Taslima Nasreen, the exiled Bangladeshi Muslim woman writer, threatened by radical Islamists has become a victim of political ping-pong in India, bundled from one city to another in a controversy critics say has shamed the secular state.Authorities rushed award-winning Nasreen, who criticises the use of religion as an oppressive force, from her home in Kolkata last week after protests against her by Muslim groups led to riots, forcing the army to be called in.
The riots appeared to be the culmination of years of simmering anger at Nasreen. Some radical Muslims hate Nasreen for saying Islam and other religions oppress women and Indian clerics had issued a "death warrant" against her in August.
After the riots, police moved her to a hotel in Rajasthan and then she was quickly sent to Delhi at the weekend under police protection. No one seemed to want her.
"Democratic we may be, but liberal we most certainly are not," wrote Karan Thapar in the Hindustan Times, criticising India for failing to defend freedom of expression enough.
The controversy highlights the delicate social faultlines of India, a nation born out of secular ideals 60 years ago but where communal politics still play a huge role.
Each move led to criticism that politicians were pandering to Muslim votes and were unwilling to take heat for defending her.
