Kolkata, 30 July

Nearly two decades after she was forced to leave Kolkata following protests over her controversial book ‘Dwikhondito’, exiled Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen on Thursday said returning to the city for her first public appearance felt like coming back to “my own country”.

She expressed hope that the visit would reaffirm the importance of freedom of expression and protection of dissenting voices.

Nasreen is scheduled to take part in a programme here on August 1, which is also likely to be attended by West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and renowned author Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay.

This will be Nasreen's first public appearance in Kolkata since 2007, when protests against her memoir forced her to leave the city she had made her home after fleeing Bangladesh a decade earlier.

Nasreen's book ‘Dwikhandito’ (Split in two) was banned by the West Bengal government in 2003 for allegedly hurting the sentiments of the Muslim community.

Speaking to PTI, Nasreen said Kolkata was not merely a place where she lived but a city that gave her a sense of belonging, and that the years away had not weakened her connection with West Bengal.

"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 said.

"I am returning with joy, but also with pain. Kolkata was not merely a city where I lived; it was where I had a home, friends, readers and a sense of belonging. Nearly nineteen years were taken from me, and no homecoming can return those lost years. I am not returning as a stranger or a guest. I am returning as someone who has always considered herself part of Bengal," she said.

Nasreen said she never left Kolkata willingly and continued to hope that she would return one day.

"I never left Kolkata willingly; the then West Bengal government forced me to leave the state. Yet I never stopped hoping that one day I would return. Year after year passed, governments changed, and still the door remained closed."

Describing her return as more than a personal homecoming, she said it represented a larger struggle for a writer's right to speak freely.

"So, to return nearly 19 years later and speak publicly in the heart of Kolkata feels almost unreal. To me, it represents the return of a voice that fundamentalists once tried to silence. My presence on that stage will affirm that threats and fatwas may exile a writer for a time, but they cannot erase her ideas."

The author said she viewed the invitation to return as an encouraging sign and expressed gratitude to the organisers and the government for facilitating her visit.

"I certainly see my return as an encouraging sign. I am grateful to the organisers who made it possible and to the government for providing security. I deeply appreciate CM Adhikari’s willingness to respect and protect the freedom of a dissenting writer, even when he may not agree with everything she says."

Nasreen said the true measure of freedom of expression was the ability to protect opinions that may be unpopular or uncomfortable.

"A writer’s freedom and safety should not depend on the generosity of a government, the ideology of a political party or the permission of a religious group. They must be protected as fundamental rights," she said.

Although she is not an Indian citizen, Nasreen said she remained grateful for the refuge provided to her.

"Although I am not a citizen of India, I am deeply moved by the generosity of a country that has given refuge to a persecuted writer like me. I am sincerely grateful to the present West Bengal government for the support and protection it has extended to me," she added.

Nasreen said technology had expanded opportunities for writers but had also provided new tools for intimidation.

"Technology has given writers more ways to speak, but it has also given organised groups more ways to threaten, harass and silence them. In Bangladesh, the space for secular thought, religious criticism and honest intellectual debate has shrunk dangerously. Freethinkers have been killed, imprisoned, driven into hiding or forced into exile. Fear has become a form of censorship," the writer pointed out.

Nasreen, who has long spoken against religious extremism and for women's rights, said the challenges facing South Asia had become more complicated.

"The challenges have undoubtedly become more complex. Religious fundamentalism has acquired new political power and sophisticated methods of propaganda. Women are still controlled in the name of religion, culture, family honour and tradition. At the same time, those who oppose fundamentalism are often falsely accused of opposing an entire community," she said.

However, she said she remained hopeful because younger generations continued to challenge inequality and inherited beliefs.

"I have not lost hope. More young people, especially women, are questioning inherited beliefs and refusing to accept inequality as destiny. Social progress has never followed a straight line; every advance produces resistance. I am not optimistic because I believe progress is inevitable. I am optimistic because people continue to fight for it. Silence guarantees defeat; resistance keeps change possible," she said.

Speaking about her years in exile, Nasreen said the experience had changed her understanding of identity, belonging and freedom.

"Exile has made me stronger, but it has also wounded me in ways that strength cannot erase. It taught me that a home is not merely a building or an address," she said.

Nasreen urged young readers and writers to question established ideas and defend intellectual freedom.

"My message would be: question everything. Question religion, tradition, authority, politics and even the ideas you love most. Do not inherit someone else’s prejudices and call them your convictions," she said.

Nasreen said she hoped her Kolkata visit would not remain a one-time event and that she would be able to return to the city whenever she wished.