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Culture

Taslima Nasrin attacked by Muslims in Hyderabad (Update: with video)

By: Santosh :+: Under: Culture, Desi Ishtyle, It Happens Only in India, Opinion, Religion
On: ⋅ August 9, 2007 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment
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I love the freedom of expression in India (tip Karthik via email).

Taslima’s controversial book
img: via wikipedia.com

If you don’t like what someone else has said or done you can express yourself - attack them, beat them up, threaten to gouge their eyes, take out fatwas, throw them in jail. Anything in the name of religion and politics. It doesn’t matter if you are Hindu or Muslim, religious extremists from either religion are free to attack you if they feel you’ve insulted their religion.

We’ve discussed Taslima Nasrin and her struggles with getting asylum in India previously on UberDesi. After the Indian government decided to extend her stay in India, Taslima was recently attacked by Muslim extremists in Hyderabad. Here’s the kicker, leading the attack was three MLAs from Andhra Pradesh.

From the TOI link:

Noted Bangladeshi novelist Taslima Nasreen was roughed up by activists of Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) at a book release function on Thursday.

A group of 20 MIM workers, led by MLAs Afsar Khan, Ahmed Pasha and Mozum Khan, stormed the Press Club premises and raised slogans against the author.

……… the MIM activists suddenly barged into the conference hall, attacked the press photographers, damaged the furniture and glass panes and some of them reached the dais and roughed up the novelist.

It warms the cockles of my heart to know that the elected representatives are out there getting down and dirty on the streets defending us from the evil scourge of society that scholars and painters are.

On another note, although the local police must be commended for arresting the trouble makers, it should be pointed out none of this would’ve happened in the first place with stronger security measures.

Update: The video of the attack and the subsequent reactions from CNN-IBN.

Anyone else find it troubling when one of the men interviewed says “we’re proud of what we did” and that the attack should’ve been more severe?

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