Does this mean they should be removed from the scene, like Taslima Nasreen? If say, Mahasweta Devi or Aparna Sen or Sunil Gangopadhyay were under threat, would the West Bengal government have sent them packing? Would we have been told that ensuring their protection is the Centre’s responsibility? (We shouldn’t be too surprised, though — remember, West Bengal has the dubious distinction of being the only government in a good long while to have actually banned a work — yes, Nasreen’s Dwikhondito in 2003).

So what are ordinary people to do, if we cannot depend on the state to protect not only our freedom of expression, but our freedom of movement and of association as well? All three rights are subsumed under the fundamental rights guaranteed in the Constitution, but it seems we will, once more, have to move the courts in order to reinforce them.

In August 2007, Women’s WORLD (India), a free-speech network of writers, publishers and critics, and Asmita, a women’s resource centre in Hyderabad, filed a writ petition in the Hyderabad High Court against the four MLAs who led the attack on Taslima Nasreen in that city and against the two parties, the Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen and Majlis Bachao Tehreek. The petition sought the removal of the four legislators and the cancellation of the registration of both political parties with the Election Commission of India. The grounds are misconduct, and the primary issue is the public conduct of elected representatives. The case is being heard, although — and this is a matter of some concern — there is no code of conduct prescribed for elected representatives during their term of office, in India.

... contd.