The Hindu : National : Taslima’s visa extended

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Friday, Feb 15, 2008
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Taslima’s visa extended

Sandeep Dikshit

Taslima Nasreen

NEW DELHI: A day after civil society organisations rose to the defence of exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen, the Government has decided to extend her visa for another six months. Her visa was to expire on February 17.

New Delhi maintained that “India has a tradition of offering hospitality to those who seek it.” “It has also afforded protection to those who have come as our guests. Ms. Taslima Nasreen is our guest and, in keeping with our traditions, we have offered her the same privileges,” said a Foreign Office spokesperson.

At the same time he maintained that it is incumbent on those who are welcomed as guests in India that they remain sensitive to India’s traditions and do not conduct themselves in a manner that either affects our relations with other countries or cause hurt to our secular ethos.

“We expect that they do not undertake actions that could hurt the sentiments of the many communities that make up our multi-religious and multi-ethnic nation. These are the same restraints which we in India follow. We expect nothing less from our guests.”

Government sources said the restrictions on her movement would continue. She is understood to have been confined to a “safe house” here. On Wednesday, several intellectuals including Mahashweta Devi, Girish Karnad and Habib Tanwir had called for removing the curbs on her movement and granting her Indian citizenship.

Ms. Nasreen was moved out of her Kolkata residence in November last year after violence broke out over her stay in the country. She was shifted to Jaipur and later to a “safe house” in the national capital where she is being at present confined.

Earlier in August last year, Ms. Nasreen was attacked by activists of a pro-Muslim organisation in Hyderabad but the government nevertheless extended her visa by six months while the West Bengal government tightened security arrangements for her. She currently holds a European Union passport issued by Sweden and has been in exile for 12 years since Dhaka revoked her Bangladeshi passport.

The controversial author has described India as her “second home” and a “good place to live in.” Her writings have angered pro-Muslim groups who believe she has been deliberatively provocative against Islam

PTI reports:

Ms. Nasreen expressed gratitude to the government for extending her visa, but remained concerned about curbs on her movement and freedom of expression.

It was nice to get the visa extended, but “the curbs on freedom of my movement and expression would remain,” she told PTI from an undisclosed place.

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