Minorities in better state in India than Pak, B'desh: Taslima

Controversial writer Taslima Nasreen said  the condition of religious minorities is much better in India than in the neighbouring Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The exiled Bangladeshi author  said  atrocities are committed against Hindus and Buddhists in Bangladesh.

"Though I have never been to Pakistan,  I have read that members of religious minorities there are being converted and persecuted," the 55-year-old writer  said in an interview.

The author was in the city for the Indore Literature Festival on December 15.

"The condition of religious minorities is much better in India as compared to these two nations. The Constitution of India is same for all," she said.

"However, I am not saying that minority communities do not have any problem in India," said Nasreen, who had fled Bangladesh in the early 1990s after right-wing Muslim outfits issued death threats to her.

"I am a citizen of Europe but India appears to be home to me. I am thankful to the Indian government  for having given me permission to stay here. I want to work for the betterment of the Indian society," the  author of the much-discussed  Lajja  said.

'False allegations'

She denied the allegation that in an article in an online magazine over the recent killing of a Muslim labourer in Rajasthan, she equated the Hindu community with the Islamic State.

"It is totally wrong to say that I, in my article, equated the entire Hindu community with IS. I had mentioned one particular incident (about posting the video of the murder on social media). I am quite upset with these false allegations," she said.

She  said  some people were distorting a part of her article and intentionally fanning bitterness and hatred against her on social media.

Hailing Indian laws and their implementation, she noted that the accused in the Rajasthan killing incident was arrested and sent to jail.

Nasreen  said  that in Bangladesh, people who committed excesses on minorities were roaming free.

"The society and the environment you love, you want to see it free from violence and bitterness. That is why I write indiscriminately against extremists of every religion," the writer said.

Advocating a common civil code across the world, Nasreen said that due to laws based on religion, women  are facing harassment and discrimination.