LAJJA FOR MADRASA LIBRARIES IRKS PROTESTS

Lajja, a controversial novel by Tasleema Nasreen, has once again sparked the controversy after being selected by the Kerala Education Department for madrasa libraries in the state, under the centre’s scheme to provide quality education. Apart from Lajja, the other books of Tasleema include My Girlhood and French Lover. The Samastha Kerala Sunni Vidhyabhasa Board, a prominent body regulating Islamic religious education in Kerala, has asked the education department to keep Lajja out of the selected list. Board secretary, Prof A. K. Abdul Hameed said the novel should not have found a place in the list. “Building a library was meant to improve the quality of education in madrasas. We believe that this book would not serve that purpose. We have alerted all the affiliated madrasas to avoid the novel,” said Hameed. As many organisations have demanded the removal of novel from the list, the department would soon form a committee to prepare a fresh list of the books.