04-22-2005, 09:52 PM
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->SOUTH ASIAN NEWS-FEATURE SERVICE
Kolkata,April 7,2005
Taslima elated by new challenge to Sunil, alleges âdouble standardâ
By Sarbari Bhaumik in Kolkata
SAN-Feature Service: The criminal case filed by retired police officer Bibhuti Bhusan Nandy against popular writer Sunil Gangopadhyay for âhighly objectionable referencesâ on  Goddess Saraswati has elated controversial Bangladesh writer Taslima Nasrin, now in Kolkata  .
The exiled Bangladesh writer is here to push her case for Indian citizenship.
"He (Sunil) sits on a government committee that bans my book because it upsets Islamic sentiments. And now he writes all these obscene stuff . What double standards," said Taslima Nasreen who was once supported by Sunil but later many leading Indian writers including Sunil opposed Taslima strongly .
Complainant Nandy who retired from Indian Police Service as the director general of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police after spending twenty years in intelligence agencies, lodged the complain against the writer for âsome highly objectionable referencesâ in his autobiography "Ardhek Jiban"Âhalf Life .The write up was recently reproduced by a Kolkata daily  .
"Sunil has the audacity to write in his autobiography that as a teenager, he was sexually aroused by the Saraswati idol, that he fondled the breasts of the idol and even kissed it. This man is a pervert and he has seriously offended my sentiments as a Hindu who worships Saraswati, the Goddess of Learning," said Nandi , as he filed the case under Section 295 of the Indian Penal Code.
"I have filed the complaint with the police and it is mandatory on their part to take action. But I know Sunil is close to chief minister . But I know the law and if the police sits on my complaint and do not register a case and take action, I will drag Sunil to court," Nandi told journalists after filing the complaint.
The Jadavpur police station earlier refused to accept the complaint and register a case.
"They did not take my FIR . The OC told me he has to run the police station on practical considerations, so I went to the SP of the South 24 Parganas district and he took my complaint," said Nandi, who  also served as National Security Adviser in Mauritius and  earlier in the Indian High Commission in Dhaka .
But Sunil Gangopadhyay said he had only written about his feelings as a teenager .
"I wrote about how I felt as a teenager when I saw the naked idol of Saraswati . That was the first time I was aroused as a man. But Bengali Hindus have a liberal tradition and we can poke fun at our Gods and Goddess. I dont know why Nandi is so upset, I did not write to offend anyone," said the writer .
He also accussed Nandi of seeking cheap publicity, to which the retired police and intelligence official reacted furiously.
" I worship Saraswati because I value learning. Here in Bengal, the Communists try to ban the Saraswati Bandana and now Sunil has such audacity that he defiles the Goddess we hold sacred," Nandi said.
"And I have been an intelligence officer for more than twenty years. We avoid publicity. It is cheap stuntmen like Sunil who seek publicity all the time," said Nandi.
Sunil is not new to such controversies. The Ananda Bazar office , where he works, was gheraoed two years ago when Sunil made explicit sexual references about Bengal's great spiritual leader Ramkrishna Paramhansa. He also faced demonstrations when he referred to Goddess Kali as "Nangto Saothal Magi" (naked Santhal woman).
Nandy's action has been welcome by many who feel strongly about his arrogance.
" What does he think he is, " said government official P P Kar." He is a debauch and he sees woman as a commodity," said feminist Gargi Dutta.
But host of writers have defended him , though some say he could be less obscene.-SAN-Feature Service<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->SOUTH ASIAN NEWS-FEATURE SERVICE
Kolkata,April 7,2005
Taslima elated by new challenge to Sunil, alleges âdouble standardâ
By Sarbari Bhaumik in Kolkata
SAN-Feature Service: The criminal case filed by retired police officer Bibhuti Bhusan Nandy against popular writer Sunil Gangopadhyay for âhighly objectionable referencesâ on  Goddess Saraswati has elated controversial Bangladesh writer Taslima Nasrin, now in Kolkata  .
The exiled Bangladesh writer is here to push her case for Indian citizenship.
"He (Sunil) sits on a government committee that bans my book because it upsets Islamic sentiments. And now he writes all these obscene stuff . What double standards," said Taslima Nasreen who was once supported by Sunil but later many leading Indian writers including Sunil opposed Taslima strongly .
Complainant Nandy who retired from Indian Police Service as the director general of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police after spending twenty years in intelligence agencies, lodged the complain against the writer for âsome highly objectionable referencesâ in his autobiography "Ardhek Jiban"Âhalf Life .The write up was recently reproduced by a Kolkata daily  .
"Sunil has the audacity to write in his autobiography that as a teenager, he was sexually aroused by the Saraswati idol, that he fondled the breasts of the idol and even kissed it. This man is a pervert and he has seriously offended my sentiments as a Hindu who worships Saraswati, the Goddess of Learning," said Nandi , as he filed the case under Section 295 of the Indian Penal Code.
"I have filed the complaint with the police and it is mandatory on their part to take action. But I know Sunil is close to chief minister . But I know the law and if the police sits on my complaint and do not register a case and take action, I will drag Sunil to court," Nandi told journalists after filing the complaint.
The Jadavpur police station earlier refused to accept the complaint and register a case.
"They did not take my FIR . The OC told me he has to run the police station on practical considerations, so I went to the SP of the South 24 Parganas district and he took my complaint," said Nandi, who  also served as National Security Adviser in Mauritius and  earlier in the Indian High Commission in Dhaka .
But Sunil Gangopadhyay said he had only written about his feelings as a teenager .
"I wrote about how I felt as a teenager when I saw the naked idol of Saraswati . That was the first time I was aroused as a man. But Bengali Hindus have a liberal tradition and we can poke fun at our Gods and Goddess. I dont know why Nandi is so upset, I did not write to offend anyone," said the writer .
He also accussed Nandi of seeking cheap publicity, to which the retired police and intelligence official reacted furiously.
" I worship Saraswati because I value learning. Here in Bengal, the Communists try to ban the Saraswati Bandana and now Sunil has such audacity that he defiles the Goddess we hold sacred," Nandi said.
"And I have been an intelligence officer for more than twenty years. We avoid publicity. It is cheap stuntmen like Sunil who seek publicity all the time," said Nandi.
Sunil is not new to such controversies. The Ananda Bazar office , where he works, was gheraoed two years ago when Sunil made explicit sexual references about Bengal's great spiritual leader Ramkrishna Paramhansa. He also faced demonstrations when he referred to Goddess Kali as "Nangto Saothal Magi" (naked Santhal woman).
Nandy's action has been welcome by many who feel strongly about his arrogance.
" What does he think he is, " said government official P P Kar." He is a debauch and he sees woman as a commodity," said feminist Gargi Dutta.
But host of writers have defended him , though some say he could be less obscene.-SAN-Feature Service<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->