New Delhi: So now Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen has been shoved out of Rajasthan as well. The reason this time is that she lacked 'proper documentation'.
"The West Bengal Government did not consult us before they sent her here. She did not have any proper document with her. And since that was the case, we sent her to Delhi, because now the Centre has to take care of this issue," is what the Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria has to say.
From CPI(M) general secretary Biman Bose to BJP veteran LK Advani, everyone has had a say on the matter.
After declaring the issue has become ‘mental stress’ for her and promising to “speak my mind and clear all confusion when the time comes,” Nasreen is on her way to Delhi. Will she be given asylum in the capital or will documents and peace-demands come in the way of her staying here?
The Central Government has so far maintained a stony silence on the issue.
“We nearly lost our lives,” came the phone call from Rani* (name changed to protect identity), the convener for an NGO that works with child sexual abuse victims. “I don’t know if it was a failure of law… I saw policemen being beaten up by left-party activists; they could do nothing, we could do nothing. Can I do a Citizen Journalist piece?” she asked. She was to file her ‘story brief’ in 20 minutes…
That call was on Thursday evening, so far there is no brief and no phone call either. Did she get scared? After all, if freedom of expression can backfire on an author granted legal asylum, right? And is it wrong for her to get scared in a state where madness seems to be the order of the day?
A complete failure of law and order. A political game, a literary pawn. A false sense of peace. A definite curbing of expression and freedom. A sorry scapegoat in a sorry ‘state’ of affairs. All this and much more is being said about the entire shift-Taslima-out-of-WB issue.
While things remain in flux for Nasreen, the common man waits the verdict… and more violence?
Meanwhile, in our live debate on ‘Should Taslima be asked to leave West Bengal’, IBNLive readers had strong opinions. But then does it matter? While the common man suffers the violence, loss of life and property and sanity, who cares for their freedom of expression? Given the way things are being circumvented, perhaps both the common man and the author are expendable.
Read what IBNLive readers have to say:
Tanusree: No, never: It’s the state government’s duty to conserve law in state; instead they are forcing Taslima to leave Bengal. How ridiculous it is and shows nothing but their (state govt’s) failure and irresponsibility towards doing their job.
Vidyasagar: Yes, as a ruling government, CPI(M) have the responsibility to maintain peace in the state. If Bangladesh is not allowing her to live in their country, why should India take that risk? Current incident in WB shows that while Taslima is safe and the CPI(M) is safe, the common man will suffer.
Varada: Going by Biman Bose's logic, everybody from Karunanidhi to 75 per cent of the Muslim population in India should be deported because they all are detrimental to peace in this country. Having a contrarian view is to be appreciated in a democracy.
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Gaurav: If she has ridiculed a religion then she has broken a law she should be dealt with legally...
Prasun Kr Das: Clearly the state govt is a total failure in all aspects of governance. Tomorrow they may ask all non-supporters of their party to leave Bengal for the sake of peace.
Karunganni: People say we are a free country: Why should things disliked by Muslims with no reason given heed to? We do the same thing with Dalai Lama because we are afraid of China who usurped Tibet. We are afraid to criticise Burma, we are afraid of the USA. Are we an independent nation?
Check out: Unedited text of the debate
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