Support … activists protest against the attack on the author.
Photo: AP
A CROWD of about 100 Islamist militants broke into a news conference and assaulted exiled Bangladeshi novelist Taslima Nasrin, hurling books, bouquets of flowers and abuse at the author who has enraged many Muslims with writings harshly critical of their religion.
The writer, who has been the target of numerous death threats over the past 15 years, was shaken but not badly hurt.
Shouting slogans accusing Nasrin of ridiculing Islam, the protesters surged into the press club in Hyderabad on Thursday where she was presenting a newly published translation of her book Shodh [Getting Even]. The attackers, including three politicians belonging to a locally based hardline Muslim party, overturned chairs and cornered Nasrin, shouting that she should leave India. Police were called and made at least three arrests.
The Government condemned the attack and said it would extend Nasrin's six-month visa, due to expire this month.
"I hope to live safely in this country as a democrat," said Nasrin, 44, after being escorted to safety by police. "The people who attacked me are in a minority. I get support and sympathy from a majority of people."
In the West, Nasrin's defiance of clerical authority and her refusal to be cowed by death threats or the banning of her books have made her a rallying cry for free speech. But she is a polarising figure in India, which offered her temporary shelter two years ago after she was barred from returning to her native Bangladesh.
To many Indian Muslims, Nasrin's presence is a burr that will be removed only when she leaves. Hardline Hindus see this attitude as another sign that Muslims are incapable of tolerating views they do not like.
The Indian Government is trapped in the middle, anxious not to provoke greater Muslim anger yet watched by vigilant Hindu extremists for any sign of "catering" to the Islamic minority.
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