Book Review: Lajja by Taslima Nasrin

After years of trying to figure out why exactly the book 'Lajja' was banned, and unable to find a copy to read, I finally laid my hands on the book recently. Given the title of the book and the fact that it was banned, I had very conveniently assumed that the book was on women and their plight in Bangladesh. But on reading it, I realised it was on a totally different topic - the constant and ongoing persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh due to the slow and steady transition of a secular nation to a fundamentalist one. And all of it was news to me.

To be honest, the book is nothing extraordinary in its quality and way of writing. It shifts from a fictional story about a Hindu family which has to face constant struggles during riots that broke out in Bangladesh after the Babri Masjid incident, to a documentary which lists all the atrocities and unfairness faced by Hindus over the years. The book is not too well written and can be easily critiqued.

But inspite of its failings, it is a depressing story and ends up affecting you. Reading about the plight of a family trying very hard to not let their religion overtake their nationalism and finally losing the battle cannot be a happy read.

For me though, what affected me more than the story was the fact that something like this has been happening for years right next to my country, and I did not even know of its existence. I know that a lot of Bangladeshis have been shifting to India for many years. I also know of Bangladesh's strained relations with India even though India played a pivotal role in its independence. But I had never figured out the reason for all these happenings.

Could it be that what is written in the book is true, that Bangladesh which became independent as a secular country has become a fundamentalist country now and that is the cause of their tensions with India? I don't know yet, and I don't feel like trying to find out either...