Lajja By Taslima Nasrin

Finally read the controversial novel 'Lajja' by Taslima Nasrin. Thank you to Minu Mani. Had been waiting to get hold of this book since so long. Quite often had asked my LIC madam Sara Jalal on what was it about, so also had been hearing about this from so many - especially Praseed. It is a savage indictment of religious extremism and man's inhumanity to man.

'Let Another Name for Religion be Humanism....It is one of the greatest frauds on the people to suggest that religious affinity can unite areas which are geographically, economically, linguistically and culturally different...'

After 1947, for 24 yrs those who promoted the idea of imperialism, clamoured for the propagation of their religion, the denuniciation of India and the perpetuation of communalism, thereby depriving the citizens of Bangladesh of their democratic rights. In 1971 when their nationalism was born, the heritage of the Bengalis, which was more than a 1000 years old, had been wiped out in favour of what was known as the Bangladeshi spirit. After 1975 communalism was reborn. So also fanaticism, malice and despotism.

The damage was done way back in 1947...millions of hindu refugees from east pakistan which was the then east bengal were hounded out by the muslim fanatics...from then onwards bengal economy faced a blow....This became stronger when one Babri Masjid was brought down in Ayodhya on 6th December 1992. The world condemns this incident - but 1000's of temples broken, hindu houses looted in the Muslim countries are never brought into limelight. What is secularisam? Do religion ask people to fight in it's name?

Translated from Bengali by Tutul Gupta - the book tells about these through the stroy of a hindu family - The Duttas- in Bangladesh; who for the love of their motherland did not want to fled into India - but was treated brutally there by Muslim fundmentalists, and their world begins to fall apart.

Unremittingly dark and menacing, the novel exposes the mindless bloodthirstiness of fundamentalism and captures the insanity of violence in our time. Just reiterating 'Violence bigots violence and infliction of death in turn leads into deaths door.’ or does it say that love for motherland is a waste?