Exiled Author Taslima Nasreen Returns to Kolkata After Nearly 19 Years

Exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen returned to Kolkata on Friday for the first time since November 2007. Nasreen arrived at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport to attend a literary event scheduled for Saturday at Rabindra Sadan. The author expressed happiness at her return, stating that Bengal has never been divided in her heart by a border or a barbed wire fence. Nasreen was forced to leave Kolkata in 2007 after protests erupted over her autobiographical book, Dwikhandito, which some Muslim fundamentalists claimed hurt religious sentiments. At that time, the Left Front government asked her to leave the city and the Army was deployed to restore order. Nasreen has lived in exile since 1994 after receiving death threats in Bangladesh over her writings, including the novel Lajja. The upcoming event is organized by Secular Mission and other groups, including Paschimbonger Jonno and Human Rights Beyond Frontiers. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and other BJP leaders are expected to attend. While Nasreen stated that the state government is providing security as a normal administrative responsibility and denied that the BJP arranged her return, some observers link the visit to the current BJP government in West Bengal. A center left source noted that the event is hosted in part by Mohit Roy, a former head of the BJP refugee cell. Political reactions to the return vary. A center right source reported that a CPI(M) leader criticized Nasreen, claiming she is being brought back because she has spoken for the BJP and the RSS. A center left source added that CPI(M) leaders argued the previous Left Front government did not force her out but reacted to a violent law and order situation. Conversely, a center right source quoted Nasreen saying that the government at the time could have allowed her to stay if it had wanted to.