Taslima Nasrin is a Swedish-Bangladeshi author, human rights activist, and a youth icon who has written brave accounts of oppression of women and the evil face of communalism. A Fatwa was issued against her, which she claims was because it became very apparent how the state failed in protecting its citizens under the garb of religion in the book.
This book is important for me because it was banned in Bangladesh and remains a very critical text, decades later.
It took me back to a line from Ravish Kumar’s The Free Voice that says “In the drawing rooms of the elite, communal talk is already like a dessert after a good meal.” This line has become more relatable, and has been reinforced, after completing the book.
Of late, a lot of political narratives involve religious ideologies and religion-based atrocities. On the one hand, there are all kinds of accounts around social issues of oppression and human rights violation. One of the important points of discussion has also been the interference of the state with religion to run a democracy. These issues are evidently and subtly covered in depth by one of the very courageous authors, Taslima Nasrin, in her book Lajja.
In 1992, in India, Babri Masjid was demolished, which was followed by riots and unrest throughout the country. The ripples of that demolition also spread to the neighbouring country of Bangladesh. The book talks about the situation on ground, of how the Bengali Hindus faced atrocities as a result of the agitation of Muslims in Bangladesh over the incident back in India. The story revolves around the Duttas, who live in Bangladesh.
It’s the accounts of Suronjon, Sudhamoy, Maya, and Kironmoyee Dutta who find it difficult to live with the tag of being a ‘Hindu’. Sudhamoy and Suronjon were politically vocal, didn’t subscribe to the idea of religious fundamentalism, and were liberals. Sudhamoy was also part of the famous Liberation War of 1971.
The story begins with how things started to take a drastic turn after the unfortunate incident of the Babri Masjid demolition in October 1992. Muslims of Bangladesh took to the streets, and unleashed violence in the city—killing and lynching almost anyone who looked Hindu or had a Hindu name; raping and killing women; destroying properties belonging to Hindus; and threatening them to leave the country.
Sudhamoy and Kironmoyee always had conflicting opinions about moving to India to save themselves from any harm. Kironmoyee wanted to move, as most of her family was in India and it would provide them a little more certainty in life. However, her husband Sudhamoy was never fond of the idea. For him, Bangladesh was his country, and he wanted to live in the country that was his. He seemed fairly optimistic about staying in Bangladesh. He would say that the unrest would end soon, and that this was his country as much as it was of any Muslim.
Lajja is a brave book that talks about the struggles the Dutta family had to go through to prove their nationalism. It explores the story of the four central characters, and how their political ideologies get influenced by the violence in the country.
It is a fast read, and for someone who reads often, it should be finished in a week. Taslima’s writing is simple and clear. Her subtle hints at religious fundamentalism, gender oppression, and the idea of nationalism make this book worth the money and time spent on it.
I would recommend this book 8/10, for it is still relevant after decades of the horrific incident that shook the India, with ripple effects in Bangladesh and maybe many other countries.
The article was first published here.