Taslima Nasreen Lands in Kolkata After 19 Years

Exiled Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen arrived here from New Delhi on Friday, nearly two decades after she was forced to leave the city following protests over her controversial book 'Dwikhandito'.

With folded hands, Nasreen greeted those waiting to receive her at the Netaji Subhas Chandra International Airport and said, "I am feeling very good to be back." Her arrival comes ahead of a public programme here on August 1, marking her first public appearance in the city since 2007.

The event is expected



to be attended by West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and renowned author Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay. Ahead of her visit, Nasreen told PTI that returning to Kolkata felt like coming back to "my own country" and described the city as her home despite nearly 19 years of exile. 

"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 had said.