Bengaluru: Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen on Sunday said the conflict in India is not between Hinduism and Islam, but between ideas of secularism and fundamentalism.
“There is a conflict in India; the conflict is between two different ideas — secularism and fundamentalism.
I don’t agree with those who think the conflict is between Hinduism and Islam,” she said in a video message.
“To me this conflict is basically between rational logical thinking and irrational blind faith. To me this is a conflict between modernity and anti-modernism, between humanism and barbarism, between innovation and tradition. “While some strive to go forward, others strive to go backwards. This conflict is between those who value freedom and those who do not,” she added.
Nasreen’s recorded video message was played at Bangalore Literature Festival 2015 here during the session on the topic ‘Are we heading towards an intolerant India today?’ She said India is not basically an intolerant country. It’s Constitution and laws are not based on intolerance and bigotry, but it is true that some people in religious communities are intolerant which is common in every society.
