Taslima to ask for one-year resident permit again

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

Kochi, Aug 21 (UNI) Controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen today said she was extremely disappointed by the Indian Government's decision to grant her only a six-month tourist visa and added that she will ask for a year-long resident permit when the tourist visa expires in February next year.

Taslima, who has been living in exile in India since a 'fatwa' against her in Bangladesh nearly 12 years ago, met reporters here at the house of noted writer Kamala Suraiyya.

Taslima, who arrived here earlier today to attend the release of the Malayalam version of four of her books in Thrissur on August 24, called on Kamala Suraiyya this afternoon.

''I am like a mother figure to all writers. They all come to see me when they are here,'' Suraiyya said.

Asked about the Indian government's decision to grant her only a six-month tourist visa last week, Taslima said she was very disappointed by this. When the tourist visa expires in February next year, she will again ask the union home ministry to grant her a year-long resident permit, she added.

Indicating that she would like to go back to Bangladesh, she said the government there did not allow her to return. ''I do not know what will happen if I try to go back,'' she said.

Meanwhile, the publisher of the Malayalam version of her books, said that a move was afoot to secure an appeal from leading writers in Kerala to the Indian Government to grant Taslima permanent residence in India.

Talking about the repeated ban on her books by the Bangladesh government and the 'fatwa' issued against her, Taslima said that she did not hide anything and those in authority did not want her to talk about the real issues.

''Men think that it is only their right to talk about reality.

When a woman writes about these things, she is targeted.'' She said it was surprising that some intellectuals in West Bengal had got the state government to ban her book ''Dwinkhandito'' two years after it was published. ''Such a move was surprising, considering it came from writers and intellectuals.'' The Kolkata high court had overturned the ban last year.

Taslima said that she was presently working on the fifth volume of her seven-volume autobiography. She said that noted film director Mahesh Bhatt had approached her a few years ago to make a film on her life but then she did not hear anything more about it after that.

Other than that, there had been no offers from Bollywood to make films on her novels, she said.

Mr Krishna Das, Managing Director of Green Books said that his publishing house was coming out with the first ''authorised translation'' of Taslima's books in Malayalam. The four books, to be released at a function at the Sahitya Akademi Hall at Thrissur on August 24 are 'Lajja', 'Kalyani' (original 'Phera'), 'Anthasullanunakkal (Shodh) and 'Ende Pennekuttikalam' (Amar Meyebela).

UNI ARC DK1803

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