From: The Times of India
Like CPM, Mamata also soft on fundamentalists, says Taslima Nasrin
Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey & Rakhi Chakrabarty, TNN | Feb 2, 2012, 02.16AM IST
KOLKATA: Before the storm over Salman Rushdie's absence from the Jaipur Literature Festival could abate, a fresh one started on Wednesday after the Kolkata Book Fair cancelled exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasrin's book release, saying the government had warned of security problems. But organizers cited problems with the auditorium as the official reason for calling off the event to launch Taslima's latest book, 'Nirbashan' (Exile).
Writers and book lovers were taken aback, more so because the gag on Rushdie at Jaipur was the main buzz at this year's Kolkata mela. The publishers then released the book at their own stall amid a small gathering of writers and rights activists.
The author of 'Lajja' (Shame), who lives in exile under state protection in India, was scathing in her reaction. Fundamentalists had been emboldened by their success in keeping Rushdie away from Jaipur, she told TOI over phone. "The mullahs scored a victory by preventing Rushdie from coming to Jaipur. They celebrated by not allowing my book to be launched in Kolkata. What next?"
The Bangladeshi author said that hopes of a better Bengal under Mamata Banerjee had been dashed after Kolkata Book Fair cancelled her book release.
"Like the CPM, Mamata is also soft on fundamentalists. All parties are scared of fanatics. That encourages fundamentalists." Mamata is also the state's home minister.
Taslima claimed on Twitter that Kolkata Police had arm-twisted book fair organizers to cancel the launch. The Publishers and Booksellers' Guild first claimed the auditorium was not ready, but later clarified that they feared the release could have been a security threat.
"Kolkata, a city of progressive! A book release even w/o my presence not possible! All political parties, all orgs afraid of fanatics! But how long...They banned me, a writer, a person. They do not need to know the content of the book...Some religious fanatics don't want it to happen," she said on Twitter.
The All India Minority Forum had sent delegations to the Kolkata Police and the guild warning that celebrating Taslima's book could provoke strong reactions. And, when the publishers did a smaller release at their stall, a group of protesters from the minority forum tried to disrupt it. Violent protests led by the Forum in November 2007 had forced Taslima out of Kolkata.
"Nasrin has written against Islam repeatedly. She is doing this at the insistence of the US. She will not be allowed here," said Abdul Aziz of the forum. The chairman of the ruling Trinamool Congress's minority cell Idris Ali was among the protesters at the book fest.
"We are upset that her publisher has ceremoniously organized the release of her book. It was done deliberately to insult our community," Aziz said.
"I could not risk this. We were told by this group that the release might cause trouble inside the fair. We also discussed the matter with Kolkata Police who said that the group had met senior officers at Lalbazar (Kolkata police headquarters) and vented similar apprehensions," said guild general secretary Tridib Chatterjee.
The book was released by Bengali author Nabarun Bhattacharya, the son of writer and human rights activist Mahasveta Devi, in the presence of writer Ranjan Bandopadhyay and rights activist Sujato Bhadra. "All this while we were condemning the Salman Rushdie episode and now we are not allowing the release of a book by another world acclaimed writer. I condemn this move by the guild," Bhattacharya said.
"This is a gross violation of human rights. When Nasrin's book was banned earlier, I fought legally to get the ban lifted. Nasrin has not only been banned from the state, now her pen has also been banished," Bhadra said.
The book launch was scheduled for 3pm but the guild called up the publishers, People's Book Society, around 1pm to cancel the booking.
Nasrin said her anger over Rushdie being barred from Jaipur was compounded with hurt when her publisher, Prasanto Roy of the People's Book Society, called to say the launch of the seventh volume of her autobiography had been called off.
The sixth volume of her autobiography, Nei Kichu Nei (There's Nothing, Nothing At All), was launched by economist Amlan Dutta at the Kolkata Book Fair in 2010. "But there were no protests then. So, why now? I urge rational and liberal people of India to think. It's not a personal issue. It involves a larger question of rights and freedom of expression in a democracy," she said.
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