KOLKATA, July 31 -- Exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen landed in Kolkata on Friday more than 18 years after she was forced to leave the city amid violent protests over her writings.

"I am feeling very happy. Thank you all," Nasreen told reporters after landing at the NSCBI airport.

The author, who has been living in Delhi on a long-term residence permit, is on a two-day visit to Kolkata for an event being organised by three organisations, Paschimbonger Jonno, Human Rights Beyond Frontiers and Secular Mission. Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari and West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Samik Bhattacharya are also expected to be at the event.

"I can't believe that I am in Kolkata now. I was driven out in 2007. Initially ...