LEADERS OF fundamentalist forces in Kolkata have become active again over the Taslima Nasreen issue. The move comes after a section of litterateurs, artists, and theatre personalities staged a rally in the city on Saturday demanding that the Bangladeshi writer be allowed to return to the city. Taslima had complained to the media that she was being kept under house arrest in New Delhi.

 

On Monday, the chairman of the All India Minority Forum let loose another salvo at the Bangladeshi author calling her ‘characterless”. Ali was instrumental in starting riots in Kolkata on November 22 when he called for a three-hour chhaka jam in the city demanding that Taslima’s visa be revoked and she be expelled from India. Other fundamentalist leaders seized the opportunity and egged on younger members of the Muslim community in the city to go on the rampage burning as many as 11 cars and stoning and damaging 33 public buses. Armed with soda water and soft drink bottles, the youth fought a pitched battle with the police and the Rapid Action Force for hours till the army was called into stage a flag march.

 

Days later Ali was arrested and remanded to judicial custody. He spent 15 days in the cooler before being bailed out. Back to mischief he has questioned Taslima’s character. Collared by a television channel he said Taslima should be asked by the government of India to go back to Bangladesh. He said she had hurt the sentiments of the Muslim community with her offending pages in her book Dwikhondito and just dropping the pages from her next edition was not good enough. “She must apologize to the Muslim community”. Asked to elaborate on his comment about Taslima’s character, Ali hummed and hawed and said he could not discuss it on air.

 

Ali’s comment has drawn the ire of the intellectuals who have been rallying to get her back to Kolkata. Bratya Basu, theatre director called it a deliberate attempt to provoke further trouble. “Ali wants to foment trouble again over Taslima and has made the comment after much deliberation to create mischief,” he told news channels.

 

Bivas Chakravarty, another renowned theatre personality, said Ali had no standing and what he said should not be given cognizance. Blaming Ali for starting riots last month, he said the Minority Forum leader was arrested and should have been confined in jail to prevent him creating further mischief.

 

Others wanted to know how a nonentity like Ali has become the conscience keeper of the nation and asked who had given him the authority to judge people’s character.