Taslima Nasrin to return to Kolkata after 19 years for anti-fundamentalism event

Kolkata, Jul 14 (PTI) Nearly two decades after she was forced to leave Kolkata amid violent protests over her writings, exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasrin is set to return to the city next month to attend an event, in a politically symbolic moment that the BJP government in West Bengal is projecting as the reversal of what it calls a long-standing capitulation to religious fundamentalism. Nasrin shared a post on social media that she would be in Kolkata on August 1 to participate in an anti-fundamentalism literary event at Rabindra Sadan, where she is expected to recite poetry. The event, organised by a group of secular and anti-fundamentalist organisations, has acquired significance beyond the literary sphere, coming months after the BJP assumed office in West Bengal and amid renewed political debate over freedom of expression, secularism and the state's relationship with religious sensitivities. "It will basically be an event to celebrate her coming to the city after 20 years. She was forced to leave Kolkata on November 21, 2007 after the then Left Front government bowed before fundamentalist forces. This is a new Bengal, and we have decided to honour her. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari himself will be present at the event," said Mohit Roy, one of the convenors, whose organisation Paschimbangar Jonno is among the organisers, told PTI. When asked if the event is a precursor to her return to the city, Roy said nothing has been discussed so far. For the BJP, Nasrin's return represents far more than the homecoming of a controversial writer. "Successive Left Front and TMC governments chose political expediency over free speech by refusing to facilitate her return, despite her repeated appeals to visit Kolkata for literary events and book fairs," a senior state BJP leader said. The issue was brought back into national focus last year when BJP Rajya Sabha MP and current West Bengal party president Samik Bhattacharya urged the Centre in Parliament to facilitate Nasrin's return to Kolkata, describing her as a rare voice who had consistently challenged Islamist fundamentalism in Bangladesh. At the time, both the then Trinamool Congress government in the state had shown little inclination to act on the proposal, with Nasrin herself saying she no longer wished to be "kicked around like a football" by changing political dispensations. "I don't want to get kicked around anymore. Instead, it would please me if the governments allow me to travel to Kolkata to attend literature festivals and book fairs," she had then told PTI in an interview. The proposed visit now comes against an altered political backdrop. Nasrin, who rose to international prominence in the early 1990s through her feminist writings and uncompromising criticism of religious orthodoxy, fled Bangladesh in 1994 after multiple fatwas called for her death following the publication of her novel Lajja, which chronicled the persecution of Hindus in post-Babri Bangladesh. After spending nearly a decade across Europe and the United States, she moved to India in 2004 and made Kolkata her home, describing the Bengali-speaking city as the closest cultural refuge she had found after exile. That association ended abruptly in November 2007. The publication of portions of her autobiographical work Dwikhandita triggered outrage among sections of Muslim organisations, culminating in violent protests across parts of Kolkata. The situation deteriorated to the point where Army deployment became necessary to restore order. The then Left Front government headed by Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee subsequently asked Nasrin to leave Kolkata. She was shifted first to Jaipur and later to Delhi, where she initially remained under house arrest before eventually being granted a long-term resident permit and multiple-entry visa by the Centre. The episode has since remained one of the most contentious chapters in West Bengal's debate over free expression. Critics accused the Left government of yielding to street pressure and sacrificing artistic freedom, while the Left maintained that maintaining public order had become paramount amid escalating communal tensions. For many political observers, Nasrin's return underscores how the state's political vocabulary has evolved. The Left, which long projected itself as the custodian of secular values, found itself defending administrative compulsions in 2007. The Trinamool Congress governments that succeeded it largely avoided reopening the issue despite periodic demands from writers and civil society. The BJP, by contrast, has increasingly sought to position Nasrin as both a symbol of resistance to religious extremism and an illustration of what it describes as the failure of previous governments to defend liberal values when confronted by identity politics. Organisers have described the August 1 programme as a celebration of Nasrin's lifelong stand against religious fundamentalism and an affirmation of freedom of expression. Whether the event remains a literary gathering or develops into a larger political statement is likely to depend as much on the symbolism surrounding Nasrin's return as on the poetry she is expected to recite. After nearly twenty years, the city that once became both refuge and site of exile for Taslima Nasrin is preparing to welcome her again — this time under a very different political dispensation. PTI PNT RG