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- Exiled author Taslima Nasrin makes emotional return to Kolkata.
- Forced to leave city in 2007 due to book protests
- Scheduled to attend anti-fundamentalism program with CM Adhikari.
Exiled Bangladeshi author and activist Taslima Nasrin on Friday returned to Kolkata after 19 years. The 63-year-old woman was forced to leave the city following protests over her controversial book, Dwikhondito. "I am really liking it here," said Nasrin as she landed at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in West Bengal's capital city. The activist described her homecoming as returning “to her own country.”
Nasrin is scheduled to attend a program protesting fundamentalism on August 1, which would also be attended by Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and renowned author Shirshendy Mukhopadhyay. She described her return as a "personal homecoming"; she said that she never left Kolkata willingly and always hoped that she would return one day.
"I never left Kolkata willingly; the then West Bengal government forced me to leave the state. Yet I never stopped hoping that one day I would return. Year after year passed, governments changed, and still the door remained closed, " she added.
Why Was The Writer Forced To Leave Kolkata?
Nasrin was forced to leave Kolkata in November 2007 after violent protests by Islamist groups demanding a ban on Dwikhandito, the Bengali version of her memoir. The unrest prompted the then West Bengal government to move her out of the state. She was later shifted to Delhi under tight security before eventually moving abroad.
She later stayed briefly in Jaipur before settling in Delhi in 2011 on a long-term residence permit, which has since been renewed annually. Nasrin holds Swedish citizenship.
Exiled for Her Controversial Novel ‘Lajja’
Bangladesh-born Nasrin has lived in exile since 1994 after facing death threats and legal action over her writings. Her novel Lajja, which highlighted the persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh following the demolition of the Babri Masjid in India, drew widespread attention and sparked fierce opposition from hardline groups.
Over the years, Nasrin has repeatedly expressed her desire to return to Kolkata, which she has often referred to as her second home. She has also remained a vocal advocate for free speech, secularism, women's rights, and the separation of religion and state.
Nasrin’s return comes at a time when discussions around freedom of expression and the treatment of exiled writers continue to resonate across South Asia. While this is her first visit to Kolkata in nearly 19 years, it also marks her first public engagement in the city since her departure in 2007.