Author of 'Lajja' - Bengali novel on the backdrop of anti-Hindu riots in Bangladesh of 1992 returns to Kolkata
This will be her first visit to the city since protests over her controversial book 'Dwikhondito (Bifurcated)' forced her to leave the 'City of Joy' in 2007.
Both the communists and the Mamata regime were known for pushing their named Muslim-appeasing cards.
Taslima Nasreen, who has lived in exile since 1994 following intense opposition to her writings, arrived in Kolkata from New York.
Taslima Nasreen lands in Kolkata
In June Ms Taslima announced that she will participate in a special programme at Rabindra Sadan on August 1, 2026 in Kolkata at a show organised by Secular Mission and Human Rights and Bangladesh Freedom Fighters Foundation (HRBFF).
Bangladeshi writer's turbulent relationship with Kolkata became one of the defining chapters of her decades-long exile.
The organisers have called her a “fiery symbol of resistance against religious fundamentalism”.
Ms Taslima is also expected to address a press conference in the city a day after the literary meet.
This event marks a symbolic return for an author who was forced to leave Kolkata in 2007 amid violent protests and political controversy.
Her visit is expected to reopen memories of one of the most contentious episodes in West Bengal’s recent cultural history, when the city that she had come to regard as home became the epicentre of protests demanding her expulsion.
Nasrin has lived in exile since 1994 after facing a wave of threats in Bangladesh over her writings on women's rights and religion. She spent the next decade living in Europe and North America after being granted Swedish citizenship.
Although she found refuge abroad, she repeatedly spoke of her emotional attachment to Bengal and expressed a desire to live in Kolkata, a city she believed shared her language, culture and literary heritage.
That opportunity came in 2004 when India granted her a renewable residence permit. She settled in Kolkata, a city she called home. Rooted in the literary traditions shared across both Bengals, Nasrin resumed writing and became a visible presence in the city's cultural circles. But her stay in West Bengal proved controversial.
Her book 'Dwikhandito' was banned by then Marxist chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee in 2003.
The ban was overturned by the Calcutta High Court two years later.
ends
No comments:
Post a Comment