Banu Mushtaq facts for kids

Banu Mushtaq (ಬಾನು ಮುಷ್ತಾಕ್, born 1948) is an activist, lawyer and writer from the southern Indian state of Karnataka. She writes in the Kannada language and her works have also been published in Urdu, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam and, most recently, English. In 2025, her collection of short stories, Heart Lamp, translated by Deepa Bhasthi, won the International Booker Prize.

Early and personal life

Banu Mushtaq was born into a Muslim family in Hassan, Karnataka, in 1948. At age 8, Mushtaq was enrolled in a Kannada-language missionary school in Shivamogga, on the condition that she learned "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 age 26.

She speaks Kannada, Hindi, Dakhni Urdu, and English.

Career

Mushtaq was previously a reporter for the newspaper Lankesh Patrike and, for a period of months, she worked for All India Radio in Bengaluru.

Writing

Mushtaq was interested in writing from a young age, but didn't become a writer until age 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.'

Mushtaq has published six volumes of short stories, a novel, a collection of essays and a collection of poetry. Her story "Kari Nagaragalu" was adapted into a film, Hasina, in 2003.'

Heart Lamp

Mushtaq's first full-length book to be translated into English was Heart Lamp (And Other Stories, 2025), a collection of 12 women-centred stories set in Muslim communities in southern India. The stories were selected and translated by Deepa Bhasthi, who began translating Mushtaq's work into English in 2022. The collection includes stories written and published from 2019 to 2023.

In May 2025, Heart Lamp won the 2025 International Booker Prize. Mushtaq was the first Kannada-language writer to have their work nominated for the prize. Deepa Bhasthi was the first Indian translator to win the prize and this was the first short story collection ever to win the prize.

Activism

Since the 1980s, Mushtaq has been involved in activist movements working to undermine "fundamentalism and social injustices" in Karnataka.

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 stop 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.

Awards and recognition

• Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award (1999)
• Daana Chintamani Attimabbe 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

Publications

• Heart Lamp: Selected Stories (And Other Stories, 2025) ISBN: 9781916751163