Zakir Hossain / Dhaka
A mob attacked and vandalised a book stall at the ongoing Amar Ekushey Book Fair in Bangladesh’s Dhaka for publishing and putting up books written by Taslima Nasreen, a Bangladeshi writer, physicist and feminist who is living in exile in India.
The incident occurred on Monday when a group of madrasa students stormed the stall of Sabyasachi Prakashani, questioning why Taslima Nasreen’s books were on display. The situation escalated as the attackers vandalized the stall and threw away copies of her book. Publisher Shatabdi Bhava was also reportedly assaulted.
Reacting to the incident, Muhammad Yunus, Nobel laureate and Bangladesh interim government chief adviser, strongly condemned the mob attack, calling it a “contempt” for the rights of Bangladeshi citizens and the laws of the country. In a statement, his office said, “The Chief Adviser strongly condemns the mob attack on a bookstall at Ekushey Book Fair. The attack shows contempt for both the rights of Bangladeshi citizens and the laws of our country.”
The statement further emphasized that such violence goes against the spirit of Ekushey February, which commemorates the language martyrs of 1952. It added, “This book fair is a daily meeting place for our writers and readers. Such attacks betray the open-minded cultural spirit of this great Bangladeshi event.” Following the attack, the interim government ordered a probe into the incident and directed security agencies to take strong measures to prevent further mob violence.
“The Interim Government has ordered police and the Bangla Academy to investigate the incident and bring the culprits to book. Police have been ordered to step up security at the fair and ensure that no untoward incidents take place in this very important space. The government has also ordered the concerned security agencies to take strong measures to stop any incidents of mob violence in the country,” the statement said.
In response to the attack, Taslima Nasreen took to social media, sharing a video of the incident on X (formerly Twitter). She blamed the Bangladeshi authorities for enabling religious extremism. “Today, jihadist religious extremists attacked the stall of the publisher Sabyasachi at Bangladesh’s book fair. Their ‘crime’ was publishing my book,” she wrote.
She further alleged that even after book fair authorities and police forced the publisher to remove her book, the attackers continued their assault. “Even after it was removed, the extremists attacked, vandalized the stall, and shut it down. The government is supporting these extremists, and jihadist activities are spreading across the country,” she stated.
Eyewitnesses at the Sabyasachi Prakashani stall described how a group of agitators first started shouting about the presence of Taslima Nasreen’s book before attacking the publisher. One witness said, “A group of agitators came to Sabyasachi Prakashani and started shouting, questioning why Taslima Nasreen’s book was kept in the stall. Later, publisher Shatabdi Bhava was attacked, and they threw away Taslima’s book.”