The plight of Taslima Nasrin

The Marxists in power in the Indian state of West Bengal may rant and rave against Hindu nationalists, but they are powerless against Muslim militants. The militants just had to take to the streets of the state capital, Calcutta (Kolkata), and agitate for a day. And, lo and behold, they got what they wanted. The Bangladeshi writer, Taslima Nasrina, who faced death threats back home for allegedly blaspheming Islam, has left Calcutta.

Actually, the All-India Minority Forum, whose agitation sparked a riot in Calcutta on Wednesday, wanted more. It called for her expulsion from India.

But as the Marxists correctly pointed out, that's beyond their power. I am not joking.

The Marxist leader, Biman Bose, said it was for the Indian government, in Delhi, to decide whether to cancel her visa. But he made his wishes pretty clear. He suggested she leave West Bengal, reported the Bengali newspaper, Ananda Bazar Patrika, published from Calcutta.

So, Taslima Nasrin flew off to Jaipur in Rajasthan yesterday, reported the Telegraph, the Ananda Bazar Patrika's English counterpart. (Both are published by the same group.)

Rajasthan is ruled by the Hindu nationalists -- the Bharatiya Janata Party.

It's sad that the Bangladeshi writer hounded by Muslim militants had to seek refuge with Hindu nationalists.

But Taslima hardly had any choice.

Biman Bose is the voice of West Bengal's ruling party. He is the secretary of the West Bengal unit of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). When he suggested she leave, she couldn't turn a deaf ear. After all, he has more authority and influence than most ministers as the ruling party's top official.

Indeed, the police offered to move her out of West Bengal. The police would have hardly done so on their own. They have to take orders from the ruling party.

Anyone who wants to know just how Taslima Nasrin fell foul of the Islamists could check Wikipedia or visit her own website.

Whatever she did, it's sad when a writer faces death threats and is hounded from pillar to post. And that 's exactly what the Marxists in West Bengal did, chasing her out of Calcutta after Muslim militants wanted her out. The Marxists may say they did it to restore peace after the militant violence. But I suspect that was not the only reason. They also do not want to lose the Muslim vote in the next elections.

The Hindu nationalists are not concerned about the Muslim vote. So Taslima could go to them. It's so sad, the politics and callousness all around.