New Delhi: Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen met Home Minister Rajnath Singh earlier on Saturday to request the Home Minister to extend her stay in India for longer than 2 months.
The 51-year-old writer had applied for a resident permit and the Home Ministry granted her the same type of visa but only for two months starting August 1.
"I met Singh today (Saturday) and he assured me that my stay in India will be extended. I gave him my book Wo Andhere Din (Those Dark Days) and in return he said my dark days are over," Nasreen told IANS.
Following her outburst on a social networking site, support for her has been pouring from various quarters with Press Council of India Chairperson and former Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju demanding permanent visa for the 52-year-old who has been living in exile since 1994.
Nasreen, however, expressed her surprise over intellectuals from Kolkata - her "home" remaining silent on the issue.
"I am surely surprised that people in Kolkata known for their righteous stand have chosen to remain silent. But at the same time I must admit I have gotten used to this. There were not many voices to come out when I was thrown of my home - Kolkata," she said.
A verification process of Nasreen's visa application has also been initiated by the government and the two-month visa has been given, pending a decision on the longer-term visa.
Eager to come back to Kolkata, Nasreen said so long as the Mamata Banerjee government in the state continues to accede to the whims of religious fanatics, her return to the city is not possible.
"By banning my tele-serial Dusahobas, this government denied me a slice of livelihood. I have been repeatedly writing to Mamata Banerjee expressing my wish to come back to Kolkata, but so long as she continues to listen to the fanatics my return will never be possible,a she added.
She said "Dusahobas" a story of three sisters and their triumph over the injustices meted out by the patriarchal society, would have been a source of inspiration at a time when crime against women was on the rise in the state.
Following protests by minority religious groups, the TV serial was refused telecast.
The Bangladeshi author has been living in self exile since 1994 in the wake of death threats by Muslim fundamentalist outfits. Taslima is now a citizen of Sweden. She has been continuously getting Indian visa since 2004.
(with inputs from ians)
Comments
0 comment