Taslima intends 'to leave India'

[thunderous]

Exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen has said that she intends to leave India because her health is failing after living in hiding.

The author has not been allowed to see any visitors for nearly four months.

Protests by Muslim groups in November forced the Indian authorities to move the controversial writer from home in Calcutta to a safe house in Delhi.

Ms Nasreen fled Bangladesh to Europe in 1994 after death threats. She lived in Calcutta for three years.

A Bangladeshi court said that she had "deliberately and maliciously" hurt Muslim religious feelings with her Bengali-language novel "Lajja", or Shame, which argued that the Hindu minority in Bangladesh was poorly treated.

Last year some Muslim groups say parts of her book Dwikhondito (Split into two) were derogatory to Islam.

Critics have accused the writer of calling for the Koran to be changed to give women greater rights, something she denies.

'Mental pressure'

In an e-mail sent to her supporters, Ms Nasreen said that her confinement in Delhi was like living in "a chamber of death".

A car destroyed during riots in Calcutta
Protests against the author turned violent in Calcutta

"I am suffering from very high blood pressure... and have developed heart disease," she wrote.

"The blood pressure if uncontrolled can destroy my heart, kidneys and eyes."

Ms Nasreen alleged that the Indian Foreign Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, had exerted "great mental pressure" on her to leave the country.

"I settled in Calcutta where I was living peacefully in a Bengali milieu," she wrote.

"I was very active helping oppressed women and writing feminist and humanist literature.

"But just because a few Muslim fundamentalists objected to my being in this country, I was first confined in Calcutta and then moved to Delhi," she said.

The author also alleged that the Indian government - and the state government of West Bengal - were only concerned with their "Muslim vote bank".

"In order for the politicians to secure this Muslim vote bank, I had to be locked up and as a consequence, my health was irreparably destroyed," she said in the e-mail.

Last month, Ms Nasreen was rushed to a hospital in Delhi after her blood pressure dropped because of an overdose of medicines.

Correspondents that despite protests by Muslim groups, Indian authorities have extended her visa regularly, but not allowed her to leave the house, which is guarded round-the-clock by police.

The BBC's Subir Bhaumik in Calcutta says that it is not clear how soon she will leave India - or which country she will go to.
BBC NEWS | South Asia | Taslima intends 'to leave India'

Goes to prove how important the muslim vote bank in India is. The Indian society is being taken hostage by the so called secular politicians. This lady has truly been suffering - what I can't understand is why she wanted to stay in a country that would not welcome her when other countries were ready to welcome her with open arms. She should have moved out much earlier and saved herself all the grief.

[FullTank]

ok i deleted mine since u were 2 minutes faster.

[Tronic]

Yep, truly pathetic; How long can we keep calling ourselves secular if the government keeps bending over to radical Islamist groups like this. We are forcing a moderate muslim to leave the country just so some radical Islamist monkeys can be happy? Shameful indeed!

[Adux]

What is happening to my country?

[FullTank]

I fear the indian constitution doesnt clearly state or emphasise that secularism isnt just freedom of religion it also means freedom from religion.

I hope that indians(hindus, muslims and all other religion followers and atheists) realize that things like donation for haj, only temple donations being accounted for while mosques and churches have a free ride, different civil rules for different communities goes totally against the concept of a modern nation rules and secularism. heck even the turkish leader mustapha kemal has implemented secularism better in a muslim country then we have in ours. this kind of divide and rule and appeasements to vote blocks is only going to splinter our nation.

By following this kind of politics and path it really casts a doubt on the capacity of us indians as being able to see the larger picture and rule ourselves wisely and in unity as a nation. Its only been 60 years.

Blaming each other party as communal when every action taken by every party has blatant communal tones is no way to implement secularism.

[Knaur Amarsh]

Ms Nasreen said that her confinement in Delhi was like living in "a chamber of death

Well then,cant blame her for leaving :(

[Ray]

Wimpish Indian govt.

[kuku]

Maulana sahab ko gussa kyo aata hai?

Oh, Taslima to have believed that you will be safe in India.
You must have believed some Hippie named Sindhya.(?? or something that rhymes)
That must have been some good logic,
or was it just good old gin and tonic

[antimony]

Hark the start of the Election Game

I believe this marks the start of the Elections seasons. In this case, the panchayat elections.
Recent West Bengal history show 2 incidents which can be interpreted as "anti-muslim" - Nandigram (where the majority of victims remain poor muslims) and the Rizwanur case (which is a shame, but not for religious reasons). I think the comrades needed something to show their "secular" backbone. I am disappointed in the intellectual class of bengal, they should have showed more support for one of their peers. Even more pathetic is the attitude of the Central govt. One can think of a negotiating point for the N-deal, but I think they are bending over a lot recently to the Left.

[Ray]

The so called intellectual class of Bengal has been long hijacked by the Communists and their fan following!

The Central govt is foisted on stilts i.e. the two Communist parties!

Both the scenarios are charged with active impotence.

[Tronic]

I fear the indian constitution doesnt clearly state or emphasise that secularism isnt just freedom of religion it also means freedom from religion.

I hope that indians(hindus, muslims and all other religion followers and atheists) realize that things like donation for haj, only temple donations being accounted for while mosques and churches have a free ride, different civil rules for different communities goes totally against the concept of a modern nation rules and secularism. heck even the turkish leader mustapha kemal has implemented secularism better in a muslim country then we have in ours. this kind of divide and rule and appeasements to vote blocks is only going to splinter our nation.

By following this kind of politics and path it really casts a doubt on the capacity of us indians as being able to see the larger picture and rule ourselves wisely and in unity as a nation. Its only been 60 years.

Blaming each other party as communal when every action taken by every party has blatant communal tones is no way to implement secularism.

Very well put! And you hit the nail on the head with the last bit. It is something which has been argued about thread after thread; and we truly cannot competently govern ourselves unless we get out of the attitude, that, "they may be bad, but our less bad then 'them'".. Only when the people start holding the parties accountable for their actions will we get anywhere close to progress on the national unity scale.

[antimony]

Originally Posted by Ray
The so called intellectual class of Bengal has been long hijacked by the Communists and their fan following!

Sir,

If that is the case (and to some extent it is), we should be taking some of the blame ourselves. Urban middle class Bengalis have, for some time now, been identifying themselves with the intellectual class (authors/ poets/ academics/ professionals/ servicemen). If moral vacuum exists there, I think it is part of our responsibility to erase that. I have relatives still in awe with the leftist ideals and I whenever I get to visit India I get in fights with them over their ideology.

Not able to make much headway though:(

[FullTank]

Indian govt no less fundamentalist: Taslima

Controversial Bangladesh author Taslima Nasreen on Wednesday left India (Watch) to an unknown destination, as she voiced her bitterness against the government accusing it of being no better than "religious fundamentalists."

Talking to reporters from London's Heathrow airport before taking a connecting flight after she left New Delhi on Wednesday morning on a British Airways flight, the 46-year-old author refused to disclose where she was heading saying she did not want to "compromise" on her security. Taslima is understood to heading towards Toronto in Canada.

"If I disclose my destination my security will be compromised. My face has now become recognisable and I could
be target of religious fundamentalist", Taslima said, adding that she will not hesitate to discuss what she said the traumatic experience she allegedly went through during various international seminars lined up in Europe in the next few months.

"I was put under tremendous stress but I could not speak out as I was under their (government) surveillance and could be harassed by them," she said in a choked voice.

"The government is no better than religious fundamentalists," she said.

Meanwhile, raising the issue during Zero Hour, Lalit Kishore Chaturvedi (BJP) expressed concern over the problems being faced by Nasreen, who was earlier forced to leave Kolkata, and said the author had now been forced to leave the country.

"She could not meet anyone. She could not go anywhere," he said describing her plight.

Indian govt no less fundamentalist: Taslima-India-The Times of India

[Tronic]

Indian govt no less fundamentalist: Taslima

And I totally agree with this lady!!! My blood is boiling at the monkeys in Parliament!! Someone needs to go and poke their eyes out, especially the pathetic Commies!!

[FullTank]

I have to escape from the death chamber: Taslima

IANS



A day after she announced her decision to quit India, Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen spoke in an email of her mental trauma of being confined to a 'safe house' in New Delhi for several months:

I used to call this the torture chamber. I gradually came to realise that it was the chamber of death instead. I was not even allowed to stay in hospital for long though the doctors felt it was necessary in order to stabilise my blood pressure. But orders are orders and the government did not want to be inconvenienced by me in any way whatsoever. The government did not want the media to know I had been hospitalised.

I did not have my mobile phone with me and the doctors at the government hospital - AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) - were instructed to discharge me after a certain period of time. Curiously though, the decision was not left to the doctors as to what this certain period of time was to be. The last time I was admitted to this hospital a few weeks ago I was suddenly discharged as a result of governmental pressure. I am sure this was linked to a report in the Times of India, which stated I had been hospitalised.

At this undisclosed location I am neither allowed to go to a doctor for consultation nor is one allowed to come to me. I suffer from severely fluctuating blood pressure and the strange thing is that I was not even allowed to speak to any of the doctors at the hospital over the telephone. Even after repeated requests I was not given a single phone number.

When I was in hospital, I asked the doctors if I could call them if necessary but they said that they were not allowed to hand out their numbers. I had to make inquiries through officials to get even the simplest of answers from these doctors. I have suffered tremendously both physically and mentally. My blood pressure is now impossible to control. The doctors say it is due to stress which I must avoid at all costs.

How can I not be stressed when everything is continuously stressing me out? I am brought to this place and incarcerated like some animal; my human rights (are) constantly and continually violated. I am not allowed to step out or meet anyone. How can I not be stressed? I received the extension of my resident's permit, but the status quo continued.

And because of the high blood pressure caused by stress, I developed heart disease (hypertrophy) and hypertensive retinopathy, both of which were diagnosed at the hospital. The hypertensive retinopathy will eventually cause me to go blind. The blood pressure, if uncontrolled, will destroy the heart, kidneys and eyes.

Prior to my confinement, my blood pressure had been under control and all my organs were in perfect condition. After returning from hospital, I wanted to leave this country at the earliest as I knew I would never be free from stress here. I said I needed to go to Kolkata urgently to collect a few important documents and other assorted things, including bank cards, and to sign my tax papers. That too, just the basic permission to visit my Kolkata flat to wrap up my life there, was denied for security reasons.

THEY FINALLY DID IT

Even though they constantly pressured me mentally to leave the country, I refused to budge. I was determined I would not leave this country. When they saw it was pointless trying to destroy my mind, they attempted to destroy my body. In this they succeeded by ruining my health, which leaves me with no other alternative but to leave this country.

I WAS NOT ALLOWED TO SEE ANY DOCTOR FOR 'SECURITY REASONS'.

It is important that all this be known. I made repeated requests to be allowed to consult a medical specialist as my condition was growing worse with the ever increasing stress I had to face in this not-so-gilded cage. I was not allowed to see a doctor for more than two months. The decision makers asked the officials not to attend to me especially when I desperately needed a doctor. Two months after my initial request, I was eventually taken to an undisclosed third location to a quack who could unsurprisingly, do nothing at all. I insisted that I had to see a cardiologist or at least a specialist. I was then told that this would entail a visit to the doctor's chamber.

I agreed to go but was told that I would not be allowed to go to a doctor's chamber because of the 'security risks' involved. I fell very ill and told the officials I was likely to have a heart attack. After a few days, at the same undisclosed location, I was allowed to see a doctor from the AIIMS who prescribed some medicines after taking which I fainted. The same night I was admitted to hospital where my blood pressure fell alarmingly and I had to be given life-saving drugs to survive. The doctors told me that I needed to spend two or three weeks in hospital but the officials whisked me away from the critical care unit after just three days and took me directly to meet the minister for external affairs.

The minister asked me to leave the country, the shock of which made my blood pressure shoot up to 220/120. I was rushed to the hospital but the doctors were instructed by the officials not to admit me for 'security reasons'. In my not-so-gilded cage, I had no help at all.

FACTS

It has been nearly eight months that I have been living under virtual house arrest, in a prison without any facilities. I have been asked continuously by the government to leave this country. Naturally, this has upset me a great deal as I left Europe to relocate to India; to make India my permanent home. I settled in Kolkata where I was living peacefully in a Bengali milieu. I was very active helping oppressed women and writing feminist and humanist literature. Just because a few Muslim fundamentalists objected to my being in this country, I was first imprisoned in Kolkata and then moved to Delhi. In order for the politicians to secure their Muslim vote bank, I had to be locked up and, as a consequence, my health was irreparably destroyed.

IMPORTANT

I am not being allowed to go to Kolkata before I leave the country to pack some important things and secure my house. I was not allowed to step out for eight months (four months in Kolkata, three and a half months in Delhi). I was not allowed visiting hours at my place of confinement I was not allowed to meet my friends and acquaintances.

DNA - India - I have to escape from the death chamber: Taslima - Daily News & Analysis