Author: Our Special Correspondent
Publication: The Telegraph
Date: November 29, 2003
URL: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1031129/asp/frontpage/story_2624792.asp
A few years ago, the Left Front
government invited Deepa Mehta to shoot in Bengal when she was hounded
out of Varanasi by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal for hurting
religious sentiments in the now abandoned film Water.
Yesterday, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's
government banned Taslima Nasreen's book, Dwikhandita, also because it
hurt religious sentiments.
If there is a contradiction between
the red carpet for Mehta and the gag on Taslima, it hasn't eluded the eyes
of the controversial Bangladeshi author.
"A lot of people told me that Kolkata
and Dhaka were ideologically the same," Taslima told PTI. "But I had refused
to believe them since for me West Bengal represented the citadel of democracy.
Today I know they were right."
The chief minister did not accept
there was a contradiction. "These discussions are time-consuming," he said.
"But let me also say we did our research before taking a decision. I have
not only read the book but also taken opinion from at least 20 to 25 persons
who matter."
Who are these people "who matter"?
He did not say.
Sources close to the government
said Bhattacharjee had consulted authors Dibyendu Palit, Sankha Ghosh and
Sunil Gangopadhyay, among others.
Ghosh admitted being spoken to.
"But it will be wrong to talk about Deepa Mehta's film in this context.
It did not attack any religious leader. The decision (to ban) has been
taken because the book contains objectionable comments on Prophet Mohammed,"
he said.
There are books that hurt religious
sentiments but have not been banned. The Last Temptation of Christ, for
instance.
Taslima cites her own books to highlight
the contradiction.
"Aamar Meyebela (My Girlhood) was
far more anti-Islamic than this one. Why didn't they ban it?" she asked.
Indeed, Lajja was banned in Bangladesh for the same reasons the Left Front
government is citing, but it was not proscribed in Bengal. Why?
Novelist Palit said: "They must
have imposed the ban after taking note of the appeal made by Muslim intellectuals
who had apprehended that the book might foment communal discord. The Left
Front government is known for upholding freedom of speech. When it has
taken a step like this, there must be good reason for it," he said.
Palit is not the only one who has
abundant faith in the judgement of this government. Novelist Suchitra Bhattacharya
said she heard certain portions of the book could foment communal tension.
"We are going through a crucial
time. Those who have banned the book must have taken the decision after
going through it carefully."
There are others like novelist Buddhadeb
Guha and academician Sunanda Sanyal who fail to see "good reason".
"Anyone can write anything. People
generally tell the truth in autobiographies," Guha said.
The government's critics are saying
it embraced Mehta with open arms to score points off organisations affiliated
to the BJP.
Rallying behind Bhattacharjee, the
CPM state secretary, Anil Biswas, said: "We have banned the book because
it hurts the sentiments of a particular community. In a secular country,
it is the responsibility of the majority to protect the minority community
and maintain communal harmony at any cost."
