Bangladeshi Writer Taslima Nasrin speaks to the media as she returned to Kolkata after nearly 19 years. File
| Photo Credit: ANI
Exiled Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasrin on Friday (July 31, 2026) returned to Kolkata after a gap of almost 19 years. The author was welcomed by the Bharatiya Janata Party, with party MLA from Dum Dum North Assembly constituency Sourav Sikdar present at the Kolkata airport to receive her.
Ms. Nasrin will participate in an event at Kolkata’s Rabindra Sadan on Saturday (August 1), where West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari is likely to be present. “I am feeling very happy to return,” the author told journalists at the city airport. Dressed in a white saree with a red border, traditionally worn by women in West Bengal, Ms. Nasrin was greeted with the blowing of conch shells outside the airport.
During her recent interactions with media outlets, the 63-year-old Bengali writer had said that returning to West Bengal was like returning to her own country. “West 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.
Ms. Nasrin had to leave Kolkata in November 2007, when violence erupted in the city after some organisations called for action against the author over her writings. The violence reached such alarming proportions that the Army had to be deployed in the city to contain the situation.
West Bengal Minister Agnimitra Paul, in a social media post, linked the return of the author to the change in government in West Bengal after the BJP came to power in May 2026 and described Ms. Nasrin’s return as a significant cultural moment.
“Taslima Nasreen’s return to Kolkata after nearly two decades has become a significant cultural moment, rekindling conversations about the State’s rich literary heritage, its tradition of intellectual discourse, and the enduring bond between the city and one of its most widely read Bengali authors,” Ms. Paul said.
Several other BJP leaders, including State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya, welcome the Bangladeshi writer’s return to Kolkata.
The event featuring the writer on Saturday is being hosted by three different organisations. One of them is Poschimbonger Jonyo, chaired by Mohit Roy, who had earlier headed the BJP’s refugee cell, which deals with Hindu migrants from Bangladesh. The other co-organisers are little-known outfits: Secular Mission Trust and Human Rights Beyond Frontiers Foundation (HRBFF).
“Historical day”
Mr. Roy told media persons that Taslima Nasrin’s homecoming was a “historical day in the history of West Bengal because it not only reflects a change in the government but a change in the mindset of the people of the State”. “Which other city puts posters welcoming the return of an author? I was among those who received her at the airport. She is very happy,” Mr. Roy said, referring to posters being put up in parts of the city welcoming Ms. Nasrin.
Mr. Roy told journalists that Ms. Nasrin’s homecoming was a “historic day in the history of West Bengal because it not only reflects a change in the government but also a change in the mindset of the people of the State”.
Ms. Nasrin started staying in Kolkata after her exile from Bangladesh in 1994 over her writings on women’s rights and Islamic fundamentalism. She had criticised the Left Front and the Trinamool Congress governments for not allowing her to return to West Bengal in the past two decades.
While former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had not commented on the author’s return, CPI(M) leaders said that the Left Front government did not force Ms. Nasrin out but that the law and order situation had taken a violent turn.
Some CPI(M) leaders also said that while the BJP government is seeking to deport Bangladeshi nationals and not allowing them to stay in the State on account of them being infiltrators, the same government is welcoming Ms. Nasrin.
Published – July 31, 2026 02:49 pm IST
