New Delhi, Aug 31
Drawing parallels between
the cold blooded killings of bloggers in Bangladesh and the murder of
M.M. Kalburgi, a writer and rationalist from Karnataka, Bangladeshi
writer Taslima Nasrin said the incident showed the growing intolerance
of religious fanatics in both India and Bangladesh.
"Is there
no freedom of expression in India? It is supposed to be the largest
democratic country and a secular one. In that case, why are
rationalists being killed," asked Nasrin.
In an interview to
IANS, the exiled author said it seems that Indian fanatics are taking a
cue from Bangladeshi extremists. "Are Indian extremists learning from
Bangladeshi extremists? Bangladeshi extremists kill writers who
criticise religion. Indian extremists do the same," Nasrin said.
Expressing
hope that the Indian government would rein in Kalburgi killers, Nasrin
said that she was concerned about the earlier killings of the Indian
rationalists Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare.
"I was
disturbed when I read about the killings of rationalists Dabholkar and
Pansare, even if I don't know them personally. I live in India and I
found it much safer than Bangladesh. I hope the Indian government will
take action against the murderers. Let's have free speech in the
subcontinent," she said.
The writer was vocal in social media
and in her writings about the recent slaying of four secular bloggers.
"(Bangladesh Prime Minister) Sheikh Hasina has been silent and she has
not taken any action against the killers," said Nasrin.
Bangladesh
has witnessed the murder of four bloggers this year. "The secular
bloggers Avijit, Ananta, Babu and Neel were killed in Bangladesh
because they spoke against religion and they were atheists. The Sheikh
Hasina government was silent. In fact, they work hand in hand with the
extremists," alleged Nasrin.
Ruing that Bangladesh was soon going
to be "another Pakistan", Nasrin said that free thinkers and atheists
were already fleeing the country. "Bangladesh is going to be another
Pakistan. There is no democracy and there are many Islamic
fundamentalists in the government and in the ruling party," added
Nasrin.
Maintaining that Islamic fundamentalism was a bigger
threat, Nasrin blamed Islam for the violence. "Islam tells people to
kill non-believers. However, Hindu religious texts like the (Bhagwad)
Gita call for peace," she said.
Nasrin fled Bangladesh in 1994
after death threats by Islamic fundamentalists for her views on Islam.
Although she took shelter in Kolkata in 2004, she had to leave after
protests in 2007.
While Nasrin always maintained that India was
home to her, it was only in 2011 that she got permission to live in
Delhi. Last week, the Indian government extended the visa for her stay
in India for another year. She then returned to India.
Nasrin is
also happy about the newly-released film "Nirbashito", a story based on
her life. Directed by Churni Ganguly, the movie is being released in
the capital. "I am happy about the way it is made. Although it has not
going into the details, it has done justice to my story," Nasrin said.
(Preetha Nair can be contacted at [email protected])
