Taslima deletes three pages, Jamiat says she may now return

She said as much, speaking to The Indian Express, shortly after her publishers said that she had asked for three pages of her book Dwikhandita to be removed. These, critics say, carry “disparaging” remarks about the Prophet.

“Things had taken such a turn that my security and safety have come under great risk in any part of the world,” Nasreen told The Indian Express today. “Islamic fundamentalists would not have allowed me to rest in peace anywhere in the world. My intention is never to hurt anybody’s feelings and if my writings hurt the sentiments of others, it’s better to withdraw such portions. I am withdrawing some lines from the book.”

The decision was immediately welcomed by a jittery CPM, sections of which had backed Muslim groups objecting to her presence here after a street protest on November 21 turned parts of the city into a battleground and forced the government to call out the Army.

The Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, one of the most vocal critics, said the author is free to return to the state. “This (deleting) is a good step and we are happy that good sense has prevailed. If she had taken this step before, then a lot of conflict could have been avoided,” said Siddiqullah Chowdhury, general secretary of the body.

Top CPM sources said that Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was desperate to work out a compromise formula that would facilitate her return to Kolkata and at the same time soothe frayed tempers of Muslim organizations. “He used both political and literary channels to come to an acceptable compromise,” said a senior member of the party.

Her decision is believed to have been prompted by a “gentle word of advice” from Union External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who had said Tuesday that the author would be sheltered but “guests” should not “hurt our people’s sentiments.” The West Bengal government worked closely with the Centre on this issue, party sources said.

Also, celebrated Bengali author Sunil Gangopadhyay, considered close to both Nasreen and the Chief Minister, is said to have intervened. When contacted today, he said that he had, indeed, suggested to Nasreen that she consider withdrawing a couple of pages from the book. “I welcome that she has agreed to withdraw the pages. There are times when one has to go for a compromise,” he said.

Dwikhandita, written in 2002 — the third in a series of her five “autobiographical novels” — was banned in 2003 but the Calcutta High Court lifted the ban two years later saying there was nothing objectionable in it.

Along with an anonymous piece in CPM-patronised Path Sanket magazine which had “derogatory” references to the Prophet, the book sparked off protests. Said Shibani Mukherjee of People’s Book Society, Nasreen’s publishers: “Taslima has asked for pages 49, 50 and 51 to be removed. We will not recall the existing stock but these pages will be omitted in fresh editions.”

Hasim Abdul Halim, Speaker of the Assembly, whose assembly constituency of Entally witnessed the worst violence on November 21, welcomed the decision. “We congratulate her. She had not withdrawn it earlier although the book was banned by the state government,” he said. Asked when she planned to return to the city, Nasreen said: “I sincerely hope to be in Kolkata before the Book Fair. I want to stay in Kolkata, I want to stay in India.”