Banu Mushtaq

Banu Mushtaq was born into a Muslim family in Hassan, Karnataka, on 3 April 1948. When she was eight years old, Mushtaq was enrolled in a Kannada-language missionary school in Shivamogga, on the condition that she must learn "to read and write Kannada in six months"; she exceeded expectations by beginning to write after a few days of school. In contrast to community expectations, she attended university and married for love at the age of 26. She was a reporter for the newspaper Lankesh Patrike In 2000, a three-month "social boycott" was announced against Mushtaq and her family in response to her "advocacy of the right of Muslim women to enter mosques". In the early 2000s, Mushtaq joined the civil society group Komu Souhardha Vedike in protesting efforts to prevent Muslims from visiting a syncretic shrine in Baba Budangiri, Chikmagalur district. Mushtaq has supported the right of Muslim students to wear hijab in schools, which has been challenged in Karnataka. She speaks Kannada, Hindi, Dakhni Urdu, and English. == Writing ==

Mushtaq was interested in writing from a young age, but did not become a writer until the age of 29, as a new mother suffering from postpartum depression. Mushtaq turned to writing to explore her feelings and experiences. Much of her writing looks at women's issues. Her work has been translated into Urdu, Hindi, Tamil, and Malayalam, as well as, very recently, English. Her story Karinaagaragalu was adapted into the 2003 Kannada film Hasina by Girish Kasaravalli. Mushtaq was the first Kannada-language writer to have their work nominated for the prize. The stories in the collection reflect Mushtaq's life as a journalist and lawyer, with a focus on women's rights and resistance to caste and religious injustice in her part of the country. Chair of the Booker International judges Max Porter said that although the stories are feminist, and "contain extraordinary accounts of patriarchal systems and resistance", first and foremost they are "beautiful accounts of everyday life and particularly the lives of women". == Awards and recognition ==

• 1999: Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award • 2024: PEN English Translate Award, for Deepa Bhasthi's translation of Haseena and Other Stories • 2025: International Booker Prize for Heart Lamp, translated by Deepa Bhasthi ==Controversy==

The Congress government's decision to invite Booker Prize laureate Banu Mushtaq to kick off the Mysore Dasara celebrations involving pooja to Goddess Bhuvaneshvari was met with opposition on 22 September, 2025 when a video of her criticizing the devotion of the Kannada language in the form of Goddess Bhuvaneshwari went viral. She responded by telling The Hindu newspaper, "Active politicians should have a sense of what to politicise and what not to." ==Publications==

• ಹಸೀನಾ ಮತ್ತು ಇತರ ಕಥೆಗಳು [] (compilation, Abhiruchi Prakashana, 2013) , • Haseena and Other Stories (translated by Deepa Bhasthi, 2024) • Heart Lamp: Selected Stories (compilation, translated by Deepa Bhasthi, And Other Stories, 2025), ==References==