Renowned Indian writer, lawyer, and activist Banu Mushtaq has won the International Booker Prize for her short story collection “Heart Lamp”, making her the first author writing in Kannada to receive the prestigious global honour for translated fiction.
The award was announced at a ceremonial event at the Tate Modern gallery in London on Tuesday. Reacting to the win, the 77-year-old author said, “This moment feels like a thousand fireflies lighting a single sky – brief, brilliant and utterly collective. I accept this great honour not as an individual but as a voice raised in chorus with so many others,” as quoted by AFP.
She added, “My stories are about women – how religion, society, and politics demand unquestioning obedience from them, and in doing so, inflict inhumane cruelty upon them, turning them into mere subordinates.”
Who is Banu Mushtaq?
Based in Karnataka, Mushtaq is an acclaimed Kannada writer whose works have also appeared in Urdu, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, and most recently, English. Her literary journey began after she enrolled in a missionary school in Shivamogga, under the condition that she learn Kannada within six months – a challenge she exceeded in just days.
Mushtaq’s career includes stints at Lankesh Patrike as a journalist and All India Radio in Bengaluru. Beyond writing, she is a vocal advocate for Muslim women’s rights, and faced a three-month social boycott for campaigning for their right to enter mosques.
She also worked with the Komu Souhardha Vedike, a civil society group, and participated in protests against attempts to prevent Muslims from visiting the syncretic shrine at Baba Budangiri in Chikmagalur.
About “Heart Lamp”
The winning collection, Heart Lamp, consists of 12 short stories published between 1990 and 2023. The stories spotlight daily life in Muslim communities in southern India, with a sharp focus on the struggles and resilience of women and girls.
Mushtaq shares the £50,000 prize with her translator, Deepa Bhasthi, who also curated the stories for the collection. The book was praised by the judging panel as “something genuinely new for English readers.” Chair Max Porter described it as “a radical translation which ruffles language, to create new textures in a plurality of Englishes,” further calling it a transformative work that challenges how we understand literature in translation.
Banu Mushtaq’s previous accolades include the Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award, the Daana Chintamani Attimabbe Award, and the 2024 PEN English Translate Award.
