Exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen makes first Kolkata visit in 19 years
Taslima Nasreen returned to Kolkata on Friday, marking her first public appearance in the city since 2007 after being forced to leave over her memoir.
After nearly two decades in exile, Taslima Nasreen stepped foot in Kolkata on Friday, calling the experience a heartfelt return to a place she once considered her own country. She will take part in a program scheduled for August 1, which is expected to draw West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari and celebrated novelist Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay. Nasreen's earlier departure in 2007 followed widespread demonstrations against her memoir "Dwikhandito," prompting the Left Front administration to prohibit the work for allegedly offending Muslim religious sentiments. The writer had originally sought refuge in Kolkata after escaping Bangladesh in the 1990s. Her comeback signals a shift in the cultural climate that once drove her out.
Why it matters
The visit highlights changing attitudes toward free expression and the reintegration of a once-banned author into Indian cultural life.
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