Friday, April 8 2005 20:02 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kolkata: In a fervent emotional appeal, controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasrin today (Apr 8, 2005) said her creative pursuits were stifled when she lived away from Bangladesh and West Bengal, places where people spoke the language of her heart, and expressed her sincere wish to belong here.

Making an unscheduled statement at a press meet by city intellectuals to press for her Indian citizenship, Nasrin said she was forced to live in Europe despite her unwillingness and it saddened her that the countries she wanted to come back to were not keen on taking her back.

The meet, originally planned as a platform for city intellectuals to rally behind the cause of her citizenship, took a sombre turn when Nasrin was coaxed by one of the speakers to say a few words.

"I feel awkward speaking at a meet meant to press for my citizenship in this country. But I have said time and again that I want to stay here....this is a humanitarian appeal," she said.

Nasrin said she was pained by a newspaper article which suggested that the West Bengal Government had shown a negative attitude to the issue of her citizenship.