Taslima withdraws controversial lines from book

New Delhi, Nov 30: Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen today attempted to quell the controversy over some remarks in her autobiographical work 'Dwikhandita' by expunging the controversial lines in the book that raised the hackles of some sections.

In an interview to a satellite news channel, the controversial author said she was taking the decision ''for the sake of peace''.

''When I had written the book I had no intention of hurting anybody's sentiments,'' she added.

Ms Nasreen said, ''I am withdrawing controversial lines in Dwikhandita, written in 2002 with the memory of Bangladesh in the 1980s when military threw out secularism in the country.'' ''Now since some people in India claim that it hurt their sentiments, I am withdrawing some lines in the book,'' the 46-year-old doctor-turned author, who holds a Swedish passport, said.

She said she had asked the publisher to bring out the next edition of the book deleting those controversial lines.

A spokesman for the publisher said the author had ordered them not to put the copies of the book in circulation.

Last week, Taslima, who was expelled from her native land Bangladesh, had to be shifted out of West Bengal from where she was taken to Jaipur and subsequently to the Rajasthan House in New Delhi.

At present, she is reportedly being kept at an undisclosed location in the NCR region.

The issue generated much heat in the corridors of power, forcing External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee to make a statement in Parliament, saying India would give her shelter.

But in the same vein, he said a guest should not rub the sensitivities of the people a wrong way.

An Imam had issued a fatwa against her in 2004 for similar reasons. Her earlier book, 'Lajja', among 4 out of her 28 books, had also been banned by the Bangladesh government.

UNI