Author: Sumit Sen
Publication: The Hindustan Times
Date: May 6, 2002
URL: http://www.hindustantimes.com/nonfram/060502/detNAT13.asp
Rahul Roy, a Delhi based journalist
visits Bangladesh in October, 2000 to cover elections there. Before returning,
a trip to his ancestral home in Bhola is an eye opener - he sees the atrocities
inflicted on minorities. He files a series of reports which attract international
attention, following which he is forced to leave Bangladesh.
Nine years after Taslima Nasreen
wrote her explosive novel- "Lajja", Salam Azad, a prominent Bangladeshi
human rights activist and writer has drawn attention to the fierce anti-minority
campaign through his central character, Rahul Roy. The novel, Ethnic Cleansing
is scheduled to be released late this month.
Another book---"Post election atrocities
on the Hindus in Bangladesh", edited by him, is also scheduled to hit the
stands at the same time.
The explosive ingredients of the
books can lead to a backlash from Bangladesh's political circles - and
Azad knows this. He is also aware of Nasreen's fate after "Lajja" was published,
but is unperturbed and determined, his friends in Kolkata say.
"I am ready for anything. I have
written what I have seen and heard from authentic sources. A deliberate
attempt is being made to ensure faster Islamisation of a nation founded
on the spirit of secularism. Hindus and other minorities are no longer
safe. Post election atrocities have made it clear that they have no place
in Bangladesh. " Azad told Hindustan Times before leaving for Dhaka.
"No publisher in Bangladesh has
the courage to publish these books so I had to come to Kolkata."
In 'Post election atrocities on
the Hindus in Bangladesh' he refers to how minorities,had been tortured
for backing the Awami League.
