Banu Mushtaq

Indian writer and activist · India · On the map · Writers · Born 1948 · age 78

Banu Mushtaq is an Indian Kannada-language writer, activist, and lawyer from Karnataka. She is best known for Heart Lamp, a selection of her short stories translated by Deepa Bhasthi, which won the International Booker Prize in 2025.

Banu Mushtaq is read about 89 times a day, in 26 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 6 November 2026

The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 104 days, one point a day.

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A life in dates

2025“In a world that often tries to divide us, literature remains one of the last sacred spaces where we can live inside each other's minds, if only for a few pages.”In their wordsMay 2025International Booker Prize acceptance speech, May 2025.Read the whole statement

“Women are often harder on women than men are.”In their wordsMay 2025Interview with Vogue India, May 2025.Read the whole statement

“I have also been writing about how the media often misrepresents Muslims. I once saw a misleading photo of an elderly man garlanded by a young girl, implying child marriage.”In their wordsMay 2025Interview with The Week, May 2025.Read the whole statement

“Isn’t he a man? Whether he is there, not there, whether he carries responsibilities, whether he neglects them, who's going to ask? Who does he have to answer to?”In their words'Black Cobras'Read the whole statement

“Material things had become priceless, and human beings worthless. Behind those material possessions, people's feelings were on sale.”In their words'High-Heeled Shoe'Read the whole statement

“If you were to build the world again, to create males and females again, do not be like an inexperienced potter. Come to earth as a woman, Prabhu! Be a woman once, oh Lord!”In their words'Be a Woman Once, Oh Lord!'Read the whole statement

International Booker PrizeAward1948Born3 April 1948

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Media & music

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In their own words 1

Banu Mushtaq

One statement

Our culture teaches us, whether it be Hindu or Muslim or Christian or whether it may be Kannadiga or Tamil or Malayali, the culture of human beings, the culture of neighbourhood.
May 2025 · Interview with The Times of India, May 2025., Own words

Wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0

Awards

International Booker Prize2025

Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award

Daana Chintamani Attimabbe Award

About this person

She has published six short story collections, a novel, an essay collection, and a poetry collection. Her work has been translated into Urdu, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam and English.

Country

India