Banu Mushtaq, who is an Indian writer-lawyer and an activist, has created history by becoming the first Kannada writer to win the International Booker Prize. For the unversed, this award ceremony is held annually to celebrate the best works of long-form fiction or collections of short stories translated into English and published in the UK and/or Ireland. This year, ‘Heart Lamp’, written by Banu Mushtaq and translated by Deepa Bhasthi, won the prize.
Who Is Banu Mushtaq?
According to BBC, Banu Mushtaq hails from in a small town of Kartanaka and studied Quran in Urdu. Her father, who was reportedly a government employee, enrolled her in a Kannada medium convent school. However, she published her first work years after completing school and college. At 26, her short story was published in a local magazine. But her life was not easy as she revealed suffering from postpartum depression at the of 29.
While speaking to The Week, Banu revealed, “Once, in a fit of despair, I poured white petrol on myself, intending to set myself on fire. Thankfully, he sensed it in time, hugged me, and took away the matchbox. He pleaded with me, placing our baby at my feet saying, “Don’t abandon us.” I realised then what a terrible thing I was about to do. Looking back, it might have been post-partum depression. But it felt deeper, heavier―like something inside me was breaking. Everything in my stories is somewhat autobiographical. That experience made me more empathetic.”
Watch the moment Heart Lamp was announced as the winner of the #InternationalBooker2025.
Discover the book: https://t.co/zwWnDmkLV4@andothertweets pic.twitter.com/2NdxGkiay3---Advertisement---— The Booker Prizes (@TheBookerPrizes) May 20, 2025
She even shared that one man tried to stab her and a fatwa was issued against her because she upheld Muslim women’s right to pray in mosques. The writer revealed, ” in 2000, after Benki Male won awards, a fatwa was issued against me because I upheld Muslim women’s right to pray in mosques. One man, a known troublemaker, tried to stab me to gain notoriety. I could have punished him―he was charged under Section 307 (attempt to murder). But my daughter Lubna, who was practising law with me, asked me to forgive him because he kept begging for mercy, saying he had small children. I saw his plight and decided to let him go.”
About Heart Lamp:
Heart Lamp is a collection of 12 stories in which Banu Mushtaq talks about everyday lives of women and girls in Muslim communities in southern India.
