KOLKATA, India, Aug. 2: Exiled Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasrin said she no longer has a home in either Bangladesh or West Bengal, describing her decades-long exile as a journey marked by loss, longing and the search for belonging.
Speaking at a civic reception held at Rabindra Sadan in Kolkata on Saturday, Nasrin said every year in exile represents “a closed door” and every day carries the pain of losing one’s homeland.
“History remembers who closed the doors, and history will remember who opened them,” she said, thanking the West Bengal government for the reception and security arrangements while expressing hope that one day writers will no longer require police protection for expressing their views.
Nasrin stressed that gratitude should never come at the cost of independent thinking, saying she would not compromise her freedom of expression in return for recognition or support.
Recalling her departure from Bangladesh on August 8, 1994, she said successive governments had not allowed her to return. She also noted that although she once found refuge in Kolkata, that chapter too eventually came to an end.
“One Bengal is where I was born, and in the other I once found a lost home. In the end, there is not a single home left for a Bengali writer in either Bengal,” she said.
The author added that while Europe had given her citizenship, security and shelter, it had never truly become “home.”
In her speech, Nasrin reiterated her long-held position that no religion or ideology should be beyond criticism. She called for the protection of constitutional values, human rights and equal civil rights in both Bangladesh and India, while opposing all forms of religious extremism.
The event marked Nasrin’s return to Kolkata after nearly 19 years, with her address centering on the themes of exile, identity and the universal human desire for a place to call home.
