Bibliofemme News
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21/03/2005
Taslima Nasreen seeks Indian citizenship
Controversial Bangladeshi authoress Taslima Nasreen has said that only staying in Calcutta will keep her artistic instincts alive.
Nasreen, whose visa to stay in India expired on February 28, has renewed her appeal to the government for granting her citizenship or a residence permit.
"If I cannot stay in Bengal, then the writer in me will die gradually. All my literary works are in Bengali language and the characters are Bengali," she told The Telegraph.
A doctor-turned-writer, Nasreen had to flee Bangladesh in 1994 after Islamic radicals alleged her writing was blasphemous.
Religious fundamentalists were also incensed at comments she is said to have made to an Indian newspaper calling for changes in the Koran to give women more rights. Nasreen denies making the remarks.
Nasreen has said she will appeal to Indian National Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi for a positive decision on the issue.
Nasreen's works have been banned in both her home country and West Bengal, of which Calcutta is the capital.
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