Lajja is a novel in Bengali by Taslima Nasrin, a writer of Bangladesh. The word lajja/lôjja means "shame" in Bengali and many other Indic languages. The book was first published in 1993 in the Bengali language, and was subsequently banned in Bangladesh,[1][2] and a few states of India. It nonetheless sold 50,000 copies in the six months after its publication,[3] though Taslima fled her native Bangladesh after death threats from Islamic radicals.[4]
Nasrin dedicated the book "to the people of the Indian subcontinent", beginning the text with the words, "let another name for religion be humanism." The novel is preceded by a preface and a chronology of events.
Synopsis
Lajja is a response of Taslima Nasrin to anti-Hindu riots which erupted in parts of Bangladesh, soon after the demolition of Babri Masjid in India on 6 December 1992. The book subtly indicates that communal feelings were on the rise, the Hindu minority of Bangladesh was not fairly treated, and secularism was under shadow.
