Indian Author Banu Mushtaq Wins International Booker Prize

Indian Author Banu Mushtaq Wins International Booker Prize

In a historic moment for Indian literature, Banu Mushtaq has won the 2025 International Booker Prize for her short story collection Heart Lamp.

The judges announced the award on May 20, 2025, during a ceremony at London’s Tate Modern. This marks the first time a Kannada-language work has claimed the prestigious honor.

Deepa Bhasthi translated Heart Lamp into English, making it the first short story collection ever to win the prize. The achievement has sparked widespread celebration in India, especially in Karnataka, where Mushtaq’s work deeply resonates with local readers.

Who Is Banu Mushtaq?

Banu Mushtaq, 77, is a writer, lawyer, and activist from Karnataka, India. She grew up in a small town and began writing during the 1970s and 1980s within Karnataka’s progressive literary circles.

Her stories focus on the lives of Muslim women and explore patriarchy, caste, and social justice. Mushtaq has written six short story collections, one novel, essays, and poems. She has earned the Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award and the Daana Chintamani Attimabbe Award.

Filmmakers adapted her short story Kari Nagaragalu into the award-winning 2003 film Hasina. As a lawyer and activist, Mushtaq continues to fight for women’s rights and speaks out against caste and religious oppression.

What Is Heart Lamp About?

Heart Lamp brings together 12 short stories written between 1990 and 2023. Mushtaq originally wrote them in Kannada to highlight the daily struggles of Muslim women in southern India.

The stories portray resilience, resistance, and sisterhood in the face of religious conservatism and patriarchal systems. Mushtaq drew inspiration from real women she met through her legal and activist work. Critics praise the collection for its emotional depth and complex characters, which offer fresh insight into marginalized lives.

Judge Max Porter described the collection as “something genuinely new for English readers.”

Significance of the International Booker Prize

The International Booker Prize celebrates the best translated fiction published in the UK or Ireland. It honors long-form fiction or short story collections translated into English.

The prize includes £50,000, split equally between the author and translator. Mushtaq and Bhasthi each received £25,000. Mushtaq is only the second Indian author to win the award, following Geetanjali Shree’s Tomb of Sand in 2022.

Her win also marks the first time a Kannada-language work and a short story collection have earned the honor. The prize continues to spotlight linguistic diversity and global storytelling.

Celebrations Across India

Indians across the country, especially in Karnataka, have celebrated Mushtaq’s win. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah called it “a moment of celebration for Kannada, Kannadigas, and Karnataka,” and praised Mushtaq for raising “the flag of Kannada’s greatness” worldwide.

Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi applauded her writing for promoting harmony and secularism. Kannada film personalities, including actor Raj B Shetty and Hombale Films, also congratulated her. Readers and critics across India commended Deepa Bhasthi, the first Indian translator to win the prize, for bringing Heart Lamp to global audiences.

Impact on Kannada Literature

Mushtaq’s win marks a major moment for Kannada literature, spoken by about 65 million people, mostly in Karnataka. Heart Lamp is the first Kannada work to receive a nomination and win the International Booker Prize. The recognition puts a global spotlight on a language that often goes unnoticed internationally.

Writers and publishers expect a surge in interest in Kannada storytelling and hope the win will lead to more translations of regional Indian works.

Mushtaq’s stories, described as “a voice raised in chorus with so many others,” bring attention to the marginalized and encourage future writers to share their truths.

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