The Hindu : National : Taslima hopeful of visa renewal

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Taslima hopeful of visa renewal

Marcus Dam

KOLKATA: Controversial Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen remains hopeful of returning to India and of her visa being renewed.

“I have not received any official intimation from the government of India regarding the future of my visa that expires on August 17 and am still waiting with hope,” Ms. Nasreen told The Hindu on Friday over the telephone from Stockholm in Sweden.

“I have been moving from one country to another and have spent much of the past few months in the United States of America and in France. But my home is India and Kolkata and I keep waiting to get back”, the author, said.

Ms. Nasreen left the country after being put up in an undisclosed location in Delhi, a day after she left Kolkata on November 22, 2007 following violent demonstrations by supporters of the All-India Minority Forum demanding that her visa be revoked.

Her visa, however, was renewed for six months subsequently.

State Home Secretary Ashok Mohan Chakravarty said the government had not received any communication from the Centre regarding visa renewal. On whether she could return to the city, he said he did not think there had been any change in the situation that had prompted the author to leave Kolkata.

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