Karnataka announces Rs 10 lakh cash award for International Booker Prize winner Banu Mushtaq, translator Deepa Bhasthi
The Karnataka government Monday announced a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh each to International Booker Prize-winning author Banu Mushtaq and translator Deepa Bhasthi. During a ceremony held to felicitate the author at Vidhana Soudha, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced the cash prize.
Moreover, the CM said that the government would provide assistance to translate more of Mushtaq's stories into English. The author won the 2025 International Booker Prize for Heart Lamp, a selection of her short stories in Kannada, which was translated by Bhasthi.
'With her stories, she has communicated to the world… her heartfelt pain. She has worked as a voice of women, especially Muslim women,' Siddaramaiah said at the felicitation ceremony.
'With literature, we can send a message of humanity to the entire society. How a man should live, she had tried to convey with her literature,' the CM further said in his address.
Referring to the ancient Kannada work Kavirajamarga, Siddaramaiah said the book batted for a compassionate view of other religions and ideas.
Highlighting the importance of literature, the Karnataka CM said, 'Literature unites us and does not divide… Kannada literature has a long history of 1,200 years, which helped unite people.'
Hailing Bhasthi, he said that if she had not translated Mushtaq's works, it would have been difficult for both to win the Prize. 'I offer special congratulations to her,' he said, adding that the Karnataka government thanked her for her efforts.
Siddaramaiah said that the government would purchase Mushtaq's books for libraries run by it at the panchayat level.
Musthaq is the first author writing in Kannada to win the prestigious International Booker Prize.
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