Taslima Nasreen Left Kolkata In 2007. What Brings Her Back Nearly 20 Years Later?
Taslima Nasreen Left Kolkata In 2007. What Brings Her Back Nearly 20 Years Later? Published By, Last Updated: July 15, 2026, 11:59 IST Bangladesh-born author
Taslima Nasreen Left Kolkata In 2007. What Brings Her Back Nearly 20 Years Later? Published By, Last Updated: July 15, 2026, 11:59 IST Bangladesh-born author Taslima Nasreen will attend a literary event in Kolkata on August 1, marking her first public appearance in the city in nearly two decades. Rapid Read Exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen. (News18). Nearly 20 years after she was forced to leave Kolkata amid violent protests against her writing, exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen is set to return to the city for a public event on August 1. Nasreen is expected to attend an anti-fundamentalism literary programme at Rabindra Sadan, where she will recite poetry and speak about her years in exile and the circumstances in which she had to leave Kolkata. The event is being organised by Secular Mission, Paschimbonger Jonno and Human Rights Beyond Frontiers. West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and author Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay are also expected to attend. The visit will be Nasreen’s first public appearance in Kolkata since November 2007. Organisers have described the programme as a celebration of free expression and secular values, while the BJP has presented her return as evidence of a political change in West Bengal. Why Is Taslima Nasreen Returning To Kolkata Now? Organisers said previous attempts to bring Nasreen back to the city had not succeeded. They approached Adhikari after the BJP came to power in West Bengal and received an assurance that adequate security arrangements would be made for the programme. “We tried to organise her visit during the previous government, but were unsuccessful. This time, we approached Adhikari, who assured us that proper security arrangements would be made. We then contacted the author and she agreed to visit Kolkata and participate in the event," Osman Mallick of Secular Mission told The Indian Express. Mohit Roy of Paschimbonger Jonno told PTI that the programme would honour Nasreen nearly two decades after her departure. “It will basically be an event to celebrate her coming to the city after 20 years.
She was forced to leave Kolkata on November 21, 2007, after the then Left Front government bowed before fundamentalist forces. This is a new Bengal, and we have decided to honour her. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari himself will be present at the event," Roy said. However, Roy said there had been no discussion about whether the visit could lead to Nasreen permanently returning to Kolkata. Why Was Taslima Nasreen Forced To Leave Kolkata? Nasreen had settled in Kolkata after receiving a temporary residence permit from the Union government in 2004. For an author forced to leave Bangladesh, the Bengali-speaking city offered what she considered the closest cultural connection to home. Her stay became increasingly contentious because of protests against Dwikhondito, the second volume of her autobiography. The book was published in 2003 and included passages that some groups alleged were offensive to religious sentiments. The Calcutta High Court initially restrained its publication following a defamation case filed by poet Sayed Hasmat Jalal. The Left Front government subsequently banned the book, saying it feared communal unrest. The Calcutta High Court struck down the ban in September 2005, ruling that the book was not intended to outrage religious feelings and that the government’s decision was unjustified. Opposition to Nasreen, however, continued. In June 2006, Syed Noor-ur-Rehman Barkati, then the imam of Kolkata’s Tipu Sultan Mosque, announced a reward for anyone who “blackened" her face. In August 2007, Nasreen was attacked by alleged AIMIM members during an event in Hyderabad linked to the Telugu translation of her novel Shodh. Although the controversial passages from Dwikhondito were withdrawn, demonstrations erupted in Kolkata in November 2007. Protests organised by the All India Minority Forum led to road blockades, violence and arson in parts of the city. The situation deteriorated to the point that the Army was called in to help restore order. The Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee-led Left Front government, concerned that Nasreen’s continued presence could intensify the unrest, pressured her to leave Kolkata. Senior CPI(M) leaders also publicly suggested that she move elsewhere until the situation had calmed.
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