Nearly two decades after being driven out of the city she once called home, Taslima Nasreen is back in Kolkata. The exiled Bangladeshi author returned to the city on Friday, calling it an emotional homecoming. She was welcomed by supporters at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport after arriving from New Delhi.
For a writer whose relationship with Kolkata has been defined as much by absence as by affection, the moment carried weight well beyond a routine travel itinerary.
A Return Nearly 20 Years in the Making
Nasrin arrived on Friday from New Delhi, where she said simply, “I’m feeling very good to be back.” Her visit marks the first time she has appeared publicly in the city in nearly two decades, after being forced to leave in 2007 following protests over her memoir Dwikhondito.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the trip, Nasreen said returning to Kolkata felt like coming back to her own country, describing Bengal as a place that has never been divided in her heart by any border or barrier. She has continued to write in Bengali throughout her exile and has repeatedly spoken of her attachment to the city’s literary culture, even while barred from living there.
Recalling the circumstances of her departure, Nasreen said she never left Kolkata by choice — she was forced out, and her heart had remained there ever since.
Why She Left in 2007
Nasreen’s exile from Kolkata traces back to 2007, when widespread protests erupted over her memoir Dwikhondito, part of a series chronicling her life. The book had already been banned by the then CPI(M)-led West Bengal government in 2003 over allegations that it hurt religious sentiments. The unrest that followed forced the state government of the time to remove her from the city, ending a period during which she had made Kolkata her adopted home after fleeing Bangladesh in the 1990s over threats tied to her writing on women’s rights and religious fundamentalism.
Nasreen, now 63, has since lived in Delhi on a long-term residence permit. Her broader exile — spanning stints in Sweden, the United States, and several European countries after she first left Bangladesh — has lasted more than three decades.
What Brings Her Back Now
Nasrin is in Kolkata to take part in a literary programme at Rabindra Sadan on August 1, where she is expected to speak on literature, secularism, and religious fundamentalism. The event, framed as a programme against fundamentalism, is also expected to be attended by West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and noted author Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay. Reports indicate she will recite some of her poetry and take part in a discussion following a civic reception held in her honour.
For a writer who has spent decades using her platform to speak on women’s rights, secularism, and freedom of expression, an event explicitly framed around fundamentalism is a fitting stage for a homecoming — and one that carries its own symbolism given how her earlier exile unfolded.
The Political Reaction
Nasreen’s return hasn’t gone unnoticed politically. Trinamool Congress MLA Akhruzzaman alleged that the writer has often spoken against Muslims, and claimed that this was the reason the state’s “double-engine government” had welcomed her back. Bengal minister Agnimitra Paul, on the other hand, welcomed Nasreen’s return, saying she had never been allowed back during the previous government’s tenure despite its claims of secularism, and alleged that different communities had been used as political tools.
That divide underscores how Nasreen’s presence in Kolkata has rarely been treated as a purely literary matter. Her writing has long provoked strong reactions across the political spectrum in both Bangladesh and India, and her return after 19 years in exile from the city is being read through that same lens — as a marker of shifting political currents in West Bengal as much as a personal milestone for the author herself.
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A Homecoming With Limits
Even as she embraces the moment, Nasreen has been candid that her return is partial. She has noted that the door to the eastern part of Bengal — her native Bangladesh — remains closed to her, meaning this return is confined to the Indian side of a region she has long described as undivided in her own heart. Her exile from Bangladesh itself, dating back to 1994 over threats linked to her writing, remains unresolved even as this chapter of her exile from Kolkata comes to a close.
For now, Nasreen’s focus is on August 1 — a single event that nonetheless represents the end of an almost two-decade wait to stand on a Kolkata stage again.
FAQ
When did Taslima Nasreen return to Kolkata?
She arrived on Friday, July 31, 2026, flying in from New Delhi, where she has lived on a long-term residence permit.
Why was she away from Kolkata for so long?
She was forced to leave the city in 2007 after violent protests erupted over her memoir Dwikhandito, which had already been banned by the West Bengal government in 2003.
What is she in Kolkata for this time?
She’s attending a literary programme and civic reception at Rabindra Sadan on August 1, where she is expected to speak on literature, secularism, and religious fundamentalism.
Has her return caused any political reaction?
Yes. Trinamool Congress leaders have criticised the state government over her welcome, while other officials have defended it, framing her exclusion under previous governments as inconsistent with claims of secularism.
Can she also return to Bangladesh?
No. Nasreen has said the door to Bangladesh, her country of birth, remains closed to her; this visit is limited to West Bengal.
Summary: Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen returned to Kolkata on Friday, July 31, marking her first public visit to the city since she was forced to leave in 2007 following violent protests over her memoir Dwikhandito. She arrived from New Delhi, where she has lived on a long-term residence permit, and is set to attend a civic reception and literary programme at Rabindra Sadan on August 1.
