She was first dubbed as a Dukhtaran-e-Milat activist for her diatribe with the Chief Minister. The incident was prominently reported in the local media. Taslima, as per the reports, had hit the Chief Minister with her shoes and showered him with expletives. The officials categorically denied the incident. The truth was somewhere in between. She had shouted at Abdullah and was immediately whisked away.

Taslima, however, makes no bones about her intention during her `encounter' with the CM and has no regrets. ``I wanted to speak to the Chief Minister about rampant corruption and malpractices due to which I am still jobless. I thought he (CM) would lend me a patient ear in Dargah Sharif. But his bodyguards kept me at bay. Thiswas the only chance for me, but that too couldn't materialise,'' she said.

``Time is running out for me. Another one-and-a-half-years and I won't be eligible for any Government job. All my efforts have failed so far. The criteria is money and good connections. I possess none,'' she told The Indian Express while lying on her hospital bed.

Describing the trauma of being severely thrashed and bodily lifted by the CM's bodyguards because she had ``dared'' to approach him for an audience at the Dargah, Taslima said she felt cheated and utterly humiliated. ``That is why I screamed and shouted at his (Abdullah's) face about how the poor and deserving were being deprived of their rights.'' When asked if she was a Dukhtaran-e-Milat activist as the police had dubbed her to be, she vehemently denied the charge. ``No, I have nothing to do with them. I am not interested in their organisation.''

Taslima, a resident of Janglat Mandi in Anantnag, passed her Matriculation with distinction in 1982. She graduated in 1987and completed her B.Ed course in 1994. She was even awarded a certificate of merit by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. She appeared in at least seven interviews conducted by the Services Selection Board. ``During the last interview, I was told a sum of Rs 50,000 would secure the job for me.'' Taslima, who was orphaned four years ago, could not manage the requisite amount.

She says that a relative of hers paid the requisite sum and got the job. Ever since, Taslima has received taunts that her degrees could not fetch her employment and this sent her into fits of depression.