Taslima Nasreen's Return to Kolkata: A Political and Literary Journey

Nearly twenty years later, Taslima Nasreen is heading back to Kolkata. August 1st.

It’s set for a public event at Rabindra Sadan. She plans to recite poetry and talk about her time in exile, the reasons she had to leave that city.

Organisers are putting this together Secular Mission , Paschimbonger Jonno , Human Rights Beyond Frontiers . Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and author Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay are also expected there.

This is Nasreen’s first public appearance in Kolkata since November 2007. Organisers call it a celebration of free expression. The BJP spins the return as proof that West Bengal has changed politically. A really loaded way to frame it.

Why now? Why bring her back after all this time?

The organisers said they tried before. Previous attempts hadn't worked out. They chased Adhikari, hoping for security assurances. That’s what finally happened.

Osman Mallick of Secular Mission told The Indian Express about the push. They couldn't get it done during the previous government. But this time? Adhikari seemed to aGree. Security arrangements would be made. Nasreen aGreed to come.

Mohit Roy, from Paschimbonger Jonno , framed the occasion differently. It’s an honouring of her coming back after two decades.

“It will basically be an event to celebrate her coming to the city,” Roy said in PTI . “She was forced out on November 21, 2007, after the Left Front government backed fundamentalist forces. This is a new Bengal. We decided to honour her. The Chief Minister himself will be there.”

But Roy stopped short there. There was no talk about whether she would actually settle back in Kolkata permanently. Just an event for now.

The history of why she left Kolkata is complicated, incredibly so.

She settled there after getting a temporary permit from the Union government in 2004. For an author forced out of Bangladesh? The Bengali-speaking city felt like home. A cultural tether.

That peace didn't last long. Protests against Dwikhondito , her second autobiography, became explosive. Published in 2003. It contained passages that some groups found deeply offensive to religious feelings.

The Calcutta High Court hesitated initially, stopping the book because of a defamation case filed by Sayed Hasmat Jalal. Then the Left Front government banned it, citing fear of communal unrest. But the court reversed that ban in 2005. They felt the government’s decision was unjustified.

Opposition didn't stop. The tension kept building. In June 2006, Syed Noor-ur-Rehman Barkati, imam of Tipu Sultan Mosque, announced a reward for anyone who "blackened" her face.

Then came the real violence. August 2007. Nasreen was attacked by alleged AIMIM members in Hyderabad, linked to the Telugu translation of Shodh . The situation blew up in Kolkata in November 2007 too. Protests led to road blockades, violence, arson everywhere. The Army had to step in just to restore order then.

The Left Front government, under Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, felt pressure. They wanted her gone. They worried she would fuel the unrest. Senior CPI(M) leaders suggested she move somewhere else until things cooled down.

She was moved out. First Jaipur. Then New Delhi. She left India in March 2008 and spent at least two years outside the country. Exile for over thirty years now.

Why that long exile? It started before Kolkata. Back in Bangladesh, in 1994.

Nasreen wasn't just a writer. She was a physician who became a huge voice questioning religious orthodoxy. Patriarchal structures. The violence against women. Her novel Lajja from 1993 got her international attention. It showed the persecution of a fictional Hindu family following the Babri Masjid demolition in India.

That criticism sparked death threats and fatwas back home. She left Bangladesh in '94. She lived across Europe, Germany even got her Swedish citizenship. Then India. Kolkata became her base before the whole thing fractured again in 2007.

She still lives in India under a permit. But she’s raised concerns about renewal. In 2024, she thanked Union Home Minister Amit Shah after extending her permit hours after posting on social media.

This return is deeply political now. It's not just about literature anymore. Critics argue the Left Front government chose political convenience over free expression. They say they didn’t protect free speech.

The Trinamool Congress governments that followed didn't help with her return either, despite appeals from writers and civil society groups.

Now the BJP wants to use this moment. They paint Nasreen as a symbol against religious fundamentalism. They accuse both the Left and TMC of prioritizing political games over basic freedom. A senior BJP leader put it plainly: previous governments chose expediency instead of free speech when stopping her return.

Samik Bhattacharya, current West Bengal BJP president, brought this up in Parliament too. He pushed for the Centre to facilitate her coming back.

Nasreen herself has spoken about this feeling. She said she didn't want to be "kicked around like a football" by shifting political winds. She wanted governments to let her travel to Kolkata for literature festivals and book fairs.

But is that enough? Is it permanent? Organisers have been clear: there was no discussion about her settling back down again. It’s an August 1st appearance. That's the end of this particular journey, at least for now.