Kolkata | Exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen on Saturday said her return to Kolkata after 19 years was proof that "injustice can be long but cannot be permanent", while asserting that her fight has always been for women's rights and freedom of expression, and not for or against any political party.
Speaking at a cultural event in the city, an emotional Nasreen describes the homecoming as the end of a long personal exile from the city she considers home.
"After coming back to Kolkata, I feel like coming back to a part of life which I left behind here," said the 63-year-old writer who was forced to leave the city in 2007.
Earlier in 1994, she left Bangladesh in the face of death threats from radical groups over her writings and her views on religion.
Reflecting on her long years in exile, Nasreen said she dreams of a future where no writer would be forced to leave their homeland for expressing their views.
Nasreen, who has been living in Europe after being forced to leave Bangladesh, said she was not attending the programme to advance any political agenda.
"I am not here to speak for any political party, or against any party. I am here to speak in favour of women's rights," she said.
Reiterating her long-held opposition to religious extremism, Nasreen said, "I am against all forms of fundamentalism, but I have spoken against Islamic fundamentalists because I have seen it from close quarters since childhood," she said.
Expressing concern over the situation in Bangladesh, Nasreen alleged that religious extremism was on the rise and freedom of speech was increasingly under threat.
"The rise of fundamentalism in Bangladesh is at an alarming stage. Freedom of speech is being curtailed," the author said.
She said she hoped for a future where women and religious minorities in Bangladesh could live in safety and dignity.
Recalling the pain of being forced to stay away from Kolkata, Nasreen said she had never forgotten the circumstances under which she had to leave the city in 2007.
"Today, the opening of this door proves that injustice can be long, but it cannot be permanent. History remembers who closed the doors and who opened them," she said.
Her remarks appeared to be a reference to the circumstances that led to her departure from Kolkata in 2007, when protests over the publication of her book 'Dwikhandito' (Split: A Life) forced the then Left Front government to move her out of the city.
Visibly emotional, Nasreen said it had taken her nearly two decades to utter a sentence she had longed to say.
"It took me 19 years to say these words: 'I have returned to Kolkata.' I felt the pain of losing an address every single day," she said.
Describing August as the defining month of her life, Nasreen said it now symbolised not only her birth and exile but also her return.
"On August 8, 1994, the then government forced me to leave Bangladesh. In just seven days, my exile would have completed 32 years. The state may have removed me from my country, but it could never remove my country from within me," she said.
Lamenting that she could not find a permanent home in either Bangladesh or West Bengal, Nasreen said Europe had given her citizenship and security but not a sense of belonging.
"Europe has given me citizenship and a place to live, but unfortunately, I couldn't get a small place to stay in the two Bengals. Europe gave me security, but it could not give me a sense of belonging. A home is not built by security alone; it is built by language, memory and culture," she said.
The author maintained that she had never been convicted by any court but had nevertheless paid a heavy price because of fundamentalists.
Questioning why she continued to face restrictions despite never having been convicted of any offence, she said, "I committed no crime. No court has ever punished me. It is a painful truth of our times that a writer needs police protection to visit the city of her own language. Protecting a writer's life means protecting her freedom of speech and the freedom of her pen."
Rejecting allegations that her writings had harmed anyone, Nasreen said her advocacy had always centred on equality and human rights.
"I only spoke about equal rights for women and men, and about human rights irrespective of religion or caste. I said that any rule or doctrine that takes away equality and human dignity must be changed. These simple words were treated as my crime," she said.
She also criticised what she described as the unequal treatment of women in the name of religion.
"Those who call for freedom for their own daughters a right, but justify medieval rituals for Muslim daughters as norms, are not friends of the Muslim community," she said.
Expressing support for a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) across South Asia, Nasreen argued that religion-based personal laws discriminate against women and that a common civil code founded on equality was essential for gender justice and modern democracy.
"The real conflict is between secularism and fundamentalism, between the rational mind and irrationality, between innovation and tradition, and between people who value freedom and those who do not," she said.
Kolkata | West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday assured exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen of full security whenever she visits the state, using her return to Kolkata after nearly 19 years to project what he described as a fundamental political shift in Bengal under the BJP government.
Addressing a literary event on anti-fundamentalism at Rabindra Sadan, where Nasreen made her first public appearance in Kolkata since being forced to leave the city in 2007, Adhikari said the state had entered an era where freedom of expression and constitutional rights would be protected.
"It is my duty as the chief minister and also as the minister in charge of the police department to provide you with security whenever you visit West Bengal," Adhikari said.
"Not just once, whenever you wish, come to West Bengal as many times as you want. You will receive complete security," he told the author and the gathering.
Making a broader political statement, the chief minister said Bengal had changed with the change of government.
"This is a West Bengal free from shackles and fear. Every pillar of the Constitution is protected here. Everyone has the right to come here, and everyone has the freedom to express themselves," he said.
Welcoming Nasreen to what he called a "safe West Bengal", Adhikari said her presence itself demonstrated that democracy, constitutional values, freedom of speech and fundamental rights were now secure in the state.
"Today it has been proved that under the new government democracy, the Constitution, freedom of speech and fundamental rights are protected in Bengal," he said.
Without naming any political party, Adhikari contrasted the present with the past, saying, "The era of threats, intimidation, and attempts to silence people is over."
The chief minister presented Nasreen with a portrait of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, noting that the year marked the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram.
During this time, a section of the audience chanted the "Jai Shri Ram" slogan.
The event marked Nasreen's first public appearance in Kolkata since November 2007, when she left the city amid violent protests over portions of her autobiographical work 'Dwikhandito' (Split: A Life).
The controversy had erupted after the publication of the book, triggering demonstrations in several parts of West Bengal.
The then Left Front government banned the book and, citing a deteriorating law and order situation, shifted Nasreen out of Kolkata before she eventually left the state.
For the BJP government, Nasreen's return carries political symbolism that extends beyond a literary event.
Her forced departure from Kolkata in 2007 has long remained a contentious episode in Bengal's political discourse, frequently invoked by the BJP to accuse successive Left Front and Trinamool Congress governments of compromising freedom of expression in the face of religious extremism and vote-bank politics.
By hosting Nasreen publicly at one of Kolkata's premier cultural venues and framing her return as evidence of restored constitutional freedoms, the BJP government sought to reinforce its narrative of a decisive break from the state's previous political order.
Nasreen, known internationally for her outspoken criticism of religious fundamentalism and advocacy of women's rights, has lived in exile since leaving Bangladesh in 1994 following threats from Islamist groups over her writings.
Kolkata | A brief commotion broke out at an auditorium here on Saturday after exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen invited noted Bengali poet Joy Goswami to join her on stage, prompting protests from a section of the audience and briefly interrupting her address.
The incident occurred during a cultural programme organised to mark Nasreen's return to Kolkata after nearly two decades.
Soon after she was invited to deliver her speech, Nasreen requested Goswami, one of the finest Bengali poets of recent times, who was seated among the audience, to come up to the dais.
As the Sahitya Akademi award-winning poet got up from his seat and began walking towards the stage, loud protests and shouting erupted from a section of the audience, forcing him to turn back and resume his seat.
The unexpected disruption left Nasreen standing silently at the microphone for a few moments as the auditorium reverberated with slogans and loud voices.
Organisers repeatedly appealed to the audience to maintain calm, but the commotion continued for several minutes.
Breaking her silence, Nasreen finally addressed the audience directly. "Shall I speak? Then please calm down and take your seats," she said.
Her appeal eventually restored order, allowing her to resume her speech.
The incident reflected the lingering emotions surrounding Goswami's perceived silence during the years Nasreen remained in exile and his proximity to former chief minister Mamata Banerjee, factors that appeared to fuel the audience's resentment.
Ironically, the disruption came despite Goswami himself having publicly expressed regret in the past over Nasreen's prolonged exile, saying he considered himself "guilty" for not doing enough when the writer was forced to leave Kolkata in 2007 amid violent protests over her writings.
Many in the audience, however, appeared unwilling to see the poet share the stage with Nasreen during what was billed as her symbolic "homecoming".
The programme, held hours after West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari accorded Nasreen a civic reception at a hall in the state secretariat complex, celebrated her first visit to Kolkata after 19 years.
In her address, Nasreen described her return as coming back to "a part of life" she had left behind, said her homecoming was proof that "injustice can be long but cannot be permanent", and expressed hope that one day no writer would be forced into exile for exercising the right to free expression.
Nasreen had left Kolkata in November 2007 after violent protests over her presence in the city. She was first moved to Jaipur and later to New Delhi under central security before eventually leaving India. Saturday's visit marked her first return to Kolkata since then.