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Taslima Nasreen roughed up in Hyderabad
Hyderabad, August 9: Noted Bangladeshi novelist Taslima Nasreen was roughed up by activists of Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) at a book release function on Thursday.
A group of 20 MIM workers, led by MLAs Afsar Khan, Ahmed Pasha and Mozum Khan, stormed the Press Club premises and raised slogans against the author.
Nasreen was to release the Telugu translation of her latest novel Shodh.
As the function was about to conclude, the MIM activists suddenly barged into the conference hall, attacked the press photographers, damaged the furniture and glass panes and some of them reached the dais and roughed up the novelist.
The Tribune
‘Death stared at me from close’
Kolkata, August 10
Controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen, who escaped an attack on her life by workers of Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen at Hyderabad Press Club yesterday, says she would not bow to the threat. A shaken Nasreen arrived in Kolkata late Thursday from Hyderabad where she had gone to release a Telugu translation of her novel “Shodh”.
“For half-an-hour, death stared at me from close as I locked myself in a room and those men tried to break in and kill me,” the writer said.
Cocooned in her Rawdon Street apartment here, Nasreen narrated the harrowing experience: “I was attacked earlier too but it was never like yesterday. There was no police for help because the organisers had not foreseen anything of this kind. If I have returned alive to Kolkata it is because of mediapersons who fought those men for half-an-hour and got injured to save me,” Nasreen said. The writer has been attacked several times in Bangladesh, Canada and the Middle East. She said yesterday’s experience had taught her that fanatics and fundamentalists are same everywhere.
“I was wondering how they would kill me. Would it be with a knife or a gun! Or would they simply beat me to death. They had encircled us. After I escaped from a back door and took shelter in a room, they even broke down one of the doors. I thought I would be dead,” said the 45-year-old writer. “I have never come face to face with death like this.”
However, she added: “I will not cow down to any threat and as long as I live, I will continue to write from my experiences, faith, belief and thinking - regardless of the fact that the writings hurt fundamentalists belonging to the Muslim community or any other religion.”
She said though invitations had been extended to her from friends and well-wishers from all over the world, she felt safe and secure in India, and if permitted, would continue to live in Kolkata for the rest of her life. The controversial novelist has been staying here for the past one year on a tourist visa, which was extended for another six months in June.
“I am happy that the people who attacked were actually a minority while there are so many people who supported me. The photographers could have just clicked as they killed me but they chose to save me.”
The Times of India
'We'll behead Taslima next time'
Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen's fresh threat on Friday that it would "not spare" Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen the next time she visited Hyderabad compounded the crime its MLAs and activists had committed when they attacked her at a book release function.
Video: Taslima is an enemy of Islam: Afsar Khan
Taslima Nasrin is an author of some controversial books who was hounded out of her own country - Bangladesh - because enough Muslims there hate her, and want her dead, because they can't understand, or don't agree with, the concept of the freedom of speech, and have the capacity to carry out the threat of killing, or otherwise make her life miserable.
The MIM (Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen) is a Muslim political party in India.
When a party can behave like this and still count on the support of its core constituents - in fact, it can be confident that behaviour like this will, in fact, create more support for it among its constituents (for otherwise it would not have done this) - what is there left to say?
EDIT: The MIM has issued a statement endorsing the attack. The people who attacked here were MIM legislators. The MIM has only one MP in the central government, with which it is allied (it's an unholy alliance of the Congress, the Communists, and assorted riff-raff), and that MP has issued a statement endorsing these peoples' actions. We can take it that the central government is morally culpable by association.
The MLA who threatened her with beheading if she dared enter Hyderabad again has not had any criminal case registered against him.
And to top it all off, the Hyderabad police have registered a case against Taslima for "hurting Muslim sentiments."
EDIT 2: What is probably more disturbing is that that the MIM thinks that the majority of Muslims will support them because they act like this - blasting the idea that most Muslims are tolerant. What is most disturbing is that election results have shown that they're right.
Taslima Nasreen roughed up in Hyderabad
Hyderabad, August 9: Noted Bangladeshi novelist Taslima Nasreen was roughed up by activists of Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) at a book release function on Thursday.
A group of 20 MIM workers, led by MLAs Afsar Khan, Ahmed Pasha and Mozum Khan, stormed the Press Club premises and raised slogans against the author.
Nasreen was to release the Telugu translation of her latest novel Shodh.
As the function was about to conclude, the MIM activists suddenly barged into the conference hall, attacked the press photographers, damaged the furniture and glass panes and some of them reached the dais and roughed up the novelist.
The Tribune
‘Death stared at me from close’
Kolkata, August 10
Controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen, who escaped an attack on her life by workers of Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen at Hyderabad Press Club yesterday, says she would not bow to the threat. A shaken Nasreen arrived in Kolkata late Thursday from Hyderabad where she had gone to release a Telugu translation of her novel “Shodh”.
“For half-an-hour, death stared at me from close as I locked myself in a room and those men tried to break in and kill me,” the writer said.
Cocooned in her Rawdon Street apartment here, Nasreen narrated the harrowing experience: “I was attacked earlier too but it was never like yesterday. There was no police for help because the organisers had not foreseen anything of this kind. If I have returned alive to Kolkata it is because of mediapersons who fought those men for half-an-hour and got injured to save me,” Nasreen said. The writer has been attacked several times in Bangladesh, Canada and the Middle East. She said yesterday’s experience had taught her that fanatics and fundamentalists are same everywhere.
“I was wondering how they would kill me. Would it be with a knife or a gun! Or would they simply beat me to death. They had encircled us. After I escaped from a back door and took shelter in a room, they even broke down one of the doors. I thought I would be dead,” said the 45-year-old writer. “I have never come face to face with death like this.”
However, she added: “I will not cow down to any threat and as long as I live, I will continue to write from my experiences, faith, belief and thinking - regardless of the fact that the writings hurt fundamentalists belonging to the Muslim community or any other religion.”
She said though invitations had been extended to her from friends and well-wishers from all over the world, she felt safe and secure in India, and if permitted, would continue to live in Kolkata for the rest of her life. The controversial novelist has been staying here for the past one year on a tourist visa, which was extended for another six months in June.
“I am happy that the people who attacked were actually a minority while there are so many people who supported me. The photographers could have just clicked as they killed me but they chose to save me.”
The Times of India
'We'll behead Taslima next time'
Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen's fresh threat on Friday that it would "not spare" Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen the next time she visited Hyderabad compounded the crime its MLAs and activists had committed when they attacked her at a book release function.
Taslima Nasrin is an author of some controversial books who was hounded out of her own country - Bangladesh - because enough Muslims there hate her, and want her dead, because they can't understand, or don't agree with, the concept of the freedom of speech, and have the capacity to carry out the threat of killing, or otherwise make her life miserable.
The MIM (Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen) is a Muslim political party in India.
When a party can behave like this and still count on the support of its core constituents - in fact, it can be confident that behaviour like this will, in fact, create more support for it among its constituents (for otherwise it would not have done this) - what is there left to say?
EDIT: The MIM has issued a statement endorsing the attack. The people who attacked here were MIM legislators. The MIM has only one MP in the central government, with which it is allied (it's an unholy alliance of the Congress, the Communists, and assorted riff-raff), and that MP has issued a statement endorsing these peoples' actions. We can take it that the central government is morally culpable by association.
The MLA who threatened her with beheading if she dared enter Hyderabad again has not had any criminal case registered against him.
And to top it all off, the Hyderabad police have registered a case against Taslima for "hurting Muslim sentiments."
EDIT 2: What is probably more disturbing is that that the MIM thinks that the majority of Muslims will support them because they act like this - blasting the idea that most Muslims are tolerant. What is most disturbing is that election results have shown that they're right.
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