Nearly two decades after she was forced to leave Kolkata following violent protests over her writings, exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasrin is set to return to the city she once considered home. Her visit marks the end of one of the longest-running cultural and political controversies in West Bengal, following years of unsuccessful attempts to return to the city.
Nasrin will arrive in Kolkata on the night of July 31 and attend a public programme at Rabindra Sadan on August 1, organisers of the event told THE WEEK.
"Taslima will be reaching the City of Joy on the night of July 31," said organiser Santanu Singha. "On August 1, there will be a programme at Rabindra Sadan, where the chief minister of West Bengal is expected to be present."
According to Singha, the event will bring together several prominent personalities from Bengal's literary and public life, including Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta, former Governor Tathagata Roy, novelist Sirshendu Mukhopadhyay and writer Binayak Bandyopadhyay.
Nasrin's itinerary spans four days. Following the Rabindra Sadan programme, she is expected to interact with the media and members of Kolkata's literary community on August 2 before flying back on August 3.
Nasrin became one of South Asia's best-known literary voices after the publication of Lajja in 1993. The novel was set against the communal violence in Bangladesh following the demolition of the 16th-century Babri Masjid in Ayodhya in December 1992. The book was banned in Bangladesh, and a fatwa was issued against her. By 1994, she had fled her homeland, beginning a life in exile that has now stretched over three decades.
When Nasrin settled in Kolkata in 2004, the city became the closest she had to a home. Bound by a shared language, literary heritage and cultural traditions, Kolkata offered her a sense of belonging that exile had denied her.
However, that relationship was abruptly severed in November 2007. The publication of her autobiographical work Dwikhandito triggered violent protests by Islamist groups in central Kolkata. As the law and order situation deteriorated, the then Left Front government, led by Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, moved her out of the city, saying it could no longer guarantee her safety.
Nasrin has not returned to Kolkata since. Although no formal ban was ever imposed, successive governments in West Bengal declined to facilitate her return. Over the years, Nasrin repeatedly sought permission to visit the city for literary events and book fairs, often describing Kolkata as the place where she felt she truly belonged. Those requests, however, went unanswered.
The issue resurfaced in Parliament in March 2025 when BJP Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya, who is now the party's West Bengal president, urged the Centre to ensure that Nasrin was allowed to return safely to Kolkata. Describing her as a fearless voice against religious fundamentalism, he argued that India had a moral obligation to offer refuge to a writer who had paid a heavy personal price for defending freedom of expression.
Nasrin's scheduled visit signals a clear break from the approach taken by successive state governments since 2007. Organised by Secular Mission and the Human Rights and Bangladesh Freedom Fighters Foundation, the programme has the backing of the BJP government in West Bengal, with Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari expected to share the stage with Nasrin at Rabindra Sadan.
For a writer who once believed she had lost the city forever, the visit will be more than just another literary event. It will mark a long-denied homecoming.
