Who is Banu Mushtaq, Kannada writer who made history with International Booker?
News Mania Desk / Piyal Chatterjee / 21th May 2025
In a monumental milestone for Indian literature, 77-year-old Kannada author, attorney, and activist Banu Mushtaq has won the esteemed International Booker Prize for her anthology of short stories, Heart Lamp.
Mushtaq made history by being the first Kannada author to receive the esteemed award. The anthology — a compilation of 12 tales — documents the daily challenges faced by Muslim women in Karnataka, covering a period of thirty years from 1990 to 2023. Deepa Bhasthi, the translator of the collection into English, received the International Booker Prize together with Mushtaq.
With this accomplishment, Mushtaq now becomes part of an exclusive group of Indians who have received the prestigious award since it began in 1969 — featuring V.S. Naipaul, Salman Rushdie, Arundhati Roy, Kiran Desai, Aravind Adiga, and Geetanjali Shree.
Originating from Hassan in Karnataka, Mushtaq penned her initial short story during middle school. She revolutionized the literary scene when her debut story appeared at 26 in a well-known Kannada magazine, Prajamata.
As stated in her profile on The Booker Prize website, she has written six collections of short stories, one novel, one collection of essays, and one collection of poetry. In a conversation with the Booker Prize Foundation, Mushtaq disclosed that her inspiration came from the Dalit movement, farmers’ movement, language movement, women’s struggles, and environmental activism during the seventies while she was raised in Karnataka.
“My firsthand involvement with the experiences of marginalized groups, women, and the overlooked, along with their voices, empowered me to write.” In general, the social environment of Karnataka influenced me,” she reportedly said to the Booker Prize Foundation.
When asked about her work, Mushtaq informed the Booker Prize Foundation that she does not partake in “extensive research” because she finds inspiration in real-life interactions. “…my heart itself serves as my field of study,” she mentioned.
