The story of Taslima Nasreen is linked to other more relevant realities of India’s present state. It is not the question of one neighbouring country banishing a woman, a writer, a sympathizer of the oppressed, but it is the question of our own country falling prey to the clutches of extreme radicalism, a new breed of fundamentalism that spreads across religions and silences a vast majority that is essentially peaceful and docile.
Taslima Nasreen’s story is also a grim reminder of the extent to which the state can go to protect elements that threaten peace and how dependent and vulnerable we as the citizens of this country are when faced with its ire. It is also important to us because the question of individual identity has taken an altogether new course in the 21st century. Conflicts rage between different domains not only on the question of resources and oil, but also on the issues of history, culture, religion and identity. It is this fabric of identity that links peoples of different countries in an undefined bond, arousing passions and sentiments in no time. Hence, Taslima’s opinion of her country’s mal handling of a situation today spells trouble even in her country of asylum. Lastly, the most disturbing feature of this turn of events is the mute spectatorship of the vast majority of the world, a section that has unknowingly become partners in numerous crimes against humanity.
Hence, it will be appropriate to conclude that Taslima Nasreen is not the problem at all. She is only the face of a larger problem that looms large over all protectors of freedom and liberty. To ignore her and pass her of as someone else’s burden would mean to give further encouragement to the minority that is behind a steady and an organized onslaught against peace. To push her out of our conscience would equal accepting a life of fear and slavery. Whatever be the finale, under all circumstances one must remember that ‘No one is free when others are oppressed’ and that ‘Liberty with danger is better than peace with slavery’.
AJITA VIDYARTHI
28002
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India today finds itself in a state where many raging issues need collective action. The unfair treatment meted out to Taslima Nasreen by our own country is one of the many examples. Of late, intolerance against artists such as M.F. Hussain, activists like Medha Patkar among others has only grown. Collective actions condemning and threatening individual opinions are many. But, those that support such attempts at saving democracy and freedom of expression are far too less. One needs to question the lack of support and the almost oblivious attitude shown by the educated sections. It is a pity that even though the fundamentalists in this country are a small minority, they always end up hogging the limelight sans any protest from the vast, silent majority.
Dr. Rajat Chabba
28032
Freedom of expression is the life blood of democracy. In a liberal civilised society, every individual is entitled to articulate his ideas and opinions on a variety of issues. But freedom has certain ingrained responsibilities that are not legally etched out but something intuitively expected of responsible citizens. Fundamentalist thoughts and activities can never be appreciated whatever the context or occasion that incites it . Now coming on to the case of Taslima Nasreen , it was not fair on the part of the Bangladesh government to banish her or the radical clerics to pass fatwa on her head. But the point here is why, whatever and whenever, she writes stirs up a hornet's nest. Her writings are by and large bereft of any literary merit but they have ingredients of controversies that propel her into the limelight. Almost all her writings confound some section of the society or the other. A recent case in point is her largely prurient novel "Dwikhandito”. In the name of writing of autobiography, what she dishes out is a recipe for lascivious minds. The novel is bold to the extent of being outrageous; so much so that even in a relatively liberal society like West Bengal, the book was banned. Here the point to drive home is that freedom of expression does not imply writing whatever one desires irrespective of sensitivity and norms of civil society. Taslima Nasreen's is a classic example of using freedom of expression as a tool of gaining cheap popularity
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