New Delhi - Controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen, who was forced to leave India earlier this year, has returned to renew her visa which is due to expire on Tuesday.

Nasreen, author of controversial book Lajja (Shame), had to leave India in March after violent protests by sections of people in the eastern city of Kolkata, which she has made her home in exile for many years.

Nasreen was whisked out of Kolkata and kept at a safehouse in Delhi under the protection of Indian security personnel for several months after which she opted to leave for Sweden saying her mental and physical health were being affected by the circumstances.

Nasreen returned to Delhi on Friday and is staying with a diplomat friend. She has been assured of a visa extension, but will not be given permanent residence, IANS news agency reported citing sources close to the author.

"She has been asked not to give any proactive interview or write anything which hurts the sentiments of people of the country," the sources were quoted as saying.

Nasreen's writings have, on occasion, criticized Islam and its treatment of women, leading to protests by Indian Muslims.

India's Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said at the sideline of a function on Saturday: "She is a guest of our nation and we will treat her as one. ... It is our culture to give shelter to anyone who seeks it."

But, he added, that as a guest, Nasreen should not do anything that would hurt or cause harm to the people of India.

Nasreen, who currently holds a Swedish passport, fled from Bangladesh after bounties were placed on her head and a fatwa issued by the country's hardline Islamic clerics in 1994.

She has lived in several European countries, the United States and in Kolkata since then. (dpa)