Taslima Nasrin interviewed by S S. ChattopadhayY

how long could she survive in pakistan? - t

Well, I am just glad to be still alive. I am a writer and I wish to express myself through my words, and I know that the majority of the people of India believe in such freedom of expression. Those who stand against such freedoms are far fewer compared with those who stand for it. My opinions, my way of thinking, are different from the fundamentalists’ and because of this difference they have, right from the beginning, decreed fatwas on me, led demonstrations against me, forc ed me into hiding, tried to have my books banned, burnt my books, burnt effigies of me, registered law suits against me. But the democracy in India is much stronger than that in Bangladesh and Pakistan, and I feel if there is any country in this subcontinent where I can be safe, it is here. Furthermore, I belong to this subcontinent, I write for and of the people of this subcontinent, I speak one of the many languages [Bengali] spoken in India. I truly believe that whatever be the demonstrations and unrest that are being orchestrated by the fundamentalists, the administration and the government will be able to contain them.

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