Banu Mushtaq - A Lifestory
Voicing the Silenced, One Story at a Time
Banu Mushtaq is a Kannada writer, lawyer, and activist from Karnataka whose work centers on the lives of marginalized Muslim and Dalit women. Drawing on her legal experiences, her stories explore themes of gender, caste, and faith with emotional depth and cultural nuance. In 2025, her collection Heart Lamp, translated by Deepa Bhasthi, became the first Kannada work and short story collection to win the International Booker Prize. Shaped by a multilingual upbringing and moments from her legal career—like a pivotal case of a voiceless young bride, or a prisoner's moving letter—Banu’s writing reflects real struggles and quiet resilience, with the symbolic “Heart Lamp” from her childhood becoming a lasting image of hope and care.
