Taslima Nasreen leaves Kolkata, says exile keeps her from returning to Bangladesh
Exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen left Kolkata on Wednesday after a si day visit, saying she would return to the city "whenever it calls me"
Exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen left Kolkata on Wednesday after a si day visit, saying she would return to the city "whenever it calls me". Before departing, she said she wanted to go back to Bangladesh but would remain in India for now because Dhaka had neither renewed her passport nor granted her a visa on her Swedish passport. Nasreen, who came to Kolkata on July 31 after an absence of nearly two decades, said she was leaving with "beautiful memories" and was deeply moved by the affection she received from ordinary people. She also said Kolkata continued to hold a special place in her heart. Read Full Story Speaking to reporters at the airport, Nasreen said, "Of course I want to return. I have been in exile for 32 years.
But I am not allowed to go back to Bangladesh. It is not that I do not want to return." She added, "My passport has not been renewed. So, for now, I will remain in India." She said, "I have very fond memories. The love shown by common people brought me to tears," and added that she could return either in October or in January next year. "Whenever Kolkata calls me, I will come," Nasreen said. Asked if she would be in the city during Durga Puja, she said that was unlikely as she expected to be abroad, but said she hoped to return for the Kolkata Book Fair. The visit came 19 years after Nasreen was compelled to leave Kolkata following violent protests over her writings. This was her first trip to the city since 2007.
A day earlier, she had said deposed Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina should be allowed to return to Dhaka and take part in the democratic process, and called for the ban on the Awami League to be lifted ahead of the second anniversary of Hasina's ouster after mass protests. Nasreen's return to Kolkata also revived debate over freedom of expression, secularism and the state's handling of religious sensitivities. The BJP described her return as a symbolic correction of what it called the failure of successive Left Front and Trinamool Congress governments to protect free speech in the face of religious pressure. The Left Front and the Trinamool Congress have maintained that the 2007 decision to ask her to leave Kolkata was based only on law-and-order concerns after communal tensions rose in parts of the city.
Organisers of the literary events she attended during the visit repeatedly said the programmes were not political gatherings or government functions, but were meant to reaffirm freedom of expression and oppose religious fundamentalism. The controversy around Nasreen dates back to November 2007, when protests broke out in parts of Kolkata over her writings, especially her novel Dwikhandito. As violence spread in parts of the city, the then Left Front government banned the book and asked her to leave Kolkata, citing security concerns, and those restrictions effectively continued during the later Trinamool Congress government. Nasreen's latest visit ended with her repeating her wish to return to Bangladesh, while saying Kolkata remained a city she would come back to whenever called. Ends
The BriefWire