&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "'I am feeling very good to be back.’: Taslima Nasreen makes emotional Kolkata return after 19 years")
Bangladeshi author and activist Taslima Nasreen returned to Kolkata on Friday (July 31) after nearly 19 years, receiving a warm welcome from people waiting at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport.
Greeting those gathered at the airport, Nasreen said, "I am feeling very good to be back."
She described her return as an "emotional homecoming" and said she considers Kolkata her "own" city.
Nasreen last visited Kolkata in November 2007, when violent protests over her writings forced her to leave the city. Her departure ended her stay in Kolkata, which she had often described as the closest thing to home after leaving Bangladesh.
The writer has lived in exile since 1994. She had earlier said that an organisation called Secular Mission, headed by Osman Gani Mallik, invited her to Kolkata.
Mallik, who reached the airport with BJP MLA Sourav Sikdar, recalled Nasreen's forced departure from Kolkata in 2007 and the protests over her memoir. Her book Dwikhondito (Split into Two) was published in 2003.
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"Sister (Taslima Nasrin) was forced to leave Kolkata with a heavy heart in 2007. We protested... we have been able to bring our beloved writer to Kolkata with full respect. So today is a very happy day," Mallik said.
Nasreen rejects BJP link to Kolkata return
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and renowned author Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay are among those expected to attend events during her visit.
Nasreen had announced her Kolkata visit in a July 19 post on X, saying, "I have been invited to Kolkata by an organisation called Secular Mission. The organisation is headed by a progressive Muslim, Osman Gani Mallik."
She also rejected allegations that the BJP or the West Bengal government had brought her back to Kolkata.
"Is the BJP bringing me to Kolkata? No. Is the Government of West Bengal bringing me? No."
"The elected government of West Bengal is only providing security for my visit. Whenever I travel to any State, irrespective of which political party is in power, it is the responsibility of that state's government to ensure my security. That is a normal administrative duty," she added.
Nasreen also criticised sections of the Left, saying leaders who had earlier forced her out of West Bengal were now accusing her of having links with the BJP, RSS or Hindutva.
