VOA常速英语2007年-Controversy Erupts in India Over Bangladeshi Wr

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
02 December 2007

India has promised to protect a controversial Bangladeshi woman writer, who fled her own country 13 years ago after angering conservative Muslims with her writings. The author has now promised to withdraw from one of her books, passages that led Muslims in India to stage violent protests against her. Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi.

 

Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen had been living quietly in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata for nearly three years.

The writer came to India after spending nearly a decade in Europe, where she lived after fleeing Muslim-majority Bangladesh in 1994.

 

She left Dhaka when she raised the wrath¹ of Bangladeshi Muslim fundamentalist groups. They called her writings blasphemous², and some extremists even demanded her execution.

Several days ago, Nasreen found she was again in the eye of a storm - this time in India.

 

A group called the Muslim All-India Minority Forum³ led violent protests in Kolkata demanding her expulsion from India, saying her writings had seriously offended Muslim sentiments.

 

Nasreen has not released any new writings recently, and it is not clear what sparked the protests. Whatever the reasons, the authorities in West Bengal state decided⁴ to rush her out of the city. She was first moved to the western state of Rajasthan, but was transferred to New Delhi under heavy security when Muslim groups in Rajasthan threatened new protests there.

 

After a fierce debate erupted on her future, Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee told parliament that Nasreen will be allowed to stay in India.

 

"Throughout history, India has never refused shelter to those who have come and sought our protection," said Mukherjee. "This civilizational heritage, which is now government policy, will continue, and India will provide shelter to Miss Nasreen."

 

However, the promise of refuge came with a warning: the foreign minister said the author must refrain from what he called "expressions and activities that may hurt the sentiments of our people."

Nasreen is paying heed⁵ to the warning. She says she will withdraw sections from her years-old autobiography⁶, which some Muslim groups say are derogatory to Islam. She says she did not mean to hurt anyone's religious feelings.

 

Her announcement is likely to calm the storm that erupted over her presence in India. But analysts⁷ say the controversy⁸ reveals the difficulty India faces to avoid offending its large Muslim minority. Muslims make up about 12 percent of the billion-plus population. They also constitute a powerful voting bloc⁹, and are wooed by various political parties during elections.

Critics have charged that Nasreen was forced to quit Kolkata because the communist-run state government wanted to pacify¹⁰ Muslims, who prop¹¹ up allied¹² parties in the state.

Nasreen has chosen to live in Kolkata because it shares the Bengali language and culture of Bangladesh. She says she wants to return to the city.

1 wrath   

n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒

参考例句：

• His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
• The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。

2 blasphemous   

adj.亵渎神明的，不敬神的

参考例句：

• The book was declared blasphemous and all copies ordered to be burnt.这本书被断定为亵渎神明之作，命令全数焚毀。
• The people in the room were shocked by his blasphemous language.满屋的人都对他那侮慢的语言感到愤慨。

3 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

6 autobiography   

n.自传

参考例句：

• He published his autobiography last autumn.他去年秋天出版了自己的自传。
• His life story is recounted in two fascinating volumes of autobiography.这两卷引人入胜的自传小说详述了他的生平。

7 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

8 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

9 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

10 pacify   

vt.使(某人)平静(或息怒)；抚慰

参考例句：

• He tried to pacify the protesters with promises of reform.他试图以改革的承诺安抚抗议者。
• He tried to pacify his creditors by repaying part of the money.他为安抚债权人偿还了部分借款。

11 prop   

vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山

参考例句：

• A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
• The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。

12 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。