- Taslima Nasreen will return to Kolkata after nearly 20 years on August 1 for an event
- The event will include her poetry recital and a discussion on protesting fundamentalism
- The "double-engine government" is welcoming her is because she spoke against Muslims, claims Trinamool
Taslima Nasreen, the exiled Bangladeshi author and human rights activist, is set to return to Kolkata nearly two decades after she was forced to leave the city following violent protests over her writings.
The 63-year-old writer had to flee Kolkata after protests erupted over allegations of blasphemy in her autobiographical book, Dwikhandito (Divided). The then CPM-led government banned the book.
The author, who lived in Kolkata between 2004 and 2007, now resides in Delhi on a long-term residence permit.
Cut to 2026, and she is scheduled to attend a programme protesting fundamentalism at Rabindra Sadan on August 1. This will be her first visit to the city since 2007, following a collective invitation from three organisations.
The organisers say that the writer, whom the Bangladesh government once charged with defaming Islam, will recite some of her poems and take part in a discussion after attending a civic reception in her honour.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, state finance minister Swapan Dasgupta, and author Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay are also expected to attend the event.
The upcoming visit has already sparked a political row.
"I had told the state government to bring Taslima Nasreen to Bengal. Why should the voice of Taslima Nasreen be suppressed? She wrote Lajja on the atrocities faced by a Hindu family in Bangladesh, but the previous Left government banned her work. We welcome her visit to Kolkata," state BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya said.
Lajja, which remains banned in Bangladesh, tells the story of the intolerance and violence faced by Bangladeshi Hindus and other religious minorities.
Meanwhile, Trinamool MLA Akhruzzaman claimed the writer has frequently spoken out against Muslims, suggesting that is the sole reason the "double-engine government" is welcoming her.
"Look, Taslima Nasreen is a writer from Bangladesh. She has said a lot against the Muslim community and against Shariat in Islam. If someone speaks against Muslims, the double-engine government will respect her-what else is there to say?" Akhruzzaman said.
Bengal minister Agnimitra Paul strongly welcomed the writer's visit.
"During the previous government's tenure, she was never given the opportunity to return. The opposition talks so much about secularism, but when she wrote the truth in her book, they denied her security. Under the Trinamool government, people of various communities were merely used as political tools. Today, under Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari's government, Taslima Nasreen is coming on August 1; this is a matter of pride and joy for us," the state minister said.
However, Indian Secular Front (ISF) MLA Naushad Siddiqui claimed the visit is a political ploy by the BJP to divert public attention.
"The BJP came to power promising the Annapurna Scheme, cheaper electricity, and women's safety. They have failed on all these fronts. Now, to divert people's minds from their failures, they are bringing Taslima Nasreen to say something provocative about Muslims before she leaves. They will then try to spin this event as development," Siddiqui claimed.
