Times of India Edit: Give Taslima Citizenship; Hussain's exile a blot on India

The Times of India
27 Nov 2007

EDITORIAL: Citizen Taslima

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.