Exiled Bangladeshi Writer Taslima Nasrin Returns To Kolkata After 19 Years

Kolkata: Exiled Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasrin on Friday had returned to Kolkata after 19 years.

Amid huge supporters and the sound of conches Nasrin came out from the airport and said that she is ‘happy’ that she had got a chance to return back to Kolkata.

Notably, her visit comes ahead of a public programme in Kolkata on August 1, marking her first public appearance in the city since she left in 2007 due to violent protests that started by Islamist groups demanding a ban on Dwikhandito, the Bengali version of her memoir.

Following the violent protest the then Left Front government had asked her to leave the city and on November 21, 2007 she had to leave Kolkata.

“I am happy that I got a chance to get back to Kolkata and I thank the present state government for giving me security. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari will also attend the public meeting with me. I would love to come back to this city more often and attend cultural programmes and also the book fair,” said Nasrin to a Bengali channel.

After Nasrin had repeatedly expressed her desire to return to Kolkata, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president and Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya had in the House in March 2025 had supported Nasrin's desire.

After Nasrin’s return to the city, Bhattacharya said, “I spoke on her behalf in Rajya Sabha and today she got the chance to return back. The former Left Front government along with Congress had joined hands and went against the woman who single-handedly stood against Islamic force. To support the Islamic force, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government didn’t approve Nasrin’s return to the city. But the present government had made way for Nasrin’s return.”