Taslima Nasrin’s

Lajja

 was published in 1993 and translated into English by Tutul Gupta as

Shame

in 1994. Written in the wake of the demolition of the sixteenth-century Babri Masjid in 1992, the novel depicts the atrocities of Bangladeshi Muslim fundamentalists against the Hindu minority of the country. One of the principles of the Bangladesh constitution is secularism, and it is is therefore committed to communal harmony where people from four communities – Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, and Christian – live peacefully. After the 1947 Partition, however, there have been several eruptions of hostility against Hindus, and Nasrin draws attention to the intolerance of the anti-Hindu riots. As a result,

Lajja

was banned and Nasrin received death threats from Islamic groups.

Nasrin

1826 words

Citation: Islam, Rama. "Lajja". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 December 2020 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=39299, accessed 21 November 2024.]

39299 Lajja 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.