http://www.gulfnews.com/world/India/10100374.html
Taslima renews request for citizenship
Published: 30/01/2007 12:00 AM (UAE)
Exiled Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen.
AP
Kolkata: Facing death threats from Islamists at home, exiled Bangladeshi
writer Taslima Nasreen reiterated a request yesterday for Indian citizenship or
permanent resident status.
Nasreen fled Bangladesh in 1994 when extremists threatened to kill her
after an Indian newspaper quoted her as saying changes must be made to the
Quran to give women more rights.
She has vehemently denied making the comments.
Nasreen's visa was extended six months ago by Indian authorities after a
one-year resident permit expired. She has sought another visa extension, she
said, but would prefer instead to become an Indian citizen.
"I would have liked to stay on in Bangladesh, but since I am not allowed
to stay there right now, my second best choice is Kolkata," Nasreen said. "We
speak the same language, I feel very comfortable here."
To flourish as a writer, Nasreen said she had to live with people who
speak the Bengali language, which is spoken in Bangladesh and in neighbouring
Indian state of West Bengal.
After fleeing Bangladesh, Nasreen also lived in Sweden for several years
but eventually returned to India, making Kolkata her home for the last two
years.
"To live like a writer I cannot shift elsewhere. Here [in India] I can
meet my own people, converse with them in my own language, the language for
expressing my thoughts. The government can help me live as a writer," she told
the Press Trust of India news agency on Sunday.
Indian officials were not immediately available for comment yesterday.
In 2004, Bangladesh banned her Bengali-language book Shei Shab Andhakar
(Those Dark Days) published in West Bengal for what it said were objectionable
comments about Islam and the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Unsubscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED]
List owner : [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
