After the change of government in West Bengal, many things are changing there. Many old systems are being abolished and many new things are also being started. Famous Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen is also coming to Kolkata after a long time. Due to opposition to his writings, he was forced to leave Kolkata about two decades ago.
Bangladesh born Taslima Nasreen is now coming to attend a program in Kolkata on 1st August next month. Due to security reasons, he had to leave West Bengal during the Left Front government. From then till now he could not return to this city.
Why is Nasreen coming to Kolkata?
On Taslima Nasreen’s return to Kolkata after a long gap, West Bengal Minister Agnimitra Paul said, “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Effort and Sabka Accountability. Accountability is being fixed. The Left government could not provide security to a talented writer like Taslima Nasreen. The Left did politics in the name of Muslims but could not provide security, in fact I would say that they did not provide security at all, let alone the era of Mamata Banerjee.” Leave it. Now I have heard that Taslima is coming. I am a big fan of his book.
Nearly two decades after leaving Kolkata, Taslima Nasreen is coming to the city on August 1 to attend a literary event. This program to be held at Rabindra Sadan Cultural Center of the city is being organized by 3 organizations Secular Mission, Paschimbonger Jonno (for West Bengal) and Human Rights Beyond Frontiers.
CM officials will also participate in the program
Organizers say that Chief Minister Shubhendu Adhikari and writer Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay are also expected to attend the program. This is going to be Nasreen’s first public program in Kolkata after 2007. At that time, due to opposition to his book ‘Dvikhandito’ (Split: A Life), he had to leave the city which he had made his home after exile from Bangladesh.
Mohit Roy of ‘Paschimbonger Jonno’, one of the three organizers, told The Indian Express, “This program is being organized by three organizations, in which our organization is also included. Nasreen’s poems and songs will be presented in this program. The Chief Minister himself will also be present in it.”
Usman Malik of the Secular Mission said, “Kolkata is considered the cultural capital of the country. But due to opposition from fundamentalists, she (Nasreen) had to leave from here and we are saddened by this. We had tried to schedule her visit here during the previous government too, but were not successful. This time we contacted the Chief Minister, who assured us of proper security arrangements.”
He said, “After getting the assurance from the Chief Minister, we also contacted the writer Nasreen. She agreed to come to Kolkata and participate in the program. Here in the program, she will talk about her period of exile, and will also mention the circumstances due to which she had to leave Kolkata. She will also recite her poems.”
Malik, a Calcutta High Court lawyer, is one of the members of the nine-member panel constituted by the West Bengal government to submit a report on the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state.
Nasreen in controversy because of her writing
Writer Nasreen has been at the center of controversies because of her outspoken writings. Her writings have mainly focused on women’s rights, patriarchal norms, gender equality, and domestic and structural violence faced by women. His most popular novel ‘Lajja’, published in 1993, brought him international recognition. In this book, the atrocities committed against a fictitious Hindu family in Bangladesh after the demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya were mentioned.
After the release of this book, he started receiving death threats. He had to face many types of protests. In view of the opposition, Nasreen left Bangladesh in 1994 and started living in exile in Europe (Germany) and North America. During this time he got Swedish citizenship. Later he also found refuge in Kolkata, which was the city culturally closest to his home.
Author of more than 40 books
In the year 1998, Nasreen published the first part of her autobiography ‘My Bengali Girlhood’. However, when the second part of his autobiography ‘Dvikhandito’ was published in 2003, controversy started. There were some passages in the book which were considered hurtful to religious sentiments.
On 18 November 2003, the Calcutta High Court banned the publication of the book after poet Syed Hashmat Jalal filed a defamation case against Taslima Nasreen. Ten days later, the then Buddhadeb Bhattacharya-led Left Front government banned the book fearing that it might spread communal tension. However, the publisher challenged the ban and then in September 2005, the High Court lifted the ban on the book.
Nasreen was given a temporary residence permit by the Central Government in 2004 and she started living in Kolkata. But controversy remained regarding his writing. In June 2006, Syed Noor-ur-Rehman Barkati, the then Imam of Kolkata’s Tipu Sultan Mosque, announced that a reward would be given to anyone who would “blacken” his face. The tension regarding Nasreen did not subside. Ultimately he had to leave Kolkata. She came to Delhi in March 2008, but left India after staying for about 2 years.
Taslima Nasreen has written more than 40 books in Bengali language, which include poems, novels, essays and an autobiography written in several parts. His works have been translated into more than 30 languages.
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