Secularism on trial

The decision by the West Bengal government to throw out Taslima Nasreen, the exiled Bangladeshi writer being hounded by Muslim fundamentalists, tarnishes its image further. This calls into question the CPI(M)'s commitment to one of its twin pillars of belief, secularism. The other, socialism, has already been shaken by the happenings in Nandigram where it found itself pitted against poor cultivators. The two issues have become entangled because many of the cultivators in Nandigram are Muslims. Ms Nasreen was forced to leave West Bengal after there was widespread rioting in Muslim areas of Kolkata during a protest organised by an obscure group against the CPI(M)'s violent role in Nandigram and also its decision to allow Ms Nasreen to stay in the state. She was recently attacked by Muslim fundamentalists in Hyderabad while she was being felicitated at the local press club (the journalists present physically saved her), and bundled out of the state. Ms Nasreen is accused by Muslim activists of blasphemy for her critical reference to Prophet Mohammed in one of her books.

She is well known for two books focusing on the condition of the Hindu minority in Bangladesh and the status of women in general in the Muslim-majority country. She is not considered a great writer but her courage in speaking up, for which she has been exiled from her country, is obvious. After spending time in Europe, she had come to West Bengal in the hope that she would find safety among fellow Bengalis under a secular dispensation. But that is not to be. What should further embarrass the CPI(M) is that she had to be bundled out of the state with the help of a group of businessmen originally from Rajasthan and taken to that BJP-ruled state before being moved to Delhi.

One issue here is the genuineness of the secularism professed by parties who have been traditionally accused by the BJP of pseudo-secularism, that is pandering to communal elements among Muslims in order to get their votes. The CPI(M) move vindicates the BJP stand and the party has been quick to send one of its functionaries to see Ms Nasreen in Delhi. The BJP itself has been quite easy with M F Husain being unable to enter the country because of court cases in which he is accused of showing disrespect to Hindu deities in his works. It is undeniable that secular beliefs cannot be strengthened if politicians keep pandering to backward-looking elements within the Muslim community. It is argued that the move to modernise practices among Indian Muslims must come from within the community, but that becomes impossible when regressive forces get their way through street violence. The more problematic issue, facing more than one democracy, is the question of whether freedom of expression should be absolute, or limited for both Ms Nasreen and Mr Husain by laws on blasphemy.