India extends Taslima Nasreen's residence permit, Bangladeshi author replies

The Union home ministry has extended the residence permit granted to exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen, ANI reported on Tuesday.

The development comes a day after the author took to social media to appeal to home minister Amit Shah to let her stay in India.

In a post on X, Nasreen had said that India has been her home for the last 20 years.

"Dear Amit Shah ji Namaskar. I live in India because I love this great country. It has been my 2nd home for the last 20 yrs. 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," Nasreen had said in a post on X.

On Tuesday, she expressed her gratitude to the Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the move. "A world of thanks," she wrote on X.

Who is Taslima Nasreen?

Nasreen has been living in exile since 1994, after she was forced to leave Bangladesh. She was criticised by Islamist fundamentalists for her writings on communalism and women's equality in Bangladesh.

The Bangladesh government banned some of her books, including her breakthrough novel "Lajja" (1993) and her autobiography "Amar Meyebela" (1998).

"Lajja" attracted severe criticism as it detailed violence, rape, lootings and killings of Bengali Hindus after the Babri Masjid demolition in India.

After being forced to leave Bangladesh, Nasreen spent the next 10 years in exile in Sweden, Germany, France, and the US.

Between 2004 and 2007, she stayed in Kolkata but had to leave the city following violent protests by radical Muslims demanding her ouster from India. She was initially moved to Delhi for three months and later had to leave India in 2008 for the United States. After a few years, she returned back to India.

Recently, Taslima Nasreen spoke on the political crisis in Bangladesh that unfolded following Sheikh Hasina's ouster as prime minister. The author claimed that Islamic radicals are brainwashing and indoctrinating youths to make them "anti-India, anti-Hindu and pro-Pakistan".

"The recent actions like violence against Hindus, targeting of journalists and the release of "terrorists" from jails showed it was not a students' movement but was "planned and funded by Islamic jihadis," she had told PTI in an interview.

Nasreen said she and others had initially supported the students' movement in Bangladesh against an "autocratic government".

However, the recent actions like violence against Hindus, targeting of journalists and the release of "terrorists" from jails showed it was not a students' movement but was "planned and funded by Islamic jihadis", she said.