Where am I?

The 77th National Convention of the Rationalist Association of India meeting in Palanpur, Gujarat, with over 200 Human Rights, Humanist, Rationalist, Secularist, and Atheist participants from various parts of the country, expresses its horror, and condemns in the strongest terms the threats held out to our Humanist colleague Taslima Nasrin by Muslim fundamentalists, and the subsequent reaction by the state government of West Bengal.

Bangladeshi writer-in-exile Taslima Nasreen was attacked at the Hyderabad Press Club today (Babu Gogineni reports), where she was launching the Telegu translation of her book Shodh ("Getting Even"). The attackers were members of the radical political group Majlis Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (MIM), led by three elected members of the Legislative Assembly. She responded, "Come what may, I will never be silenced."

Both missiles and obscene threats were launched against Taslima, but fortunately she was not injured as the attackers were unable to get very close to her. The Humanist activist Dr Innaiah was injured on the face by objects thrown by the protesters: they were throwing whatever they could lay their hands on, including flower bouquets, handbags and other items. They were even picking up chairs to threaten Taslima.

Bangladesh, where I was born, is a nation of more than 130 million people, one of the most populous countries in the world.

More than 1000 people are crowded into every square kilometre. It is a country where 70 per cent of the people live below the poverty line, where more than half the population cannot read and write, a country where there is insufficient health care, and where infant mortality is high. Nearly 40 million women have no access to education nor do they have the possibility of becoming independent.