It was a homecoming of sorts for Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasrin, as she landed in Kolkata around noon today from Delhi after 19 years. The author is in the city to attend a literary event against fundamentalism on Saturday, organised by Secular Mission Trust, and another programme at Pashchim Bangla Akademi.
“I am feeling very good to be back. I thank you all,” said Nasrin after landing at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, amid heavy security arrangements.
Her return marks her first visit to Kolkata since November 2007, when she was forced to leave the city following violent protests over her writings.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari will be on stage with the Bangladeshi author at the Secular Mission Trust’s programme on Saturday.
Nasrin hopes to visit her friends and fellow writers in the city if permitted, as there are tight security arrangements in place. Nasrin said she does not want to see Kolkata as a mere visitor but as someone who has a deep connection with the ‘City of Joy’. Nasrin hopes to make peace with the city after protests by fundamentalist groups in 2007 over her controversial book Dwikhondito.
After fleeing Bangladesh in 1994 following death threats over her novel Lajja, she settled in Kolkata in 2004. After receiving death threats from radical clerics and citing a ban on her book, then chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya banned the book in 2003, which was overturned by the Calcutta High Court in 2005.
In 2006, the Imam of Tipu Sultan Mosque, Syed Noor Rehman Barkati, announced a monetary reward for anyone who blackened Nasrin’s face for hurting religious sentiments. She was attacked in August 2007 by supporters of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) during the launch of her Telugu translation of her book.
In November that year, violent protests broke out in central Kolkata, marred by arson and violence, prompting the deployment of the Army by the then Left Front government.
She was shifted to Jaipur and later Delhi before eventually moving abroad, though she repeatedly expressed her desire to return to Kolkata.
Last year, BJP Rajya Sabha MP and current West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya had urged the Union government to facilitate her return, calling Nasrin a fearless voice against Islamist fundamentalism.
