Friday, November 16, 2012

Lajja by Taslima Nasrin



This book was written soon after the Babri Masjid demolition in Ayodhya on 6 December 1992. The writer has narrated the plight of a Hindu family in Bangladesh soon after the riots spread in India and repercussion of it in Bangladesh.

Muslims in Bangladesh were savaging Hindus. Every hour incidents of rapes, incineration of temples, and house trampling of Hindu were flashing on TV. Despite this Sudhamay (leads protagonist and Hindu) was averse to others demand, while some Hindus were fleeing Bangladesh he wanted to stay in his motherland in the hope that riots will be recede some day. Like everyone he was also the staunch lover of his homeland and wanted to exercise his rights in his beloved country. But day after day situation was getting worse and they were being deprived of their fundamentals rights. Their atrocious behavior towards Hindu wasn’t waning.

One passage that really shook me,

“Loving ones country is a universal feeling. But when certain groups of people find that because they do not owe religious allegiance to the declared national religion, their religion is regarded as secondary or is perhaps even third grade in status. And when they are also branded as second class citizens, their egos take a tremendous battering.”

Taslima had tried to put her thoughts and reality of what was happening in Bangladesh without any bias and may be that was the reason that Muslims of Bangladesh issued Fatwa against her and fundamentalists in Bangladesh were clamoring for her life.

It’s really a good book to know the reality of what happened in Bangladesh after the Babri Masjid demolition. Many people don’t find courage to write against his/her own religion but Taslima Nasrin has it but then she has to pay hefty price for it. We need writers of this kind who try to reveal the reality. I think India has lost a very good writer in the name of Salman Rushdie. Hope in coming years we give enough space to the writer to write freely without and restrictions.

“True love is always inside us, loving is learning to use it.”

Have a great weekend!

3 comments:

Renu said...

I have also got it and read it..its the truth told clearly..but in India you cant write anything wwhere muslims are culprit, you become communal, write anything against hindus, you are secular..

Reflections said...

Have heard a lot abt the book.
Thanks for the review:-)!!!

Anil Anuragi said...

@Renu ji: No can claim to be a secular. We are all hypocrite in some form of the other. Yeah the book is brilliantly written! :)

@Reflection: Yeah please do! Thanks :)