‘Took me 19 years to say I have returned to Kolkata’: Exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasrin

Nasrin returned to Kolkata after more than 18 years, after she was forced to leave in November 2007 by the then Left Front government.

Just like history remembers who closed the door on you, it also remembers who opened the door for you, exiled Bangladesh-born author Taslima Nasrin said while delivering an address at a cultural and felicitation program in Kolkata.

West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari and exiled Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasrin during a citizens felicitation programme.\ (PTI)

Nasrin returned to Kolkata after more than 18 years, after she was forced to leave Kolkata in November 2007 by the then Left Front government.

“It took me around 19 years to say that I have returned to Kolkata. In an exiled person’s calendar, each passing year is not just a measure of time. Every year is like a closed door, every month is a wait and every day bears the pain of losing her address. After returning to Kolkata, I feel like coming back to a part of life which I left behind here,” she said.

Three organisations, Paschimbonger Jonno, Human Rights Beyond Frontiers and Secular Mission, organised a cultural event where Nasrin — who lives in Delhi since 2011 on a long-term resident permit granted by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government — was felicitated.

The Bangladesh government forced the 63-year-old author to leave the country in 1994 after she received death threats from several Muslim organisations over her writings and the book Lajja (shame).

She moved to Europe and lived in several countries. Nasrin has been living in exile in India since 2004. West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari, who attended the program said, “You are welcome. You have experienced the change in West Bengal. You can come to West Bengal not just once, but as many times you want.”