New Delhi: Taslima Nasreen, the exiled Bangladeshi writer, made an appeal to Union home minister Amit Shah, urging him to extend her residence permit and let her live in India.
In a public request to Shah posted on her official X account, Nasreen said that the Ministry of Home Affairs had not been extending her permit to stay in India since 2022. She voiced her worry, and asked the Minister to intervene in the matter.
Taking to X, Nasreen tagged Amit Shah and wrote, “Dear Amit Shahji Namaskar. I live in India because I love this great country. It has been my 2nd home for the last 20yrs. But MHA has not been extending my residence permit since July22. I’m so worried. I would be so grateful to you if you let me stay. Warm regards.”
.@AmitShah Dear AmitShahji 🙏Namaskar. I live in India because I love this great country. It has been my 2nd home for the last 20yrs. But MHA has not been extending my residence permit since July22. I’m so worried.I would be so grateful to you if you let me stay. Warm regards.🙏
— taslima nasreen (@taslimanasreen) October 21, 2024
About author Taslima Nasreen
Nasreen is a strong critic of communalism. She is a polarising literary figure and known for her radical views on patriarchy, explicit literature and Islamic law. Since 1994, she has been living in exile. She was forced to leave Bangladesh after she was severely criticised by Islamist fundamentalists for her writings on women’s equality in Bangladesh and communalism. The Bangladesh government banned her novel “Lajja” (1993) and her autobiography “Amar Meyebela” (1998) for their subject matter. “Lajja” drew criticism as it spoke about rape, violence, lootings and killings of Bengali Hindus after the Babri Masjid demolition in India.
From 1994 to 2004, Nasreen lived in exile in Sweden, Germany, France, and the US. She sought refuge in India in 2004 and initially stayed in Kolkata. She lived there till 2007. After this, she moved to Delhi for three months. Here, she lived under house arrest following attack on her. In 2008, she had to leave India and shift to US. After staying there for a few years, Nasreen came back to India.
On Bangladesh political turmoil
Nasreen recently spoke on the political turmoil in Bangladesh after Sheikh Hasina’s government was toppled and the former PM had to flee the country. She said that Islamist fundamentalists were brainwashing and indoctrinating Bangladeshi youths to make them “anti-India, anti-Hindu and pro-Pakistan”. Flaying Hasina for mishandling the unrest, Nasreen had said that she (Hasina) is responsible for her predicament. She fuelled the growth of Islamists and allowed corruption to flourish.
She had also told PTI that the recent violence against Hindus, targeting of scribes and the release of “terrorists” from jails proved that it was not a students’ movement but “planned and funded by Islamic jihadis”.
