Taslima

Hyderabad, Aug. 10: Yesterday’s shame descended into farce in Hyderabad today with organisations competing with each other to rue the missed opportunity to cause Taslima Nasreen bigger harm.

“We had planned to eliminate Taslima yesterday, but the amateurish attack by the Majlis-e-Itahadul-Musalmeen foiled our plans,” Barkatullah Khan, president of the Majlis Bachao Tehreek, said.

Protesters led by three Musalmeen MLAs had barged into a book release and thrown books, bags and bouquets at the exiled Bangladeshi writer, whose novel Lajja (shame) is banned in her country for hurting Muslim sentiments.

Barkatullah said the Musalmeen lacked serious intent. “If they really wanted to harm her, how come they arrived without weapons?” he asked, adding that his group had stockpiled arms and worked out an assassination plan.

The competitive terrorism is rooted in the support for the attackers among many.

“She deserved it,” said Fatima Khatoon, the principal of a private school. “Taslima had offended our conscience and moral standards. It’s the high tolerance level of Islam that has been her best safeguard till now.”

The Tehreek vies with the Musalmeen, from which it broke away in the 1990s, for the same vote bank. It had fielded seven candidates in the 2004 Assembly polls, but had drawn a blank. The Musalmeen, with five MLAs and an MP, is a Congress ally.

As one organisation attacked Taslima and another spoke of a plan to kill her, the city police said they had no idea the writer was in Hyderabad till TV channels began beaming the Press Club incident.

City police commissioner Balwinder Singh, however, played the attack down saying Taslima was not hurt.

Asked how the arrested Musalmeen MLAs and activists have all got bail, Singh said: “We could have slapped serious and non-bailable charges provided they had gone there with weapons.”

He seemed to be misinformed on this, too, for sources said two non-bailable charges had been brought against the accused: physical assault, and having made preparations for causing hurt. The other charges are: rioting, voluntarily causing hurt, mischief and thereby causing damage, trespass and criminal intimidation.

The MLAs, though, got bail last evening while the 20-odd activists had to wait till today.

The deputy commissioner of police, N. Madhusudhan Reddy, said: “After investigations, we will see if we need to file a chargesheet under serious sections.”

But perhaps sensing the public mood, senior minister Mohammed Fareeduddin said: “Why should we buy trouble with the MIM over a petty issue like that of Taslima?”