Protesters Block Book Launch
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. Fair organizers, however, cited problems with the auditorium as the official reason to call 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 the Jaipur Literature Festival 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 their victory by not allowing my book to be launched in Kolkata. What next?”
She said her hopes of a better Bengal under Mamata Banerjee had been dashed. “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.
TURBULENT TIMES 1993 | Taslima’s 'Lajja' banned in Bangladesh. Fundamentalists set price on her head
1994 | Moves to Sweden. Awarded Sakharov prize for freedom of thought by European Parliament
1999-2000 | Granted visa for India. Fundamentalists threaten to kill her if she visits Mumbai
2003 | West Bengal govt bans 'Dwikhandito' for hurting religious sentiments. Two male authors — an Indian and a Bangladeshi —file defamation cases against her
2004 | Gets residence permit to live in India, sets up home in Kolkata
2005 | Calcutta HC lifts ban on ‘Dwikhandito’
2007 | Leaves Kolkata after violent protests; attacked in Hyderabad
2008 | Centre asks her to leave India. Allowed to stay in country in 2011
2012 | Book launch at Kolkata fair cancelled. Publishers release book at stall amid protests‘Book launch planned to insult Muslims’
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 then clarified in the evening that they feared the release could have affected the security of thousands of visitors at the fair.
“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 discussed the matter with Kolkata Police who said that the group had met senior officers at 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. “We were told that since the Kolkata Literary Meet ended late last night, the hall could not be prepared for our programme. But unofficially we have been told that since the book is Taslima’s, and she is a banned author, it was blacked out,” said Shibani Mukherjee, publisher.
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