Taslima Nasreen returns to Kolkata after 19 years, says 'I'm feeling very good to be back'

Taslima Nasreen, exiled Bangladeshi writer, returned to Kolkata on July 31, 2026, after nearly 19 years, saying 'I am feeling very good to be back'.

She was forced to leave Kolkata in 2007 following protests over her book 'Dwikhandito', which was banned in 2003 by the then Left Front government.

Her return is ahead of a public programme on August 1, marking her first public appearance in the city since 2007, expected to be attended by West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and author Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay.

Nasreen described returning to Kolkata as coming back to 'my own country', stating that Bengal has never been divided in her heart by a border or barbed-wire fence.

She said her return symbolizes the return of a voice that fundamentalists had tried to silence and reaffirms the importance of freedom of expression.