The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : Taslima issue

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Thursday, Nov 29, 2007
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Taslima issue

Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen’s charge that the Kolkata police brought mental pressure on her to leave the city (Nov. 28) is unfortunate. The government is doing its best to protect her from fundamentalists. The last thing we expect her to do in return is to blame the government for the adverse situation in which she finds herself. It is time she stopped insisting on returning to Kolkata.

The people of West Bengal do not want riots. She can opt for another State and save the government the embarrassment of having to deport her because of political unrest.

A. Deepa,

Bangalore

Taslima’s frantic longing to return to Kolkata appears hypocritical. It is unthinkable that a creative genius can denigrate her country of birth out of love for the country that has granted her asylum.

One remembers in this context how Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn longed to return to Russia when he was in exile in West Germany.

K.M. Ajir Kutty,

Edava

* * *

We are living in a country where everyone enjoys the freedom of speech and expression. We cannot ban or suppress an idea just because it hurts the sentiments of a few. Even Galileo was considered a sinner because his discoveries were against the beliefs of his times. The question is: who is to judge what is right and wrong? We may not agree with what a person says but we must acknowledge his or her right to expression.

Gunnit Kaur,

Chandigarh

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