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Taslima Nasrin's Autobiography ##7
Exile: A Memoir
On 21 November 2007, the city of Kolkata came to a rude, screeching halt as a virulent mob of religious fanatics took to the streets. Armed with a fatwa from their ideologues, the mob demanded that Taslima Nasrin leave the city immediately. While the police stood watching, mere dumb witnesses to such hooliganism, a morally, intellectually and politically bankrupt Left Front government, tottering under the strain of their thirty-year-old backward-looking rule, decided to ban her book and drive her out of the city she has always considered her second home.
This inextricable nexus of petty political conspiracies, vote bank politics and minority appeasement saw Taslima being hurriedly shifted, first to Jaipur and then to Delhi, confined to an obscure safe house and facing incessant pressure from senior officials and politicians to leave India. Set against a rising tide of fundamentalism and intolerance, Exile is a moving and shocking chronicle of Taslima Nasrin’s struggles in India over a period of seven months. Dark, provocative and at times surreal, it will resonate powerfully with readers in the present socio-political scenario.
This inextricable nexus of petty political conspiracies, vote bank politics and minority appeasement saw Taslima being hurriedly shifted, first to Jaipur and then to Delhi, confined to an obscure safe house and facing incessant pressure from senior officials and politicians to leave India. Set against a rising tide of fundamentalism and intolerance, Exile is a moving and shocking chronicle of Taslima Nasrin’s struggles in India over a period of seven months. Dark, provocative and at times surreal, it will resonate powerfully with readers in the present socio-political scenario.
- GenresNonfiction
336 pages, Hardcover
Published October 16, 2016
13 people are currently reading
229 people want to read
About the author
Taslima Nasrin
130 books429 followersTaslima Nasrin (Bengali: তসলিমা নাসরিন) is an award-winning Bangladeshi writer, physician, secular humanist and human rights activist, known for her powerful writings on women oppression and unflinching criticism of religion, despite forced exile and multiple fatwas calling for her death. Early in her literary career, she wrote mainly poetry, and published half a dozen collections of poetry between 1982 and 1993, often with female oppression as a theme. She started publishing prose in the early 1990s, and produced three collections of essays and four novels before the publication of her 1993 novel Lajja (Bengali: লজ্জা Lôjja), or Shame. Because of her thoughts and ideas she has been banned, blacklisted and banished from Bengal, both from Bangladesh and West Bengal part of India. Since fleeing Bangladesh in 1994, she has lived in many countries, and lives in United States as of July 2016. Nasrin has written 40 books in Bengali, which includes poetry, essays, novels and autobiography series. Her works have been translated in thirty different languages. Some of her books are banned in Bangladesh.'
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December 8, 2016
Exile. The first thing that comes to my mind when I see this word is the lives of the Pandavas in Mahabharata during their 13 year stint outside their kingdom including a year being incognito. The Pandavas were banished from their kingdom for losing in a game of dice. Or should I say - cheated of their kingdom? And at the end of the day they come back to their kingdom, fight it out, get their kingdom back from the Kauravas and the tale has a sort of happy ending.
Taslima Nasrin - the popular author - however, at least at this time, cannot boast of a happy ending to her tale of exile. Instead what she can do and has done is written what she went through during her exile in the 2007-08 time frame. Taslima has been a controversial figure in India and Bangladesh, thanks to her books - Dwikhandito in particular. Unfortunately, the author who seems to have done a tell-all in Dwikhandito rubbed the wrong side of people and got herself into a mess. While the grudges against her all seem to be personal from what she says, the threat against her life which came as an aftermath of these burnt bridges were all politically and religiously motivated.
Exile is a not a difficult book to read. However, it is a difficult book to digest. Any normal human being takes a lot of things in her/his life for granted. These include shelter, proximity to loved ones, a routine and above a safe and sane surrounding. Unfortunately, Taslima who returned back to Kolkata in 2007 or so, had this sort of a routine life short-lived, thanks to her perpetrators (if you will) who attacked her during a visit to Hyderabad. Since then, her life was all about being moving from Kolkata to Jaipur and then being moved to Delhi, and then an almost solitary confinement in Delhi for a long time till she moved to Sweden. The book is a tell-all in its own way and picks up from the point where Taslima talks about the difficulty she’s had in getting this book of her’s out. This is followed by a memoir of sorts describing her exile.
The book has writings in three forms: one - a pretty normal narrative in first person, two - a set of poems written by her during her exile, and three - ‘Excerpts from a Diary’ as she likes to call it. The first form is moves pretty quickly and reads like any other autobiography while it is still filled with a lot of angst. The second form, a set of poems, is a short segment and shows Taslima’s passion towards writing her own life in a poetic way (though it appears in print as prose). The third form, which forms a major chunk of the books, is something that starts out like a regular diary and goes on to convey her frustration related to the two countries India and Bangladesh, her friends, her ‘well-wishers’, her religion (Islam), the politicians, and men. However, it is in this segment that the writing and her though process (considering it is a diary) gets very very repetitive. Her sad situation is very well evident in the diary which is seen in the multiple entries which almost read alike.
I will not dismiss Exile as yet another book. It is an important book to someone who is unaware of how a celebrated author can be put to distress by two countries that she calls home and then is given refuge by countries that she does not relate to. It gives one a perspective that however advanced the human race may have become, there is still a young section of the human race which is dumb and does not think rationally and a lot of things can be motivated politically and religiously. It takes a lot of guts to come out with a book on the very system and people that put her to distress. If only she had not made it the rant fest that it seemed like the second half of the book!
Taslima Nasrin - the popular author - however, at least at this time, cannot boast of a happy ending to her tale of exile. Instead what she can do and has done is written what she went through during her exile in the 2007-08 time frame. Taslima has been a controversial figure in India and Bangladesh, thanks to her books - Dwikhandito in particular. Unfortunately, the author who seems to have done a tell-all in Dwikhandito rubbed the wrong side of people and got herself into a mess. While the grudges against her all seem to be personal from what she says, the threat against her life which came as an aftermath of these burnt bridges were all politically and religiously motivated.
Exile is a not a difficult book to read. However, it is a difficult book to digest. Any normal human being takes a lot of things in her/his life for granted. These include shelter, proximity to loved ones, a routine and above a safe and sane surrounding. Unfortunately, Taslima who returned back to Kolkata in 2007 or so, had this sort of a routine life short-lived, thanks to her perpetrators (if you will) who attacked her during a visit to Hyderabad. Since then, her life was all about being moving from Kolkata to Jaipur and then being moved to Delhi, and then an almost solitary confinement in Delhi for a long time till she moved to Sweden. The book is a tell-all in its own way and picks up from the point where Taslima talks about the difficulty she’s had in getting this book of her’s out. This is followed by a memoir of sorts describing her exile.
The book has writings in three forms: one - a pretty normal narrative in first person, two - a set of poems written by her during her exile, and three - ‘Excerpts from a Diary’ as she likes to call it. The first form is moves pretty quickly and reads like any other autobiography while it is still filled with a lot of angst. The second form, a set of poems, is a short segment and shows Taslima’s passion towards writing her own life in a poetic way (though it appears in print as prose). The third form, which forms a major chunk of the books, is something that starts out like a regular diary and goes on to convey her frustration related to the two countries India and Bangladesh, her friends, her ‘well-wishers’, her religion (Islam), the politicians, and men. However, it is in this segment that the writing and her though process (considering it is a diary) gets very very repetitive. Her sad situation is very well evident in the diary which is seen in the multiple entries which almost read alike.
I will not dismiss Exile as yet another book. It is an important book to someone who is unaware of how a celebrated author can be put to distress by two countries that she calls home and then is given refuge by countries that she does not relate to. It gives one a perspective that however advanced the human race may have become, there is still a young section of the human race which is dumb and does not think rationally and a lot of things can be motivated politically and religiously. It takes a lot of guts to come out with a book on the very system and people that put her to distress. If only she had not made it the rant fest that it seemed like the second half of the book!
January 28, 2024
I thought the book would be a thought-provoking discussion on freedom of expression, its limitations, if any. Taslima had been persecuted in her country of birth and citizenship and was granted refuge by India where she continued to face some of the issues and controversies. I thought she will either present a defense of her work, have a discussion on atheism, especially in context of subcontinent, or give some arguments on what her rights ought to have been as a visitor in India. But the book is nothing but an incoherent rant about herself. She starts by saying how she was persecuted for disclosing her private relationships with people, who considered her disclosure as breach of trust. But then, she herself blames her writer friend of publishing information which she shared at 'lowest moments'. She bashes Indian government for both providing her security and not providing it. In most of the book, she argues why she doesn't think any riot can break out because of her, when one does break out she blames that publisher infringed copyright. Most of the time, she is bashing the entourage of police which is with her, but then in case police security is missing, she is quick to point out that as UN signatory India must be obliged to provide her personal security.
She bashes her own friend for enjoying hospitality of Indian govt., but she herself accepts business class tickets from Indian govt, flat from French government and so forth! On one hand, she claims that Indian government is tormenting her, on other hand she claims that the govt is spending extravagantly on her friend to make her happy! She accepts Swedish citizenship, but claims she 'doesn't look like Swede' and hence Sweden cannot be her country! Should we start deciding rights of residence and citizenship based on how a person look? While her book is an account of her misery, she herself clearly sounds apathetic to misery of her friend.
She bashes her own friend for enjoying hospitality of Indian govt., but she herself accepts business class tickets from Indian govt, flat from French government and so forth! On one hand, she claims that Indian government is tormenting her, on other hand she claims that the govt is spending extravagantly on her friend to make her happy! She accepts Swedish citizenship, but claims she 'doesn't look like Swede' and hence Sweden cannot be her country! Should we start deciding rights of residence and citizenship based on how a person look? While her book is an account of her misery, she herself clearly sounds apathetic to misery of her friend.
January 14, 2017
Contrary to the popular belief that Taslima Nasrin is 'Anti-Islam', I have always found Taslima's writings leaning more towards 'Anti-Fundamentalism'. And being one of these is not the same as being the other. This autobiographical book cements my belief in these thoughts about her.
While it starts on a darkly interesting note, in the middle it gets a bit muddled up in self pity... I mean, I can empathize with Taslima Nasrin as a liberal person whose basic freedom was stolen from her to serve political ambitions of the Leftists as well as the Rightists... And on an human level, I also feel for what she has gone through to simply exercise her freedom of speech about something that she deeply feels for... But it would have helped if some of the lines that repetitively express the same sense of despair over and over again, would have been left on the editing table. It would have made the experiences shared in this book more crisp.
Having said that, I would like to salute this living legend just for her courage to criticize things that are so terribly wrong with our world.
While it starts on a darkly interesting note, in the middle it gets a bit muddled up in self pity... I mean, I can empathize with Taslima Nasrin as a liberal person whose basic freedom was stolen from her to serve political ambitions of the Leftists as well as the Rightists... And on an human level, I also feel for what she has gone through to simply exercise her freedom of speech about something that she deeply feels for... But it would have helped if some of the lines that repetitively express the same sense of despair over and over again, would have been left on the editing table. It would have made the experiences shared in this book more crisp.
Having said that, I would like to salute this living legend just for her courage to criticize things that are so terribly wrong with our world.
December 19, 2016
Review initially posted on: https://dreambookreviews.wordpress.co...
Since this is my first book from author Taslima Nasrin, I had to first read a lot about what happened in her life to understand her perspective. Once the initial preparation was complete, I had found myself in love with her writing style. It mixes the objects that can be seen with the emotions that cannot be seen.
Writing about one’s own life requires a lot of courage to speak of the things that are in the personal dungeon within the mind. However, Taslima has spoken with the words that stay strong in the mind. Her life shows the struggle to obtain one thing that has been denied for her : freedom.
I for one had never thought much about what freedom could mean to a person. I never looked at the immense freedom I possess in terms of living. Once reading the words of pain, misery, and longing, I have started cherishing freedom more than anything.
Since this is my first book from author Taslima Nasrin, I had to first read a lot about what happened in her life to understand her perspective. Once the initial preparation was complete, I had found myself in love with her writing style. It mixes the objects that can be seen with the emotions that cannot be seen.
Writing about one’s own life requires a lot of courage to speak of the things that are in the personal dungeon within the mind. However, Taslima has spoken with the words that stay strong in the mind. Her life shows the struggle to obtain one thing that has been denied for her : freedom.
I for one had never thought much about what freedom could mean to a person. I never looked at the immense freedom I possess in terms of living. Once reading the words of pain, misery, and longing, I have started cherishing freedom more than anything.
November 17, 2019
I read about this renowned author's plight about her exile from the country & the quantum of difficulties she had to suffer on account of her written work. I feel strong empathy for the author & any one who writes or stands up for something as I think it's a natural birth right of anybody to express what they feel & make it known. The author's style is prolific & proficient that of a calibre of a veteran journalist awarded with many literary prizes. But in whole book the author talks about only one point in different ways citing her conversations with different Indian authorities, that how she feels at home in Calcutta India despite hailing from Bangladesh & how Indian govt is making it difficult for her to make a stable, steady home in India. However much I empathize with the author I also feel at the same time that our country was kinder & more compassionate compared to her home country or any other, enough to host her & her visiting friends this much long in India. At the same time, I feel, Indian govt.too should understand her plight as a single woman & finally allow the much coveted freedom to an notable author like her to let her be & make home in India wherever she chooses to. Freedom to speak up or express is every living beings utmost necessity & as a democratic country with an ancient history like we have, we should be much more understanding and empathic. I give this book 2 stars because of the repetative appeal of the author as a single theme of the book expressed in a different ways. Perhaps, I might have have liked her other controversial work better than this, had I read it. 2 or 2.5 stars for this one.
May 14, 2020
3.5 ⭐
The book basically is how she felt and what her conversations were when she was exiled.
It's really sad and horrible that she had to go through so much of emotional and mental pain only because she chose to speak up against something in a democratic country.
There are short write ups and poetry which she write when she felt that death was waiting outside her door. They were really emotional and worth reading.
This is Taslima's memoir, however, I was looking forward to read some practical view points and not just her rants and conversations with people. She is pretty transparent with them though..
Recommended to the one who wants to know what was happening behind the scenes when she was house arrested.
The book basically is how she felt and what her conversations were when she was exiled.
It's really sad and horrible that she had to go through so much of emotional and mental pain only because she chose to speak up against something in a democratic country.
There are short write ups and poetry which she write when she felt that death was waiting outside her door. They were really emotional and worth reading.
This is Taslima's memoir, however, I was looking forward to read some practical view points and not just her rants and conversations with people. She is pretty transparent with them though..
Recommended to the one who wants to know what was happening behind the scenes when she was house arrested.
July 13, 2023
Chained and imprisoned,
the mischievous forces have got me
But still i wander the skies,
by virtue of the pen they had left me
Memoirs of a simple, quite laid-back, slightly stupid and a little silly person (her own words), who refused to just not let things be and for which was exiled from Bangladesh, had fatwas on her head , endured life threatening attacks by so called "religious" fanatic mobs in India, spent months in exile with little to no external contact. A beautiful literary work by someone who soares through the skies with her pen, when her body is kept in shackles.
the mischievous forces have got me
But still i wander the skies,
by virtue of the pen they had left me
Memoirs of a simple, quite laid-back, slightly stupid and a little silly person (her own words), who refused to just not let things be and for which was exiled from Bangladesh, had fatwas on her head , endured life threatening attacks by so called "religious" fanatic mobs in India, spent months in exile with little to no external contact. A beautiful literary work by someone who soares through the skies with her pen, when her body is kept in shackles.
December 9, 2016
Freedom - a word that is loosely used by almost everyone today. Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of expression, freedom of almost everything. Most of the people using it does not know its price. Here, Taslima presents her experience in "Exile" how her freedom was curbed because how her freedom of thoughts and speech was not considered so by whoever is against it.
Hyderabad, we all know as a city famous for its delicious Biryani changed her fate after one event - a simple book release event. The troubles and struggles that Taslima had encountered to live freely after this one event is the sole essence of this book. She beautifully remembers and lists the conversations that happened post that where even the ruling communists party did not want her to stay in Kolkata. The conversation between Taslima and the then Commissioner of Police induces lot humor, and you will laugh when his sole motivation is to get Taslima out of Kolkata comes out through words like "Go to Europe, Go to America, Go to Kerala".
Human mind and brain are brilliant parts. They can convert threat into an opportunity. The chapter "Death Waits Past the Window" exceptionally portrays this phenomenon. How when the police officers tried to scare Taslima and how her mind beautifully scripted the poems is just beautiful! The rest sixty percent of the book is her diary excerpts. For about four months where she was put in a house arrest in New Delhi (she calls that as Safe House), the people she talked to including the journalists that we all know today - Karan Thapar, Barkha Dutt, Vir Sanghvi. A safe house did not really give her safety as she explains how she was threatened because her phones were tapped, many people who are unknown to her eavesdropped her conversations. A physical torture is worse, but what she refers to "a psychological torture" experience is worst. How helplessly she called everyone that she knows to get out of the safe house and get back even to Bangaladesh from where she was ousted. The letters, conversations, articles, phone chats together form 'Exile'.
It is always interesting to read one's memoir. Taslima's is no exception (she herself says that it cannot act as a source of inspirations like other memoirs) . But, how one interprets freedom of speech is one's own decision, and it may not tally well with yours (after all, everything has its own limit - for example, having driving license in a free country mean you can freely drive at your own will without obeying traffic rules). Also, when it comes to religion, some people are very much tied to what it dictates without even knowing or realizing the meaning. Obviously, a sword cannot be an answer for uttering words against religion because we say that all the religions teach us love. All in all, a beautifully presented memoir which I have read and enjoyed with both agreements and disagreements with Taslima's words.
Hyderabad, we all know as a city famous for its delicious Biryani changed her fate after one event - a simple book release event. The troubles and struggles that Taslima had encountered to live freely after this one event is the sole essence of this book. She beautifully remembers and lists the conversations that happened post that where even the ruling communists party did not want her to stay in Kolkata. The conversation between Taslima and the then Commissioner of Police induces lot humor, and you will laugh when his sole motivation is to get Taslima out of Kolkata comes out through words like "Go to Europe, Go to America, Go to Kerala".
Human mind and brain are brilliant parts. They can convert threat into an opportunity. The chapter "Death Waits Past the Window" exceptionally portrays this phenomenon. How when the police officers tried to scare Taslima and how her mind beautifully scripted the poems is just beautiful! The rest sixty percent of the book is her diary excerpts. For about four months where she was put in a house arrest in New Delhi (she calls that as Safe House), the people she talked to including the journalists that we all know today - Karan Thapar, Barkha Dutt, Vir Sanghvi. A safe house did not really give her safety as she explains how she was threatened because her phones were tapped, many people who are unknown to her eavesdropped her conversations. A physical torture is worse, but what she refers to "a psychological torture" experience is worst. How helplessly she called everyone that she knows to get out of the safe house and get back even to Bangaladesh from where she was ousted. The letters, conversations, articles, phone chats together form 'Exile'.
It is always interesting to read one's memoir. Taslima's is no exception (she herself says that it cannot act as a source of inspirations like other memoirs) . But, how one interprets freedom of speech is one's own decision, and it may not tally well with yours (after all, everything has its own limit - for example, having driving license in a free country mean you can freely drive at your own will without obeying traffic rules). Also, when it comes to religion, some people are very much tied to what it dictates without even knowing or realizing the meaning. Obviously, a sword cannot be an answer for uttering words against religion because we say that all the religions teach us love. All in all, a beautifully presented memoir which I have read and enjoyed with both agreements and disagreements with Taslima's words.
December 21, 2017
My fight for freedom
-------------------------------------------------
1) The first thing which i noticed after reading this book is the courage, stubbornness and perseverance of taslima to fight against the fundamentalist and bigots.
2) This book is originally written in Bengali but it was translated in English by Maharghya Chakraborty, and the latter had done a very good job and the language is very easy to read.
3) Exile: A memoir contains the following ten chapters-
* Forbidden
* And then one day
* House arrest
* Conversations
* Death waits past the window
* Exiled
* Farewell,22 November 2007
* Poems from a safe house
* Excerpts from a safe house
* No, not here! Elsewhere! In another land!
4) Taslima describes how she was first forced to leave her native country (bangladesh) because of the extremists by calling her anti-islamic, and later she came and settled in Kolkata but here also because of her book 'Dwikhandito' in which she described about her love life and because of this some so called liberals and patriarch get offended that how dare she revealed her sexual intimacy with various men and started calling her a 'whore' and called her anti-islamic . Because of this so called false propoganda against her various fundamentalist issued fatwas against her and the then CPM government for the vote bank politics banned her book which was later overruled by the Calcutta high court.
She also described that how she was almost got killed in Hyderabad by the goons of a local political party (AIMIM) because according to the latter she is anti-islamic and later how the than government of west bengal forced her to leave the city because there Will be riots in kolkata if she stays there, and then moved her to jaipur and than to New delhi Where she lived in house arrest, because the then central government also thought the same way as there counter part in Kolkata.
5) Taslima exposed the utmost hypocrisy of our so called pseduo-secular political parties that they for the sake of vote bank even ready to bow in front of the fundamentalist and to keep the latter happy they forced a writer to remain silent.
6) Though she exposed many paradoxes of the world's largest democracy but she also showed her love and respect for India and in particular about her attachment to the city of kolkata.
7) I will recommend to reader have patience while reading this courageous memoir, but in the end I am sure you will definitely get the clarity that how our political parties and leaders behaved like a middle man rather than a statesman who always stood for freedom,equality and for humanity.
I hope u like the review, thanks for reading, Jai Hind.
-------------------------------------------------
1) The first thing which i noticed after reading this book is the courage, stubbornness and perseverance of taslima to fight against the fundamentalist and bigots.
2) This book is originally written in Bengali but it was translated in English by Maharghya Chakraborty, and the latter had done a very good job and the language is very easy to read.
3) Exile: A memoir contains the following ten chapters-
* Forbidden
* And then one day
* House arrest
* Conversations
* Death waits past the window
* Exiled
* Farewell,22 November 2007
* Poems from a safe house
* Excerpts from a safe house
* No, not here! Elsewhere! In another land!
4) Taslima describes how she was first forced to leave her native country (bangladesh) because of the extremists by calling her anti-islamic, and later she came and settled in Kolkata but here also because of her book 'Dwikhandito' in which she described about her love life and because of this some so called liberals and patriarch get offended that how dare she revealed her sexual intimacy with various men and started calling her a 'whore' and called her anti-islamic . Because of this so called false propoganda against her various fundamentalist issued fatwas against her and the then CPM government for the vote bank politics banned her book which was later overruled by the Calcutta high court.
She also described that how she was almost got killed in Hyderabad by the goons of a local political party (AIMIM) because according to the latter she is anti-islamic and later how the than government of west bengal forced her to leave the city because there Will be riots in kolkata if she stays there, and then moved her to jaipur and than to New delhi Where she lived in house arrest, because the then central government also thought the same way as there counter part in Kolkata.
5) Taslima exposed the utmost hypocrisy of our so called pseduo-secular political parties that they for the sake of vote bank even ready to bow in front of the fundamentalist and to keep the latter happy they forced a writer to remain silent.
6) Though she exposed many paradoxes of the world's largest democracy but she also showed her love and respect for India and in particular about her attachment to the city of kolkata.
7) I will recommend to reader have patience while reading this courageous memoir, but in the end I am sure you will definitely get the clarity that how our political parties and leaders behaved like a middle man rather than a statesman who always stood for freedom,equality and for humanity.
I hope u like the review, thanks for reading, Jai Hind.
June 6, 2024
THE ACTIVIST SHARES HER PASSIONATE THOUGHTS ON HER EXILE
Taslima Nasrin is a Bangladeshi-Swedish writer, physician, and human rights activist. She has been living in exile since 1994—first in Europe and the U.S., United States, then in India. She wrote in the Preface to this 2016 book, “In [this book] I wrote about the series of events leading to my ouster from West Bengal… and eventually India, my house arrest, and the anxious days I had had to spend in the government safe house, beset by a scheming array of bureaucrats and ministers desperate to see me gone… I had been a lone, exiled, dissenting voice up against the entire state machinery with only my wits and determination at my disposal. But there was one thing I was sure of---I hadn’t done anything wrong, so why should I be punished unfairly? Why wouldn’t I, a citizen of the world, be allowed to live in a country I love? Why would a nation that prides itself on being a secular democracy bow down to the dictates of a section of dishonest, misogynist, intolerant zealots, and banish an honest, secular writer?
“Despite being forced to leave, I have … come back to India. I have come because I have nothing else but India, and because I hope India will one day truly encourage free thought. I wish to live in this country and be allowed the freedom to express my opinions even if they are contrary to others’… A politics built on sycophancy is the first sign of a rotting democracy. Aren’t our political mavericks aware that fanatics seek to plunge society into darkness, that they are against human rights and women’s rights, and that they consider any opinion contrary to theirs a sort of violation?” (Pg. vii-ix)
She continues, “I was forced to leave the country and that was the beginning of what today’s Bangladesh is---a medieval and intolerant nation of bigots, extremists, and fanatics. Without allowing criticism of Islam, it will be difficult for Muslim countries to separate the State and religion, to make personal laws based on equality, or to have a secular education system. If this does not happen, Muslim countries will forever remain in darkness, breeding and training people indoctrinated by religion to not tolerate any differences, and where women will never enjoy the right to live as complete human beings… The time has come for people to unequivocally tell the truth and be willing to listen to it too… Islam isn’t compatible with democracy, human rights, women’s rights, freedom of expression. You will not be able to kill terrorism by killing terrorists. You have to kill its root cause. You have to stop brainwashing children with religion… The good and sensible must break their silence; the inaction of the good is the asset of the malevolent.” (Pg. xii-xiii)
She says, “It has been pointed out that though I was perfectly within my rights to harm my own reputation, I had no right to toy with someone else’s… why do people who are so sensitive regarding their reputation do things that they know will harm it?... The fact of the matter remains that the men who were accusing me of breach of personal contract were the ones who were anxious about their quasi-divine reputations being irrevocably tarnished if their dirty secrets were to tumble out… What if I truly believe that these incidents should be revealed?... Only I alone have the final say in what I wish to include in my autobiography and not any random person who has arbitrarily assumed the guardianship of good taste!... The other accusation is that I have deliberately hurt religious sentiments… Since organized religion is almost entirely patriarchal, the agents of patriarchy would obviously not take kindly to insults against their religious texts and ideologues. These custodians have driven me out of my country, yet another price that I have to pay for speaking the truth.” (Pg. 21-23)
She states, “I have stared death in the face; I have seen how they kill, how they destroy and pillage in plain sight without any fear of repercussions in the name of the Prophet. It was indeed miraculous how I survived… I have bene nurtured by love, love of countless readers from India and the rest of the world, love of many rational, liberal and tolerant individuals… I do not feel alone anymore because I have come to realize that all of us who believe in the ideas of a just democracy and freedom of expression are larger in number while the intolerant, violent radicals who seek to undermine freedom of speech and human rights are far fewer.” (Pg. 41-42)
She acknowledges, “right from my childhood, I have never been religious---this has led me to consciously invest in ideals of humanism and feminism… That is how I grew up, overcoming superstitions, customs and institutions steeped in misogyny.” (Pg. 89)
She says sarcastically, “Then let them be free. Throw open the arsenals for them to stock up on guns and swords and bombs and the holy word of Islam. Let them go out into the world and behead the sinful non-believers. Let them kill the women and let them put the women, head bowed, in burqas and force them back inside. Let there be rape, often, to ensure that only sons are born… Let our statesmen pay homage at the holy altar of Islam and crown each and every terrorist. Let our statemen fold their hands in prayer and let the fundamentalists absolve them of their sins.” (Pg. 139-140)
She asks, “Is it not time yet to ascertain who the true enemies of society are? Is it not time yet for my freedom from this irrational captivity? Have I been completely foolish in trying to spread the word of humanity and free thought in India? What am I being punished for?... That I should die, homeless, stateless, without a society or any friends? What am I being punished for in this secular democratic country?” (Pg. 219)
She wrote in her diary, “My fight for my freedom of speech and expression is also how I fight for the same rights on behalf of others. I want this freedom to be recognized in the state or the country I had been driven out of. I want this freedom to be recognized the world over…. I wish that the country … will no longer had to suffer the ills of misogyny, intolerance, superstitions, dogma, stupidity and prejudice… My only hope is that humanity will last for generations, learning to live in peace, harmony, security and tolerance. Let the future of humanity be free of religion and false customs… Let it thrive and let it learn how to love.” (Pg. 279-280)
She laments, “I don’t know this India. There have been a few dissenters who have stood by me---writers, journalists, intellectuals… However, the new face of India that has terrorized me is the inability to organize collective action for seeking justice and rights. At such instances, I have encountered only a deafening silence. Is this the new India or is this how India has always been?” (Pg. 302) Later, she adds, “Most of my friends too cut off their ties with me, leaving me completely alone in this vast country. I could not help but wonder if any author had ever been so summarily excommunicated by their own people.” (Pg. 329)
She concludes, “The entire expanse of human history is a fleeting instant, a footnote in the history of time. Not a soul in the universe will ever flip through its pages. Is it not enough that even amidst this infinite insignificance, I am still swimming against the surge?” (Pg. 335)
This passionate (and rather undiplomatic) book will be of keen interest to those concerned with free speech issues, or studying modern India.
Taslima Nasrin is a Bangladeshi-Swedish writer, physician, and human rights activist. She has been living in exile since 1994—first in Europe and the U.S., United States, then in India. She wrote in the Preface to this 2016 book, “In [this book] I wrote about the series of events leading to my ouster from West Bengal… and eventually India, my house arrest, and the anxious days I had had to spend in the government safe house, beset by a scheming array of bureaucrats and ministers desperate to see me gone… I had been a lone, exiled, dissenting voice up against the entire state machinery with only my wits and determination at my disposal. But there was one thing I was sure of---I hadn’t done anything wrong, so why should I be punished unfairly? Why wouldn’t I, a citizen of the world, be allowed to live in a country I love? Why would a nation that prides itself on being a secular democracy bow down to the dictates of a section of dishonest, misogynist, intolerant zealots, and banish an honest, secular writer?
“Despite being forced to leave, I have … come back to India. I have come because I have nothing else but India, and because I hope India will one day truly encourage free thought. I wish to live in this country and be allowed the freedom to express my opinions even if they are contrary to others’… A politics built on sycophancy is the first sign of a rotting democracy. Aren’t our political mavericks aware that fanatics seek to plunge society into darkness, that they are against human rights and women’s rights, and that they consider any opinion contrary to theirs a sort of violation?” (Pg. vii-ix)
She continues, “I was forced to leave the country and that was the beginning of what today’s Bangladesh is---a medieval and intolerant nation of bigots, extremists, and fanatics. Without allowing criticism of Islam, it will be difficult for Muslim countries to separate the State and religion, to make personal laws based on equality, or to have a secular education system. If this does not happen, Muslim countries will forever remain in darkness, breeding and training people indoctrinated by religion to not tolerate any differences, and where women will never enjoy the right to live as complete human beings… The time has come for people to unequivocally tell the truth and be willing to listen to it too… Islam isn’t compatible with democracy, human rights, women’s rights, freedom of expression. You will not be able to kill terrorism by killing terrorists. You have to kill its root cause. You have to stop brainwashing children with religion… The good and sensible must break their silence; the inaction of the good is the asset of the malevolent.” (Pg. xii-xiii)
She says, “It has been pointed out that though I was perfectly within my rights to harm my own reputation, I had no right to toy with someone else’s… why do people who are so sensitive regarding their reputation do things that they know will harm it?... The fact of the matter remains that the men who were accusing me of breach of personal contract were the ones who were anxious about their quasi-divine reputations being irrevocably tarnished if their dirty secrets were to tumble out… What if I truly believe that these incidents should be revealed?... Only I alone have the final say in what I wish to include in my autobiography and not any random person who has arbitrarily assumed the guardianship of good taste!... The other accusation is that I have deliberately hurt religious sentiments… Since organized religion is almost entirely patriarchal, the agents of patriarchy would obviously not take kindly to insults against their religious texts and ideologues. These custodians have driven me out of my country, yet another price that I have to pay for speaking the truth.” (Pg. 21-23)
She states, “I have stared death in the face; I have seen how they kill, how they destroy and pillage in plain sight without any fear of repercussions in the name of the Prophet. It was indeed miraculous how I survived… I have bene nurtured by love, love of countless readers from India and the rest of the world, love of many rational, liberal and tolerant individuals… I do not feel alone anymore because I have come to realize that all of us who believe in the ideas of a just democracy and freedom of expression are larger in number while the intolerant, violent radicals who seek to undermine freedom of speech and human rights are far fewer.” (Pg. 41-42)
She acknowledges, “right from my childhood, I have never been religious---this has led me to consciously invest in ideals of humanism and feminism… That is how I grew up, overcoming superstitions, customs and institutions steeped in misogyny.” (Pg. 89)
She says sarcastically, “Then let them be free. Throw open the arsenals for them to stock up on guns and swords and bombs and the holy word of Islam. Let them go out into the world and behead the sinful non-believers. Let them kill the women and let them put the women, head bowed, in burqas and force them back inside. Let there be rape, often, to ensure that only sons are born… Let our statesmen pay homage at the holy altar of Islam and crown each and every terrorist. Let our statemen fold their hands in prayer and let the fundamentalists absolve them of their sins.” (Pg. 139-140)
She asks, “Is it not time yet to ascertain who the true enemies of society are? Is it not time yet for my freedom from this irrational captivity? Have I been completely foolish in trying to spread the word of humanity and free thought in India? What am I being punished for?... That I should die, homeless, stateless, without a society or any friends? What am I being punished for in this secular democratic country?” (Pg. 219)
She wrote in her diary, “My fight for my freedom of speech and expression is also how I fight for the same rights on behalf of others. I want this freedom to be recognized in the state or the country I had been driven out of. I want this freedom to be recognized the world over…. I wish that the country … will no longer had to suffer the ills of misogyny, intolerance, superstitions, dogma, stupidity and prejudice… My only hope is that humanity will last for generations, learning to live in peace, harmony, security and tolerance. Let the future of humanity be free of religion and false customs… Let it thrive and let it learn how to love.” (Pg. 279-280)
She laments, “I don’t know this India. There have been a few dissenters who have stood by me---writers, journalists, intellectuals… However, the new face of India that has terrorized me is the inability to organize collective action for seeking justice and rights. At such instances, I have encountered only a deafening silence. Is this the new India or is this how India has always been?” (Pg. 302) Later, she adds, “Most of my friends too cut off their ties with me, leaving me completely alone in this vast country. I could not help but wonder if any author had ever been so summarily excommunicated by their own people.” (Pg. 329)
She concludes, “The entire expanse of human history is a fleeting instant, a footnote in the history of time. Not a soul in the universe will ever flip through its pages. Is it not enough that even amidst this infinite insignificance, I am still swimming against the surge?” (Pg. 335)
This passionate (and rather undiplomatic) book will be of keen interest to those concerned with free speech issues, or studying modern India.
April 9, 2018
തസ്ലീമ നസ്രിന് രണ്ടു ഭാഗങ്ങള് ആയി എഴുതിയ ആത്മകഥയുടെ രണ്ടാം ഭാഗമാണ് നിഷ്കാസിത. വെസ്റ്റ് ബംഗാളിലെ ഇടതുസര്ക്കാര് നിരോധിച്ചതും, ശേഷം ഹൈകോടതി ഇടപെട്ടു വിലക്ക് നീക്കുകയും ചെയ്ത പുസ്തകമാണ് നിഷ്കാസിത.അവസരവാദപരമായ കമ്മ്യൂണിസ്റ്റ് രാഷ്ട്രീയത്തെ കുറിച്ച് ചെറുതല്ലാത്ത കുറിപ്പുകള് പുസ്തകത്തില് ഉള്ളതുകൊണ്ടും, ബംഗ്ലാദേശിലെ 'ന്യൂനപക്ഷ' ഉണ്മൂലനത്തെ കുറിച്ചുള്ള ഭാഗങ്ങളും ആകണം കമ്യൂണിസ്റുകളെ കൊണ്ട് ഇങ്ങനെ ഒരു അക്രമം ചെയ്യിപ്പിച്ചത്.
വായിച്ചു ശീലിച്ച ആത്മകഥകളുടെ ഘടനയല്ല തസ്ലീമ ഇവിടെ പിന്തുടരുന്നത്. തൊണ്ണൂറുകളുടെ ആദ്യ പാദത്തിലെ തന്റെ അനുഭവങ്ങളും, അന്നെഴുതിയ ലേഖനങ്ങളെ കുറിച്ചുള്ള സ്മരണകളും, സുഹൃദ്ബന്ധങ്ങളെ കുറിച്ചുള്ള ഓര്മകളും, തന്നെ കുറിച്ച് വന്ന പത്ര വാര്ത്തകളും ഒക്കെ കാലാനുക്രമത്തില് എഴുതുകയാണ് തസ്ലീമ. വിവാദമായ 'ലജ്ജ'ക്ക് മുമ്പും, ശേഷവും തന്റെ ജീവിതത്തില് വന്ന മാറ്റങ്ങളെ തസ്ലീമ കുറിച്ചിടുന്നു.
സാമൂഹ്യപരമായും, മതപരമായും ശക്തമായ ആണ്മേല്ക്കോയ്മയില് വിശ്വസിക്കുന്ന യാഥാസ്ഥികമായ ഒരു സമൂഹത്തില് തന്റെ ഇഷ്ടങ്ങളും, തിരുമാനങ്ങളുമായി സ്വന്തം പാത നിര്മിച്ച് മുന്നേറുന്ന യുവത്വത്തെ കുറിച്ച് തസ്ലീമ വാചാലയാകുന്നു. ഒരാപദ്ഘട്ടത്തില് താങ്ങായി നിന്നവരെയും, ഭരണകൂടത്തെ സന്തോഷിപ്പിക്കാന് പുറം നിറഞ്ഞു നിന്നവരെ കുറിച്ചും തസ്ലീമ ഓര്ക്കുന്നു. അപ്രിയ സത്യങ്ങള് ഭയം കൂടാതെ വിളിച്ചുപറഞ്ഞാല് ലഭിക്കുന്ന 'ശിക്ഷ'യെ കുറിച്ച് ഈ വരികള്ക്കിടയില് എഴുത്തുകാരി പറഞ്ഞു വെക്കുന്നു.
തന്റെ ഓര്മ്മകള് മാത്രമല്ല, തന്നെ കുറിച്ച് പത്രമാധ്യമങ്ങളില് വന്ന ലേഖനങ്ങളും വായനക്കാരന്റെ മുമ്പില് അവതരിപ്പിക്കുകയാണ് ലേഖിക. ഈ വാചകങ്ങളിലെ വിരോധം ആ സമൂഹത്തെ കുറിച്ച് ഒരു ചിത്രം നമ്മുടെ മനസ്സില് വരച്ചിടുന്നു. ഭാരതത്തെ എത്രയും വെറുക്കുന്നുവോ, അത്രയും നല്ലതെന്ന രാഷ്ട്രീയ മനോഭാവം ഇപ്പോള് ബംഗ്ലാദേശില് നിന്നും നമ്മുടെ രാജ്യത്തേക്കും കുടിയേറിയിരിക്കുന്നു. ഭാരതം ഇപ്പോള് കടന്നുപോകുന്ന ഈ കാലഘട്ടത്തിലെ തസ്ലീമയുടെ വാക്കുകള്ക്ക് വിലയേറി വരുകയാണ്. ആ ഒരു ശബ്ദം ഇല്ലാതാക്കാന് ഭരണകൂടങ്ങള് നടത്തിയ,നടത്തുന്ന പ്രവര്ത്തനങ്ങള് അവരുടെ ഉള്ളിലെ ഭയമാണ് തുറന്നു കാണിക്കുന്നത്.
ആദ്യഭാഗം വായിക്കാതെയാണ് രണ്ടാം ഭാഗം വായിച്ചത് എങ്കിലും പുസ്തകം ആസ്വദിക്കുന്നതിനു അതൊരു തടസ്സമായി തോന്നിയില്ല. എങ്കിലും ആദ്യഭാഗം വായിക്കേണ്ടതാണ് എന്ന് ഒരു തോന്നല് അവസാന വരിയും വായിച്ചു അവസാനിപ്പിച്ചപ്പോള് തോന്നി. ഇനി അതോപ്പിക്കണം.
റേറ്റിംഗ്: അഞ്ചില് നാലര നക്ഷത്രങ്ങള് (ഗദ്യത്തെക്കാള് അതെഴുതാന് കാണിച്ച ധൈര്യത്തിന്!)
വായിച്ചു ശീലിച്ച ആത്മകഥകളുടെ ഘടനയല്ല തസ്ലീമ ഇവിടെ പിന്തുടരുന്നത്. തൊണ്ണൂറുകളുടെ ആദ്യ പാദത്തിലെ തന്റെ അനുഭവങ്ങളും, അന്നെഴുതിയ ലേഖനങ്ങളെ കുറിച്ചുള്ള സ്മരണകളും, സുഹൃദ്ബന്ധങ്ങളെ കുറിച്ചുള്ള ഓര്മകളും, തന്നെ കുറിച്ച് വന്ന പത്ര വാര്ത്തകളും ഒക്കെ കാലാനുക്രമത്തില് എഴുതുകയാണ് തസ്ലീമ. വിവാദമായ 'ലജ്ജ'ക്ക് മുമ്പും, ശേഷവും തന്റെ ജീവിതത്തില് വന്ന മാറ്റങ്ങളെ തസ്ലീമ കുറിച്ചിടുന്നു.
സാമൂഹ്യപരമായും, മതപരമായും ശക്തമായ ആണ്മേല്ക്കോയ്മയില് വിശ്വസിക്കുന്ന യാഥാസ്ഥികമായ ഒരു സമൂഹത്തില് തന്റെ ഇഷ്ടങ്ങളും, തിരുമാനങ്ങളുമായി സ്വന്തം പാത നിര്മിച്ച് മുന്നേറുന്ന യുവത്വത്തെ കുറിച്ച് തസ്ലീമ വാചാലയാകുന്നു. ഒരാപദ്ഘട്ടത്തില് താങ്ങായി നിന്നവരെയും, ഭരണകൂടത്തെ സന്തോഷിപ്പിക്കാന് പുറം നിറഞ്ഞു നിന്നവരെ കുറിച്ചും തസ്ലീമ ഓര്ക്കുന്നു. അപ്രിയ സത്യങ്ങള് ഭയം കൂടാതെ വിളിച്ചുപറഞ്ഞാല് ലഭിക്കുന്ന 'ശിക്ഷ'യെ കുറിച്ച് ഈ വരികള്ക്കിടയില് എഴുത്തുകാരി പറഞ്ഞു വെക്കുന്നു.
തന്റെ ഓര്മ്മകള് മാത്രമല്ല, തന്നെ കുറിച്ച് പത്രമാധ്യമങ്ങളില് വന്ന ലേഖനങ്ങളും വായനക്കാരന്റെ മുമ്പില് അവതരിപ്പിക്കുകയാണ് ലേഖിക. ഈ വാചകങ്ങളിലെ വിരോധം ആ സമൂഹത്തെ കുറിച്ച് ഒരു ചിത്രം നമ്മുടെ മനസ്സില് വരച്ചിടുന്നു. ഭാരതത്തെ എത്രയും വെറുക്കുന്നുവോ, അത്രയും നല്ലതെന്ന രാഷ്ട്രീയ മനോഭാവം ഇപ്പോള് ബംഗ്ലാദേശില് നിന്നും നമ്മുടെ രാജ്യത്തേക്കും കുടിയേറിയിരിക്കുന്നു. ഭാരതം ഇപ്പോള് കടന്നുപോകുന്ന ഈ കാലഘട്ടത്തിലെ തസ്ലീമയുടെ വാക്കുകള്ക്ക് വിലയേറി വരുകയാണ്. ആ ഒരു ശബ്ദം ഇല്ലാതാക്കാന് ഭരണകൂടങ്ങള് നടത്തിയ,നടത്തുന്ന പ്രവര്ത്തനങ്ങള് അവരുടെ ഉള്ളിലെ ഭയമാണ് തുറന്നു കാണിക്കുന്നത്.
ആദ്യഭാഗം വായിക്കാതെയാണ് രണ്ടാം ഭാഗം വായിച്ചത് എങ്കിലും പുസ്തകം ആസ്വദിക്കുന്നതിനു അതൊരു തടസ്സമായി തോന്നിയില്ല. എങ്കിലും ആദ്യഭാഗം വായിക്കേണ്ടതാണ് എന്ന് ഒരു തോന്നല് അവസാന വരിയും വായിച്ചു അവസാനിപ്പിച്ചപ്പോള് തോന്നി. ഇനി അതോപ്പിക്കണം.
റേറ്റിംഗ്: അഞ്ചില് നാലര നക്ഷത്രങ്ങള് (ഗദ്യത്തെക്കാള് അതെഴുതാന് കാണിച്ച ധൈര്യത്തിന്!)
December 15, 2016
The book is a powerful account of an individual, a writer, a female, who has been let down by the powers that be. The book is a commentary on how vote bank politics trumps basic human rights. The book is a testimony to the humongous and nearly unlimited State power. The book is a note of how personal relations, friendships, acquaintances fail to stand up in times of adversity. Taslima Nasrin’s Exile is a book that through its diary entries, poems, newspaper testimonials makes all the above points and makes it strongly.
The outright disgusting part of the book is where she describes her exile of nearly 8 months in various safe houses of Delhi. Stripping a human being of basic freedom of meeting people, availing medical facilities, going about a normal life is a gross violation of human rights and Ms Nasrin was subject to that. She has provided a disturbing account of how due to lack of medical help her blood pressure situation got worse and which eventually led her to bite the bitter pill and leave India.
Maharghya Chakraborty, a PhD scholar at CSSC Kolkata needs to be commended for a wonderful translation. The literary prowess of Taslima Nasrin has been done justice to in English it can be safely said. The narration is gripping, fast moving and accommodates literary flourish along with some lovely poetry in vast sections. There could have been more clarity on the timeline of events in general. The book is a highly recommended one for those who would like to learn more about Taslima Nasrin, her love for India, her fight against religious fundamentalism, the coercion of the State, machinations of governments, and much more.
The outright disgusting part of the book is where she describes her exile of nearly 8 months in various safe houses of Delhi. Stripping a human being of basic freedom of meeting people, availing medical facilities, going about a normal life is a gross violation of human rights and Ms Nasrin was subject to that. She has provided a disturbing account of how due to lack of medical help her blood pressure situation got worse and which eventually led her to bite the bitter pill and leave India.
Maharghya Chakraborty, a PhD scholar at CSSC Kolkata needs to be commended for a wonderful translation. The literary prowess of Taslima Nasrin has been done justice to in English it can be safely said. The narration is gripping, fast moving and accommodates literary flourish along with some lovely poetry in vast sections. There could have been more clarity on the timeline of events in general. The book is a highly recommended one for those who would like to learn more about Taslima Nasrin, her love for India, her fight against religious fundamentalism, the coercion of the State, machinations of governments, and much more.
December 20, 2016
Everyone must be aware of Taslima Nasrin one way or the other through the controversies she has been shadowed throughout the years which made her almost a household name in India.In this memoir she begins with the things she experienced in India when she began to live her life which was close to the roots she came from. She was a Bengali living on the other side of Bengal, which eventually she calls her second home. Her narrative isn't secluded but a straightforward points that emerge from a lady who had all her life been chasing her dreams of a writer who want to express her thoughts. Her memoirs about the people in exile and her thoughts about the press do gives us a glimpse on her process of thoughts she had during those taut days in safe houses. These musings rather than making a page turner or another memoir of much importance loses its flair when it started sounding depressing. The laments on the press and other things makes the readers too depressing though it makes much informative.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 6, 2016
(Full Review - http://www.defineyellow.com/2016/12/b... )
(Review copy received as part of Flipkart Blogger Review Program))
Taslima Nasrin's memoir Exile is her journey - living away from her country - Bangladesh, banned in two cities of India, house arrested to keep her safe from extremists, numerous fatwas released in her name for her assassination, and living a confined life since 1994. This book is about surviving an enforced life, which is a consequence of outrageous opinions of select few, backed by the powerful political networking. It is an honest and influential story, with unbelievable revelations of a flawless public façade.
-Define Yellow Blog
(Review copy received as part of Flipkart Blogger Review Program))
Taslima Nasrin's memoir Exile is her journey - living away from her country - Bangladesh, banned in two cities of India, house arrested to keep her safe from extremists, numerous fatwas released in her name for her assassination, and living a confined life since 1994. This book is about surviving an enforced life, which is a consequence of outrageous opinions of select few, backed by the powerful political networking. It is an honest and influential story, with unbelievable revelations of a flawless public façade.
-Define Yellow Blog
December 19, 2016
I know Taslima Nasreen from what I have read in the newspapers and especially the incident at Hyderabad where she was attacked and had to be rescued. And ofcourse from the twitter world where she keeps talking as an independent voice unfettered by trolls whichever religion they may belong to.
I now know the reason why she is fiercely independent or rather she has her reasons and she perhaps lives to exemplify those statements that she makes unlike the so called liberals who she has called out in this book who take refuge of the situations and then give enough excuses on why they cant take a stand or show having a spine.
Rest of the review here... http://www.rsenthilkumar.com/2016/12/...
I now know the reason why she is fiercely independent or rather she has her reasons and she perhaps lives to exemplify those statements that she makes unlike the so called liberals who she has called out in this book who take refuge of the situations and then give enough excuses on why they cant take a stand or show having a spine.
Rest of the review here... http://www.rsenthilkumar.com/2016/12/...
February 21, 2017
The book may not have been written from a political perspective, but from the readers point of view it is one. Brings to the fore the establishments inability to comprehend situations and making them out of controll. Also, without reading Dwikhandito, one cannot analyze the whole imbroglio which happened and are described here. Seems, the real people who were a part of the dwikhandito narrative collectively or unilaterally tried to utilize the fragmented political system and soft decision making of the establishment to reap up the situation for the author.
CPIM government even under its most credible face in WB was so subdued by the islamic fundamentalists is unnatural. Alas vote bank politics has its own ways.
CPIM government even under its most credible face in WB was so subdued by the islamic fundamentalists is unnatural. Alas vote bank politics has its own ways.
December 7, 2016
Full review here: http://sujathanesan.blogspot.com/2016...
Taslima Nasrin, I've heard this name a lot of times in TV channels and newspaper for all the controversies. I haven't read any of her works, which got her into trouble, before and this is my first book.
Exile, talks about her life in India after returning from abroad, where she spent most of her life after going away from Bangladesh. Exile is all about her survival even after receiving numerous fatwas and threats and the political games which many played and how everyone used her to gain nothing but votes. It's also shows she's survivor and never let anything change her from the stance she took.
Taslima Nasrin, I've heard this name a lot of times in TV channels and newspaper for all the controversies. I haven't read any of her works, which got her into trouble, before and this is my first book.
Exile, talks about her life in India after returning from abroad, where she spent most of her life after going away from Bangladesh. Exile is all about her survival even after receiving numerous fatwas and threats and the political games which many played and how everyone used her to gain nothing but votes. It's also shows she's survivor and never let anything change her from the stance she took.
December 29, 2016
I had read before in newspapers and articles, of the many snippets from her rather shocking and eventful life. Taslima has been in exile since 1994. She has been forbidden in her country Bangladesh and also in two cities of India. Her book was banned as well.
Exile is a shocking account of all that has happened during her stay in Kolkata and Hyderabad, India. She was filled with high hopes upon reaching Kolkata. One of her books got translated to Telugu and the organizers appealed her to join the book release event. It is this one decision of attending the event, that caused the change of her fate.
Read the entire review here: https://kohleyed.me/2016/12/20/exile-...
Exile is a shocking account of all that has happened during her stay in Kolkata and Hyderabad, India. She was filled with high hopes upon reaching Kolkata. One of her books got translated to Telugu and the organizers appealed her to join the book release event. It is this one decision of attending the event, that caused the change of her fate.
Read the entire review here: https://kohleyed.me/2016/12/20/exile-...
November 20, 2016
Boring to some extend but that's how she led her life in her beloved country India. We let her down. We appeased muslim fundamentalists so badly that we drove out her from this country. She had to bore all insults and criticisms from so called liberals. Even atheist communists who taunt hindu religion are quick to condemn and banish away from bengal when she pointed out wrongs in islam. Such a hypocrisy in so called progressive party. She's back in india but can she go back to her beloved bengal? Can she write freely anymore?
December 14, 2016
Passionate writing, thought-provoking too, but one has a nagging feeling throughout the book that the author seems to be biased and all-too-self-centered. Taslima presents a provoking argument against her exile, but it seems as if she has intentionally kept any other person's POV away from the book. A better approach would be to go into more details of what all happened, rather than just eloquently whine about what all she had to go through. No author should be exiled, no author banned. However, a controversial author must look at controversies objectively, and Taslima fails to do that.
December 9, 2016
Read the full review here - http://www.bookgeeks.in/entries/autob...
This book talks about a particular phase in Taslima's life from the moment she came back to India from Sweden upto the time when she was exiled from India in 2008. Though it is interesting to read about what exactly happened to Taslima in her own words, the book was a little too lengthy and boring for my taste. Will still recommend as a one time read.
This book talks about a particular phase in Taslima's life from the moment she came back to India from Sweden upto the time when she was exiled from India in 2008. Though it is interesting to read about what exactly happened to Taslima in her own words, the book was a little too lengthy and boring for my taste. Will still recommend as a one time read.
October 27, 2016
Just finished reading this book. The words speaks about her life, turmoils she underwent.
September 17, 2021
Taslima Nasreen has been in exile from almost 3 decades living in the Indian capital where she has never felt home. Her life as a persecuted writer is painful with many of her supporters abandoning her gradually. However, I feel freedom of speech is important but writing with responsibility is equally. Nasreen's personal history narrated in this lengthy memoir shows her fortitude against odds but also reveals her lack of understanding of human situation over all. As much painstakingly she describes her own agony, she simply ignores other people's circumstances; there is lack of depth and seriousness, and total lack of responsibility. She is too revelatory about other people's pettiness, hers she chooses to ignore. She takes names carelessly sometimes spilling filth at her friends, at those who couldn't get her back into Kolkata or Bangladesh, at people who promised her help but were later probably caught up in read tapism, at friends, their children, young obstinate children and older people close to their deaths.
Criticism is good, it strengthens the idea of freedom and criticism helps people grow, but Nasreen's criticism of most people is brutal. Sometimes it feels that she expects the world to revolve around her. For instance, when she was not invited to one of the events in New York on the subject of exiled writers, she assumes that it was because of Salman Rushdie being in the chair of the organising agency. A friend's daughter is described as haughty and obstinate. She expected intellectuals to rail for the termination of her exile; their mobilization is not enough for her, she needs them to get her to Kolkata and that makes her pass final judgements on the sincerity of their intention.
However, Nasreen is a natural writer and every word and expression makes this book bearable.
Criticism is good, it strengthens the idea of freedom and criticism helps people grow, but Nasreen's criticism of most people is brutal. Sometimes it feels that she expects the world to revolve around her. For instance, when she was not invited to one of the events in New York on the subject of exiled writers, she assumes that it was because of Salman Rushdie being in the chair of the organising agency. A friend's daughter is described as haughty and obstinate. She expected intellectuals to rail for the termination of her exile; their mobilization is not enough for her, she needs them to get her to Kolkata and that makes her pass final judgements on the sincerity of their intention.
However, Nasreen is a natural writer and every word and expression makes this book bearable.
July 1, 2022
Taslima Nasrin is a name not unknown to us. She has been vocal in calling out the hypocrisy of society and fanaticism of extremists. She has always been brave with her choices and more often than not has paid a price for it.
Exile is a memoir written by Taslima that deals with the phase of her life in which she was exiled from her own beloved India. She has been living in exile since 1994 with multiple 'fatwas' in her name and 'bounties' on her head.
In 2004, after having lived for more than ten years in America and Europe, Taslima was granted a temporary residence permit for India. She came to Kolkata intending to spend the rest of her life in the city of joy. However after an unfortunate event in Hyderabad, her life changed overnight for the worse.
This book mainly talks about her period of stay in India and the events and the politics which ultimately led to her leaving India for good. Taslima writes with utmost candidness and has not shied away from any details – good or bad.
Though informative, the book is a little lengthy, dull and monotonous. At times instead of sympathising with her, the reader ends up frustrated with the unending rant and complaints knitted through her diary entries.
Everyone is entitled to freedom of speech. Even if we disapprove of what someone says, we should defend to the death their right to say it! This, I feel, is the most important message the book intends to give.
Exile is a memoir written by Taslima that deals with the phase of her life in which she was exiled from her own beloved India. She has been living in exile since 1994 with multiple 'fatwas' in her name and 'bounties' on her head.
In 2004, after having lived for more than ten years in America and Europe, Taslima was granted a temporary residence permit for India. She came to Kolkata intending to spend the rest of her life in the city of joy. However after an unfortunate event in Hyderabad, her life changed overnight for the worse.
This book mainly talks about her period of stay in India and the events and the politics which ultimately led to her leaving India for good. Taslima writes with utmost candidness and has not shied away from any details – good or bad.
Though informative, the book is a little lengthy, dull and monotonous. At times instead of sympathising with her, the reader ends up frustrated with the unending rant and complaints knitted through her diary entries.
Everyone is entitled to freedom of speech. Even if we disapprove of what someone says, we should defend to the death their right to say it! This, I feel, is the most important message the book intends to give.
November 16, 2023
i have read the previous two books of taslima Nasrin,
which were "lajja" and "french lover".
i have read both the books twice so i was looking forward to reading this one.
it is a memoir about the life of taslima Nasrin.
it is about India and about India being the worlds largest democracy.
she talks about hows she is accused of hurting peoples religious sentiments.
and about being called a slut for sleeping with men.
what happens next is that on the 22nd of November 2007,
the city of Kolkata in India has come to stand still and a mob is demanding taslima Nasrin to leave the country.
it is about how she is In touch with Benazir Bhutto.
people have being calling for her death for many years.
i enjoyed reading this memoir!.
which were "lajja" and "french lover".
i have read both the books twice so i was looking forward to reading this one.
it is a memoir about the life of taslima Nasrin.
it is about India and about India being the worlds largest democracy.
she talks about hows she is accused of hurting peoples religious sentiments.
and about being called a slut for sleeping with men.
what happens next is that on the 22nd of November 2007,
the city of Kolkata in India has come to stand still and a mob is demanding taslima Nasrin to leave the country.
it is about how she is In touch with Benazir Bhutto.
people have being calling for her death for many years.
i enjoyed reading this memoir!.
June 16, 2020
I feel ashamed as an Indian for what she had to undergo because the Govt and politicians pandered to the fundamentalist fringe!
November 29, 2023
My entire undergraduate thesis is my review:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qb8r...
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qb8r...
December 6, 2016
Thus, I started my journey with Taslima Nasrin’s memoir. A journey that I have had earlier through the books she had written, through the conversations with my mother, friends, family, and newspapers. Through the time when Maa used to read out passages from her books to me in Bengali. A journey that being a Bengali and living a safe life in Kolkata, I could only know through what people told me. As I was a few pages down the book, I fell for the way she writes. Simple, out spoken, up front with whatever she feels, Taslima Nasrin might just be one narrator that touches your heart. The one thing that this book teaches you as a person, as a reader is Patience.
Trust me when I say that there are parts in the book where you would feel like judging the authoress, because those are the parts where the person inside you rises above the reader inside you. But then on the other hand, you would also have places where you would feel like not leaving the book because of the captivating narration being done. Being a Bengali, I know (if not personally) all those people mentioned in this memoir. So it didn’t take much time for me to get acquainted with them and also this very fact made me so much more engrossed in the book. When I say that this book needs patience, what I mean is that this book is a perfect example of learning how to judge, yet not judge; how to understand, yet not understand; how to read.
Taslima Nasrin in this brutally honest memoir lists everything in vivid detail as it was since her exile. Her author biography says that she has been in exile since 1994. Rightfully so. We all have heard about people being in exile. But this book tells us what it actually feels being in an exile. People might not understand a few things or a few decisions taken by Nasrin but that is exactly what it is. The underlying conflict, the emotions and the turmoil that she goes through. Before I started reading the book, I was confined to bed for only one day being sick but as this book progressed, I couldn’t help but feel for the woman who has been living in such conditions in a safe house with captors she knows nothing about, forced to literally leave the country when all she wanted was fresh air.
There were many heart touching parts of the book but what caught me was her part in the safe house when she mentions that there were a bed of ants that made her bed a makeshift house, crawling in and out but none bit her even once. It was, she felt, that they had accepted her more than the world could ever have. I am biased. Yes. Probably, a person not from Kolkata would be the best person to talk about the book but being a girl from Kolkata, how could I not? Ever since I have been reading the book I have been having discussions with friends. Some, who support the banishment, while some, who don’t. Speaking of me, to the person who don’t, I have been supporting it and to the ones who support, I have been not supporting it. Why, if you ask? Because wherever she is, I want her to be safe and I support the rights of literature.
The poems that are there in the book touch you and so do the excerpts of the diary. You might not support things that happened and there are possibilities that you will not get the answers to your questions through the book but being a reader, or above all, being a person, this memoir is a detail into the mind and surroundings of a writer, who was exiled for an indefinite time because she wrote, you should read. As a reader, this book reads super fine in the first half but there’s a portion where there are mainly diary entries which read stretchy in a book to some extent. Having read quite a few memoirs, I expected a bit more material to it. Rating this book would be tough because there are many points that as a person I could not agree to but keeping me as a person aside, as a reader, this book is 4.25 out of 5.
December 11, 2016
Book reviewed under the Flipkart Book Review Program
Nasrin’s memoir ‘Exile’ is a poignant retelling of her exodus from Bengal, a hurried shift to Jaipur and eventual setting up of a confined, makeshift and make do life in Delhi. Poignant because it speaks of her resilience, of her struggle which is not only against a patriarchal society but an increasingly intolerant, jingoistic, communal and violent mob which has been off late taking up the political space in all our lives. The reason Nasrin was condemned to such a life was because of her brash, unapologetic novel ‘Ko’ in which certain textual references to Prophet Mohammad were found offensive by certain muslim groups, which then issued a fatwa and the city of Kolkata went through a spate of violence.
When one is reading through, it is easy to see that the flow of the writing and of telling the story of her exile, has several pauses, each pause perhaps her own moment of reflection. The book has a series of diary entries which talk about her growing ennui with what is happening, but wistful of a life she wish she had. From talking about the political state of the country, to her anger towards religious extremism that forced such a life on her, there are deep moments of loneliness which perhaps most of us can relate to. In one entry she talks about a lizard falling on her head and how it stays there content in the darkness that surrounds it, to a page where she lovingly talks about her cat Minu, who waits for her in her Kolkata home.
The book talks in detail about the politics of censorship, of women writers who speak openly about themselves being shamed, of what it is to want to belong to country, where acceptance continues to evade one in the most subtlest of ways.
Nasrin’s memoir ‘Exile’ is a poignant retelling of her exodus from Bengal, a hurried shift to Jaipur and eventual setting up of a confined, makeshift and make do life in Delhi. Poignant because it speaks of her resilience, of her struggle which is not only against a patriarchal society but an increasingly intolerant, jingoistic, communal and violent mob which has been off late taking up the political space in all our lives. The reason Nasrin was condemned to such a life was because of her brash, unapologetic novel ‘Ko’ in which certain textual references to Prophet Mohammad were found offensive by certain muslim groups, which then issued a fatwa and the city of Kolkata went through a spate of violence.
When one is reading through, it is easy to see that the flow of the writing and of telling the story of her exile, has several pauses, each pause perhaps her own moment of reflection. The book has a series of diary entries which talk about her growing ennui with what is happening, but wistful of a life she wish she had. From talking about the political state of the country, to her anger towards religious extremism that forced such a life on her, there are deep moments of loneliness which perhaps most of us can relate to. In one entry she talks about a lizard falling on her head and how it stays there content in the darkness that surrounds it, to a page where she lovingly talks about her cat Minu, who waits for her in her Kolkata home.
The book talks in detail about the politics of censorship, of women writers who speak openly about themselves being shamed, of what it is to want to belong to country, where acceptance continues to evade one in the most subtlest of ways.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 15, 2016
Whether one considers Taslima Nasrin a literary icon or not, one cannot deny that her life has been nothing short of phenomenal. She never shied away from speaking her mind or expressing her opinions on religion or society. She hasn’t visited her country for the last 22 years now and has been leading a nomadic existence with the label of anti Islamic. ‘Exile’ is the moving and shocking account of all that happened during her stay in India – Kolkata, Hyderabad. It is filled with nostalgia and remains of her childhood while contrasting with the gory details of her encounters with death (mob attacks, verbal attacks, bans). It’s a story of fear and courage, of determination and failure, of tears and heartbreak, of home and belonging…
The book chronicles her journey in India – a country she holds dear and feels at home; Kolkata, the city that makes her nostalgic, the people who make and mar her. One thing that this woman holds the promise of is honesty and blatant truth. And her words live up to that legacy.
Read the full review on my blog: https://mytinkertoes.wordpress.com/20...
The book chronicles her journey in India – a country she holds dear and feels at home; Kolkata, the city that makes her nostalgic, the people who make and mar her. One thing that this woman holds the promise of is honesty and blatant truth. And her words live up to that legacy.
Read the full review on my blog: https://mytinkertoes.wordpress.com/20...
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