Скачать или смотреть Lajja लज्जा || (Shame) is a novel in Bengali by Taslima Nasrin, Book Review In Hindi Commumalism

Lajja – The Evil of Communalism

Big claps to Taslima Nasrin for being so brave to pull off something like Lajja. The content is so sensitive in nature and the one line of the story can disturb you for a long time. But the book lacks the element of excitement. The narrative is partially intersting but the repetitive recitation of the horrifying events creates big damage to the overall reading experience and that goes for pages and pages.

"We have enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another". An average reading experience altogether


This book took me back to a line from Ravish Kumar’s ‘The Free Voice’ that says “In the drawing rooms of the elite, communal talk is already like a dessert after a good meal”. This line has become more relatable and been reinforced after completing the book.

Of late, a lot of political narratives involve religious ideologies and religion-based atrocities. On the one hand, there are all kinds of accounts around social issues of oppression and human rights violation. One of the important points of discussion has also been the interference of state with religion to run a democracy. These issues are, in depth, evidently and subtly, covered by one of the very courageous authors Taslima Nasrin in her book Lajja.
About the author:

Taslima Nasrin is a Swedish-Bangladeshi author, human rights activist, and a youth icon who’s written brave accounts of oppression of women and the evil face of communalism. This book is important for me because it was banned in Bangladesh and remains a very critical text, decades later. According to Taslima Nasrin, a Fatwa was issued against her as since it became very apparent how the state failed in protecting its citizens under the garb of religion.

In 1992 in India, Babri Masjid was demolished which followed riots in the country and a lot of unrest. However, the ripples of that demolition spread through the neighbouring country of Bangladesh. The book talks about the situation on ground of how the Bengali Hindus faced atrocities as a response to the agitation of the Muslims in Bangladesh over the incident in back in India. The story revolves around the Duttas, who have lived in Bangladesh throughout. It’s the accounts of Suronjon, Sudhamoy, Maya, and Kironmoyee Dutta who found it difficult with the tag of being a ‘Hindu’. Sudhamoy and Suronjon were politically vocal, didn’t subscribe to the idea of religious fundamentalism and were liberals. Sudhamoy was also a part of the famous Liberation War of 1971.

The story starts with how things started to turn a drastic turn after the unfortunate incident of the Babri Masjid demolition took place in October 1992. It’s about how the Muslims of Bangladesh took the streets and unleashed violence in the city – killing and lynching almost anyone who looked Hindu or had a Hindu name, raping and killing women, destroying properties belonging to Hindus and asking them to leave the country if they wanted to survive.

Sudhamoy and Kironmoyee always had conflicting opinions of moving to India to save themselves from any harm. Kironmoyee wanted to move as most of her family was in India and it would only provide them a little more certainty in life. However, her husband Sudhamoy was never fond of the idea. For him, Bangladesh was his country and he wanted to live in the country that is his. He seemed fairly optimistic about staying in Bangladesh. He would say that the unrest would soon end and that this is his country as much as it is of any Muslim’s.

Lajja is a brave book that talks about the struggles the Dutta family had to go through to prove their nationalism. The entire book explores the story of the four central characters and how their political ideologies gets influenced by the violence in the country.

Lajja is a fast read and for someone who reads often, it should be done in a week as well. Taslima’s writing is simple and clear. Her subtle hints at religious fundamentalism, gender oppression, and the idea of nationalism make this book worth the money and the time spent on it.

I would recommend this book 8/10 for it is still relevant after decades of the horrific incident that shook the Indian subcontinent, with ripple effects in Bangladesh and maybe many other countries.

#Lajja
#TaslimaNasrin
#Communalism
#ReligiousViolence
#Bangladesh
#WomensRights
#Secularism