Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Shame

All secular and progressive people should condemn in one voice the attack on Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasrin in Hyderabad by a mob led by Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen legislators. India’s secular image stands tarnished at the global level. Taslima is here because we are a secular nation. The three MLAs should be dismissed from the Assembly. We should also guard against attempts by fascist forces to communalise the issue.

B. Ekbal,
Kottayam

The attack by the lawmakers is a shame on the values of democracy. As elected MLAs, they are expected to respect and protect the freedom of expression enshrined in the Constitution. The MLAs should be disqualified with immediate effect.

Kishore Kumar Soma,
Hyderabad

The MLAs have brought Lajja (shame) to the nation. How do they seek to justify the attack on a woman? What precedent are they setting for the Muslim youth? By acting as they did, they have on ly proved Ms. Nasrin — and her views — right.

Rohit Nair,
Visakhapatnam

One wonders whether the MLAs deserve to sit in the legislature. Such elements should be dealt with firmly under the law. Their statements after the attack show they have no respect for the law, let alone women. It is time parties such as the MIM were banned for advocating such rabid views on religion.

G. Umesh,
Surathkal

Resorting to violence to muzzle the voices of those who do not conform to their ideology has been the hallmark of fundamentalists anywhere in the world. The MIM is no exception. The activists’ question as to who mustered the guts to invite Ms. Nasrin to Hyderabad is deplorable and has no place in a democratic, secular country like ours. It is people like them who provide grist to the mill of fundamentalists of other religions to spread the fire of communalism.

Narendra Nayak,
Mangalore

I came to Hyderabad in 1960. I was astounded by the dignity and civility of the people. Courtesy from aadab to khuda hafiz was the hallmark of the Hyderabadis. I have many Muslim friends whose culture has always been a source of inspiration to me. But I do not know how to react after seeing the newspapers today. An unprotected woman being attacked in public by men! Outrageous!

R. Ramanan,
Hyderabad

The attack was cowardly, cheap, and undemocratic. Every civilised person must condemn it and every Indian must hang his head in shame for the violence unleashed against a woman. I have not read any work of Ms. Nasrin. But I support her right to express her views through literature. Even if I disagree with her writings, I will make known my opposition through civilised ways.

K. Anilkumar,
Tirupur

I do not agree with Ms. Nasrin’s views but I condemn the attack on her in the strongest possible words. I hope non-Muslims will not consider the perpetrators of this attack the representatives of Indian Muslims.

Haseeb Khan,
Nagpur There are several ways of expressing opposition and there is no place for vandalism in a democracy. It is a shame that MLAs led the attack on the writer.

B. Radhakrishna Murty,
Hyderabad

That elected representatives took the lead in organising an act of vandalism makes the incident more shameful. Adding insult to injury is their statement justifying their act. The unsavoury incident, which is yet another blow against democracy, points to the dangers of growing fanaticism and the need for the law-enforcement agencies to crack down.

B. Suresh Kumar,
Coimbatore

It was highly disturbing to watch on television a group of mindless entities calling themselves ‘true Musalmaans’ inflicting humiliation on Ms. Nasrin. None of the people on the dais including Taslima, though visibly shattered, ran away from the scene. They stood up to the vandalism, which was heartening.

S.V. Venugopalan
Chennai

The sight of the terrified woman trying to protect herself was pathetic. She is in a foreign country and has left everything and everyone close to her behind for her principles. The MLAs should be disqualified and punished for attempting to kill a hapless woman.

W. Isaac,
Nagercoil

August 10 was a black day for democracy in India. For the millions watching the footage on television, the incident showed what the MLAs believed was legitimate — violence. Ms. Nasrin’s ‘fault’ — she spoke against a religious order that legitimises treating men and women differently. Before the ghastly incident fades out of public memory and anything more important (like a celebrity kiss) steals the show, I hope the MLAs are punished under the law.

Anirudh Pulipaka,
Secunderabad

The act of hooliganism should be condemned by all. Irrespective of the so-called fatwas against the woman writer, Muslim zealots would do well to remember that India is not an Islamic republic.

K.P. Ashok Kumar,
Thiruvananthapuram

It is a matter of disgrace and shame to the whole nation that a foreigner, a woman, has been treated so shabbily in our country. It is all the more disturbing to learn that MLAs were responsible for attacking her. Fundamentalism, if not checked in time, will degenerate into terrorism as it did in Pakistan recently.

K.V.S.S.S. Rajeswari,
Vijayawada

The MIM legislators have done a disservice to their party and all they claim to represent. Their assault was not only on freedom of expression but also on the values for which our nation stands, including hospitality. The fact that they resorted to vandalism when there are so many peaceful ways of protesting exposes their skewed vision.

Suresh Manoharan,
Hyderabad

The assault on Taslima by the legislators aptly reflects their moral bankruptcy. They have shamed all of India by their behaviour. I am sure none of her attackers would have read Taslima’s works or for that matter any sensible book. The least we can do now is to hand out exemplary punishment to them.

V.K. Kurian,
Kolkata

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