Taslima Nasreen Returns to Kolkata After 19 Years; Why Was She Forced To Leave?
Exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen returned to Kolkata on Friday, marking her first public visit to the city since 2007 when protests over her memoir Dwikhondito forced her to leave.
Exiled Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen returned to Kolkata on Friday, nearly two decades after she was forced to leave the city following protests over her controversial memoir Dwikhondito. Arriving at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, the author expressed happiness at being back, saying, "I am really liking it here."
The visit marks Nasreen's first public appearance in Kolkata since 2007, when widespread protests over her writings led to her departure from the city she had made her home after fleeing Bangladesh. Her memoir Dwikhondito was banned by the then Left Front government in West Bengal in 2003 for allegedly hurting religious sentiments. The 63-year-old author currently lives in Delhi on a long-term residence permit.
Taslima Nasreen Back in Kolkata After 19 Years Since She Was Forced to Leave the City
#WATCH | Bangladeshi writer and activist Taslima Nasreen arrives in Kolkata, West Bengal pic.twitter.com/IsFSBUaZ7t
— ANI (@ANI) July 31, 2026
On Saturday, Nasreen is scheduled to attend a programme at Rabindra Sadan focused on protesting fundamentalism. The event is expected to feature political leaders and literary figures, including West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and noted Bengali author Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay. Organisers said the writer will recite some of her poems, participate in a discussion and attend a civic reception held in her honour. Taslima Nasreen To Remain in India: Home Ministry Extends Bangladeshi Author’s Residence Permit, She Thanks Amit Shah.
Ahead of her visit, Nasreen described her return to Kolkata as a "personal homecoming". Speaking to PTI, she said she never chose to leave the city and had always hoped to return.
"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 said. Bangladesh Violence: Activist Taslima Nasreen Flags ‘Jihadist Festival’ After Hindu Youth Dipu Chandra Das Lynched to Death in Mymensingh Over Blasphemy Claim.
Her return has also triggered a political debate in West Bengal. Trinamool Congress MLA Akhruzzaman criticised the visit, alleging that Nasreen has frequently spoken against Muslims and claiming that this was the reason the "double-engine government" was welcoming her.
Meanwhile, West Bengal minister Agnimitra Paul welcomed Nasreen's return, saying previous governments had denied her the opportunity to come back despite speaking about secularism. She said the author's visit under the current government was a matter of pride for the state.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 31, 2026 03:29 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
