Who is Taslima Nasreen? Why is the Bangladeshi author’s return to Kolkata after 19 years relevant in Bengal politics?

Exiled author Taslima Nasreen has returned to Kolkata after 19 years. She described the visit as an “emotional homecoming”.

This marks the controversial Bangladeshi author’s first return to the city since November 2007. At the Kolkata airport, Nasreen greeted well-wishers with folded hands. She said she felt genuinely happy being back there.

Her arrival precedes a literary event scheduled for 1 August. That gathering has gained political significance under West Bengal's new government. Nasreen will appear at an anti-fundamentalism programme at Rabindra Sadan.

Taslima Nasreen is expected to recite poetry during this public appearance. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and author Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay are likely to attend, according to PTI.

Though framed as literary, the event carries clear political undertones. It comes months after the BJP formed the government in West Bengal.

Debates around free expression and secularism have intensified consequently. The state's approach towards religious sensitivities remains under scrutiny, too.

Nasreen has repeatedly described Kolkata as a city that “feels like home”. Bengal was never divided within her heart. Bangladesh, historically the eastern part of Bengal, remains permanently closed to her.

"I feel as though I am returning to my own country. Bengal has never been divided in my heart by a border or a barbed-wire fence. The door to the eastern part of Bengal remains closed to me, so for now, this part of Bengal is my home," she earlier told PTI.

Who is Taslima Nasreen?

Taslima Nasreen’s story traces back to fleeing Bangladesh in 1994. Death threats followed her novel "Lajja", which addressed various aspects of Islam in a highly-critical manner.

Islamic fundamentalists in Bangladesh demanded her head. The author spent her exile across various countries, such as Sweden, Germany, France and the United States. Her autobiographical novel Dwikhandito was banned by the CPI(M) government in West Bengal.

Later, she settled in Kolkata in 2004, but her controversial memoir remained a talking point despite the ban. Taslima’s refuge ended abruptly in November 2007, following violent protests in Kolkata.

Authorities eventually deployed the Army to restore order. The Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government subsequently asked her to leave.

Nasreen relocated first to Jaipur, then later to Delhi. She eventually moved abroad, despite repeatedly wanting to return. For nearly two decades, that return remained frustratingly-elusive throughout.

Even the Mamata Banerjee government preserved the 2007 decision as a necessary public order. Critics viewed it as a part of TMC’s alleged ‘appeasement politics’ for Muslims.

The issue resurfaced last year through parliamentary intervention. BJP MP Samik Bhattacharya urged the Centre to help her return. He described Nasreen as a fearless anti-fundamentalism voice. BJP now frames her return as a correction of past failures.

Opposition parties in Bengal, however, view it as a provocation to minority sentiments. They also allege that it’s an attempt to instigate reactions.