Exiled Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen returned to Kolkata on Friday, marking her first public visit to the city in nearly two decades after being forced to leave in 2007 following protests over her controversial memoir Dwikhondito. On arriving at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, she expressed her happiness at being back, saying, "I am really liking it here."

Nasreen's return comes almost 20 years after she left Kolkata, a city she had made her home after fleeing Bangladesh in the 1990s. Her memoir Dwikhondito was banned by the then CPI(M)-led West Bengal government in 2003 over allegations that it hurt religious sentiments. The 63-year-old author now lives in Delhi on a long-term residence permit.