On Friday, exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen arrived in Kolkata, marking her first visit to the city since November 2007. Nasreen, who was forced to leave the city due to violent protests over her writings, described her return as an emotional homecoming. At the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, she greeted those waiting to receive her with folded hands, saying, "I am feeling very good to be back." The author will make her first public appearance at an anti-fundamentalism literary programme at Rabindra Sadan, where she will recite poetry. The event, which will be attended by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and renowned author Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, has acquired political significance under the new BJP government in West Bengal. Nasreen had earlier stated that returning to Kolkata felt like coming back to "my own country," and she was returning "with joy, but also with pain," recalling the city had given her a home, friends, and a sense of belonging before she was forced to leave. The visit symbolises the return of a voice that religious fundamentalists had once tried to silence. Nasreen thanked the organisers and the present West Bengal government for facilitating her visit and providing security, asserting that a writer&aposs freedom should remain a fundamental right. Nasreen&aposs return to Kolkata revives a debated chapter in the state&aposs contemporary political and cultural history, following her exile from Bangladesh in 1994 and her settlement in Kolkata in 2004.
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📰 Source: Siasat Gulf