Thursday, February 14, 2008 (New Delhi)

Ending uncertainty over controversial Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen's stay in India, government on Thursday night decided to extend her visa, which expires on February 17.Though there's a word of caution, that she remain ''sensitive'' to India's traditions and not ''hurt'' its secular ethos.The six-month visa of the author expires on Sunday. There was speculation whether she will get another extension to stay here in the wake of demands by radical Muslim groups that she be thrown out of the country for allegedly hurting their religious sentiments through her writings.''The government of India has decided to extend the visa'' of Taslima, External Affairs Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said but did not specify the duration of her fresh visa.Taslima said, ''I'm very grateful to the Indian government.''But Taslima is weary of the cautionary guidelines, ''The curbs on freedom of my movement and expression would remain,'' she said.Taslima said she would like to return to Kolkata and expressed the hope that the restrictions on her movement and expression would go in course of time.Taslima, 45, was bundled out of Kolkata in November last year following widespread violent protests by a little-known Islamic group and has been living in an undisclosed place in Delhi for security reasons.The author has been living in exile abroad since leaving Bangladesh in a cloak of secrecy in 1994 after fundamentalists in her home country issued a religious edict to kill her for writing the novel Lajja which was alleged to be blasphemous.Noting that India has had a tradition throughout history of offering hospitality to those who seek it, Sarna said it has also ''afforded protection to those who have come as our guests''.Taslima is ''our guest and in keeping with our traditions, we have offered her the same privileges'', the spokesman said.