Exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen has accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of banning her play Lajja in the state. The play was scheduled to be staged at theatre festivals in Gobordanga and Pandua, Hooghly. Nasreen has taken to Facebook to claim that despite advertisements for the festivals running for two months, Mamata Banerjee’s police suddenly intervened without prior notice, informing organizers that all plays would be allowed except Lajja.
“The play was scheduled to be staged at theatre festivals in Gobordanga and Pandua, Hooghly. Advertisements for the festivals have been running for two months, and now, without any prior notice, Mamata Banerjee’s police suddenly informed us that all plays will be staged except Lajja,” wrote Nasreen. “The Nabapalli Natya Sanstha has staged this play three times in Delhi, with packed audiences each time.”
Nasreen further elaborated that the police had justified the ban by citing concerns over potential riots. “The police claim that staging Lajja will provoke Muslims to riot. Using the same excuse of potential Muslim riots, the State Government had previously stopped the airing of my mega serial Dusshahobas, which dealt with strained relationships, on Akash 8 TV channel,” she said.
The author questioned the reasoning behind the ban, pointing out that Lajja depicts an incident from Bangladesh, making the fear of riots in West Bengal unfounded. “The incident depicted in Lajja is from Bangladesh. Why would Muslims in West Bengal riot over an incident in Bangladesh? This is beyond my understanding. Citing the fear of riots, I was once forced to leave West Bengal as well,” Nasreen added.
She also expressed her frustration over the censorship of art and literature, calling out the Government’s actions. “Why is art and literature censored instead of taking action against those who want to incite riots? Why are the voices of artists and writers suppressed? How much longer will I alone continue to ask this question? Does no one else feel responsible for standing up against injustice?” she concluded.
Reacting to Taslima Nasreen’s claims, BJP’s IT-Cell head Amit Malviya said: “In an unprecedented move, the West Bengal Police has banned the staging of Taslima Nasrin’s Lajja at theater festivals in Gobordanga and Pandua, Hooghly, citing concerns over a potential Muslim reprisal”. He added,”If Mamata Banerjee is unable to manage law and order in Bengal and is so intimidated by Muslim veto that even art, culture and freedom of expression are being stifled, then she should consider stepping down.”
Lajja is a Bengali novel by Taslima Nasreen, who has long been targeted by hardline Muslims in Bangladesh. Faced with death threats from Islamic groups, Nasreen was forced to flee Bangladesh and seek asylum in India. The term “lajja” translates to “shame” in Bengali and several other Indo-Aryan languages. The novel depicts the violence, rape, looting, and murders of Bengali Hindus that occurred in December 1992.
First published in Bengali in 1993, the book was banned in Bangladesh. Despite the ban, it sold 50,000 copies within the first six months of its release.
