Author: Taslima Nasreen
Publication: Outlook
Date: March 19, 2008
URL: http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20080319&fname=taslima&sid=1&pn=1
'When they saw it was pointless trying to
destroy my mind, they attempted to destroy my body. In this they succeeded
by ruining my health which leaves me with no other alternative but to leave
this country'
I used to call this the torture chamber. I
gradually came to realize that it was the chamber of death instead. I was
not even allowed to stay in hospital for long though the doctors felt it was
necessary in order to stabilize my blood pressure. But then, orders are orders
and the government did not want to be inconvenienced by me in any way whatsoever.
The government did not want the media to know I had been hospitalized. I did
not have my mobile phone with me and the doctors at the government's hospital
--AIIMS -- were instructed to discharge me after a certain period of time.
Curiously though, the decision was not left to the doctors as to what this
certain period of time was to be. The last time I was admitted to this hospital
a few weeks ago I was suddenly discharged as a result of governmental pressure.
I am sure this was linked to a report in the Times of India which stated I
had been hospitalized.
At this undisclosed location I am neither
allowed to go to a doctor for consultation nor is one allowed to come to me.
I suffer from severely fluctuating blood pressure and the strange thing is
that I was not even allowed to speak to any of the doctors at the hospital
over the telephone. Even after repeated requests I was not given a single
phone number. When I was in hospital, I asked the doctors if I could call
them if necessary but they said that they were not allowed to hand out their
numbers. I had to make inquiries through officials to get even the simplest
of answers from these doctors. I have suffered tremendously both physically
and mentally. My blood pressure is now impossible to control. The doctors
say it is due to stress which I must avoid at all costs. How can I not be
stressed when everything is continuously stressing me out? I am brought to
this place and incarcerated like some animal; my human rights constantly and
continually violated. I am not allowed to step out or meet anyone. How can
I not be stressed? I received the extension of my resident's permit, but the
status quo continued.
And because of the high blood pressure caused
by stress, I developed heart disease (hypertrophy) and hypertensive retinopathy,
both of which were diagnosed at the hospital. The hypertensive retinopathy
will eventually cause me to go blind. The blood pressure if uncontrolled destroy
the heart, kidneys and eyes.
Prior to my confinement, my blood pressure
had been under control and all my organs were in perfect condition. After
returning from hospital, I wanted to leave this country at the earliest as
I knew I would never be free from stress here. I said I needed to go to Kolkata
urgently to collect a few important documents and other assorted things including
bank cards and to sign my tax papers.
That too, just the basic permission to visit
my Kolkata flat to wrap up my life there, was denied for security reasons.
Even though they constantly pressured me mentally
to leave the country, I refused to budge. I was determined I would not leave
this country. When they saw it was pointless trying to destroy my mind, they
attempted to destroy my body. In this they succeeded by ruining my health
which leaves me with no other alternative but to leave this country.
It is important that all this be known. I
made repeated requests to be allowed to consult a medical specialist as my
condition was growing worse with the ever increasing stress I had to face
in this not-so-gilded cage.
I was not allowed to see a doctor for more
than two months. The decision makers asked the officials not to attend to
me especially when I desperately needed a doctor. Two months after my initial
request, I was eventually taken to a quack to an undisclosed third location
who could, unsurprisingly, do nothing at all.
I insisted that I had to see a cardiologist
or at least a specialist. I was then told that this would entail a visit to
the doctor's chamber. I agreed to go but was told that I would not be allowed
to go to a doctor's chamber because of the 'security risks' involved. I fell
very ill and told the officials I was likely to have a heart attack.
After a few days, at the same undisclosed
location, I was allowed to see a doctor from the AIIMS who prescribed some
medicines after taking which I fainted. The same night I was admitted to hospital
where my blood pressure fell alarmingly and had to be given life-saving-drugs
to survive.
The doctors told me that I needed to spend
two or three weeks in hospital but the officials whisked me away from the
critical care unit after just three days and took me directly to meet the
Minister for External Affairs. The Minister asked me to leave the country
the shock of which made my blood pressure shoot It has been nearly eight months
that I have been living under virtual house arrest, in a prison without any
facilities. I have been asked continuously by the government to leave this
country. Naturally, this has upset me a great deal as I left Europe to relocate
to India; to make India my permanent home. I settled in Kolkata where I was
living peacefully in a Bengali milieu. I was very active helping oppressed
women and writing feminist and humanist literature. Just because a few Muslim
fundamentalists objected to my being in this country, I was first imprisoned
in Kolkata and then moved to Delhi. In order for the politicians to secure
their Muslim vote bank, I had to be locked up and, as a consequence, my health
was irreparably destroyed.
Summing Up
* I was not allowed to see a doctor even when
my blood pressure was fluctuating uncontrollably because of the stress put
on me by the GoI.
* I was not allowed to see a specialist for
'security reasons'.
* I was finally seen by a doctor chosen by
the GOI, just after having his prescribed medicine, drug poisoning started,
I fainted and I was admitted to a government's hospital.Life-saving-drugs
saved my life.
* I was not allowed to stay in hospital for
'security reasons'.
* When it was made clear that I must avoid
stress and stressful situations, I was taken from the CCU( cardiac care unit)
to meet the Minister for External Affairs who put great mental pressure on
me to leave the country.
* When my blood pressure reached 220/120 after
talking with the Minister, I begged to get admission in the hospital, but
I was not allowed.
* I am not being allowed to go to Kolkata
before I leave the country to pack some important things and secure my house.
* I was not allowed to step out for eight
months ( 4 months in Kolkata, 3 and 1/2 months in Delhi)
* I was not allowed visiting hours at my place
of confinement
* I was not allowed to meet my friends and
acquaintances
Footnote:
Taslima Nasreen is leaving India to rescue
her life. She does not flee from the threat of the fundamentalists, but from
the unbearable conditions in which she is held. For four months now, the Indian
Government is keeping her in solitary confinement at an undisclosed location.
She is not allowed to meet anybody including closest friends. And worse: she
has been denied urgently needed medical treatment. As a result, her health
is in alarming condition.
I have been in constant phone contact with
Taslima Nasreen in her secret prison. The following shocking document, written
by her some days ago and sent to me, has been kept under wraps according to
her wishes till the eve of her departure. This morning she told me that I
could release it.
- Sanal Edamaruku
