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Indian Government Criticized For Giving In To Islamic Fundamentalists
India’s nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has criticized the ‘‘secular government’’ of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for giving in to Islamic fundamentalists over the Taslima Nasrin issue. According to the Urdu-language newspaper Roznama Inquilab, the BJP said it was saddened over the exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasrin's leaving India.
Feminist author Nasrin had been living in exile in India due to threats on her life by Islamic fundamentalists in Bangladesh. She left India recently for an unknown destination, saying that the Indian government could not guarantee her security or provide medical treatment.
According to the report, BJP spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy said the government should have granted political asylum to Nasrin, but had failed to provide even medical treatment.
Nasrin first left the communist-ruled Indian state of West Bengal because of threats from local fundamentalist groups. Later, the government of India kept her at unknown locations in New Delhi but did not allow her to make public appearances. According to the report, the BJP spokesman said that she had been under pressure from the government to leave India.
Source: Roznama Inquilab, Mumbai (India), March 25, 2008
Posted at: 2008-03-25
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