last week, after the riots in Calcutta, Ms Nasreen was
flown out of Calcutta in a special plane to Delhi from
where she was taken to Jaipur in the western state of
Rajasthan.
A day later, she was brought to Delhi where she spent
a couple of nights in the Rajasthan government's guest
house.
On Tuesday, she was moved again, this time to a safe
house at an undisclosed location in Delhi.
Taslima Nasreen's Indian visa is valid until March
2008.
In August this year, she was giving a lecture in the
southern city of Hyderabad when she was attacked by
Muslims who said they had been upset by her remarks on
the Prophet Muhammad and the Koran.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/7120473.stm
Published: 2007/11/30 09:53:15 GMT
© BBC MMVII
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