Atheist and feminist author Taslima Nasrin, who faced threats to her life and charges for blasphemy after writing the novel Lajja in 1993 and 1994, had escaped her home country of Bangladesh to safety in Europe before eventually resettling in India. Now living in Kolkata in India’s West Bengal region, where she could speak her native tongue, she was relatively near the Bangladeshi border; she could not return home, despite a desire to, because of the revocation of her passport. In 2007, however, another episode of controversy related to her writing jeopardized her relative safety and once again forced her into exile.

“The people who say they are fighting against me are only interested in gaining political popularity as most of them have never read my books.” - Taslima Nasrin

The controversy erupted largely over Nasrin’s autobiography, Dwikhandito (Split in Two), in which some passages where she criticized Islam were deemed blasphemous by fundamentalists -- even though the book had been published a few years prior. From a broader perspective, it was the climax of tensions that had arisen from her outspoken atheism and feminism for years. In any case, at a public event in August, a mob physically attacked Nasrin, and shortly thereafter, fatwas against her were issued, including one offering a monetary reward for her death. Mass demonstrations in Kolkata turned into riots, and Indian authorities determined that Nasrin was no longer safe.

“I want to live in Kolkata, I don't want to live in Europe, I can't write there. I write in Bengali and I need to be surrounded by the Bengali language and culture.” - Taslima Nasrin on her reluctance to leave India

Nasrin was taken to New Delhi and essentially placed under house arrest against her own wishes. Ostensibly for her own safety, she could not leave the house in which police were hiding her. She lamented this state of affairs, asking why she could not roam freely when the danger to her was in another city entirely. For months, she stayed locked away. In March 2008—although it was not her preference, as she wished to stay in West Bengal, which was now something of a second home to her—she gave in to pressure from Indian authorities and left the country. She relocated to Sweden.

Nasrin later returned to India, this time to New Delhi, being disallowed from returning to West Bengal. Here, she again faced threats to her life between 2013 and 2015, ultimately forcing her into a third (temporary) exile.