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Exile: A Memoir

Taslima Nasrin

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On 21 November 2007, the city of Kolkata came to a rude, screeching halt as a virulent mob of religious fanatics took to the streets. Armed with a fatwa from their ideologues, the mob demanded that Taslima Nasrin leave the city immediately. While the police stood watching, mere dumb witnesses to such hooliganism, a morally, intellectually and politically bankrupt Left Front government, tottering under the strain of their thirty-year-old backward-looking rule, decided to ban her book and drive her out of the city she has always considered her second home.

This inextricable nexus of petty political conspiracies, vote bank politics and minority appeasement saw Taslima being hurriedly shifted, first to Jaipur and then to Delhi, confined to an obscure safe house and facing incessant pressure from senior officials and politicians to leave India. Set against a rising tide of fundamentalism and intolerance, Exile is a moving and shocking chronicle of Taslima Nasrin’s struggles in India over a period of seven months. Dark, provocative and at times surreal, it will resonate powerfully with readers in the present socio-political scenario.

What will you learn from this book

  1. Personal Journey: "Exile" traces Taslima Nasrin's personal journey from her childhood in Bangladesh to her exile from the country due to her controversial writings and outspoken advocacy for women's rights.

  2. Censorship and Persecution: The book sheds light on the censorship and persecution faced by Nasrin in Bangladesh, where she was targeted by religious fundamentalists and faced death threats for her criticisms of Islam and patriarchal norms.

  3. Feminism and Activism: Nasrin's memoir underscores her unwavering commitment to feminism and activism, as she continues to advocate for gender equality, secularism, and freedom of expression despite the risks to her safety and well-being.

  4. Literary Career: "Exile" provides insights into Nasrin's literary career, including her acclaimed novels, essays, and poetry, which often explore themes of love, identity, and social justice.

  5. Religious Critique: Nasrin's critique of religious orthodoxy, particularly within Islam, is a central theme of the memoir, as she confronts taboos surrounding topics such as women's rights, sexuality, and religious freedom.

  6. Intellectual Freedom: The book champions the importance of intellectual freedom and the right to dissent, arguing against censorship and oppression in all its forms, whether by religious or authoritarian regimes.

  7. Global Impact: Nasrin's experiences resonate beyond Bangladesh, sparking discussions about freedom of expression, human rights, and the role of religion in society on a global scale.

  8. Exile and Displacement: "Exile" delves into the psychological and emotional toll of exile and displacement, as Nasrin grapples with the loss of her homeland and the challenges of living in exile as a political refugee.

  9. Resilience and Defiance: Throughout the memoir, Nasrin demonstrates resilience and defiance in the face of adversity, refusing to be silenced or intimidated by those who seek to suppress her voice and ideas.

  10. Hope for Change: Despite the hardships she has endured, "Exile" ends on a note of hope, with Nasrin expressing optimism for a future where freedom of expression, gender equality, and secular values prevail.

Language English
ISBN-10 978-0670088744
ISBN-13 9780670088744
No of pages 336
Font Size Medium
Book Publisher Penguin Books
Published Date 16 Oct 2016

About Author

Author : Taslima Nasrin

4 Books

Tashima Nasrin (also Tashima Nasreen, born 25 August 1962) is a Bangladeshi-Swedish writer, physician, feminist, secular humanist and human rights activist. She is known for her writing on women's oppression and criticism of religion, despite forced exile and multiple fatwas calling for her death.

 Nasrin's works have been translated into 30 different languages. Some of her books are banned in Bangladesh. She has been blacklisted and banished from the Bengal region (both from Bangladesh and the West Bengal part of India).

Nasrin was born to Dr. Rajab Ali and Edu Ara in Mymensingh. Her father was a physician, and a professor of Medical Jurisprudence in Mymensingh Medical College, also at Sir Salim Ullah Medical College, Dhaka and Dhaka Medical College.

Nasrin studied medicine and became a physician. She gained global attention by the beginning of 1990s owing to her essays and novels with feminist views and criticism of what she characterizes as all "misogynistic" religions including Islam.

Nasrin has been living in exile since 1994. After living more than a decade in Europe and the United States, she moved to India in 2004, but was banished from the country in 2008, although she has been staying in Kolkata, India on a resident permit long-term, multiple-entry or 'X' visa since 2004.

Nasrin advocates freedom of thought and human rights by publishing, lecturing, and campaigning. She is an honorary associate of the National Secular Society. She has been unable to return either to her home in Bangladesh or to her adopted home of West Bengal, India.

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