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Banu Mushtaq's Importance Goes Much Beyond the Booker
Menu हिंदी తెలుగు اردو Home Politics Economy World Security Law Science Society Culture Editor's Pick Opinion Support independent journalism. Donate Now Top Stories Banu Mushtaq's Importance Goes Much Beyond the Booker Irfan Chowdhury 38 minutes ago Mushtaq's determination and resilience showcases how individuals still continue to fight for greater betterment of society at large. She is a beacon of solidarity. International Booker Prize winner Banu Mushtaq during her felicitation ceremony by the Karnataka Union of Working Journalists, at Gandhi Bhavan, in Bengaluru, Wednesday, May 28, 2025. Photo: PTI/Shailendra Bhojak Real journalism holds power accountable Since 2015, The Wire has done just that. But we can continue only with your support. Contribute now Her eight-minute acceptance speech tells it all: No story is ever small, and together we build a world where every voice is heard and every person belongs. A woman with extraordinary desire to express herself in words. But in which language? As a woman from South India's minority Muslim population, it was her family and community that imposed upon her the Dakhini or southern Urdu – somewhat distinct from the varieties spoken in northern places like Allahabad or Lucknow. But her home state Karnataka's native language, which she chose to write it in, is Kannada. Not many with this profile, particularly in her generation, achieve higher education, let alone dream of writing or pursuing a professional life or even choosing their own life partners, as she did. For a Southasian to win a Booker is no novelty. Many luminaries from the region have been awarded this prestigious literary award for the best single work of sustained fiction over the last few decades. Sir Salman Rushdie not only got the Booker for his acclaimed Midnight's Children but also won the Booker of the Booker, a special award that recognised the best of the prize's winners, and Best of the Booker, at the award's 25th and 40th anniversaries respectively. Other Southasian Booker awardees include Arundhati Roy for her The God of Small Things which had made a big storm with a story based in Kerala, Kiran Desai for The Inheritance of Loss, and Aravind Adiga for The White Tiger, just to name a few. Nor is Banu Mushtaq's Heart Lamp the first translation from Southasia to win the prize. Geetanjali Shree won it for her Hindi book translated to English, Tomb of Sand in 2022. So what's so special about Banu Mushtaq? For one, hers an exceptional tale of a spirited human journey overcoming societal taboos and defying cultural, even habitual boundaries put up by generations of practice. It is a triumph of stories that many may imagine but usually do not get a chance to appreciate, pushed aside amid daily grinds of life, or not prioritised due to stereotypes. To appreciate Mushtaq and her work is to celebrate the diversity of Southasian languages, culture and many minorities. Over a century ago, the iconic poet Rabinrantah Tagore won the Nobel for translating his own work from Bengali to English. However, seldom do we take time to explore works in other regional languages, for example, Tamil, Telugu, Assamese or Balochi. Kannada is estimated to be spoken by 65 million in a region of nearly two billion people. Of course, there is a successful South Indian movie industry and its music that many devour. Eminent local literary figures like R.K. Narayan are widely read. But we rarely take time to hear, learn or share the riches of diversity that our region presents. As tasty cuisines from Southasia's diverse regions whet our appetites, there are plenty of unheard stories and views to enrich our souls, and widen our understanding of each other. Stories which could help us see that deep down we are mere human societies trying to overcome mostly common challenges, regardless of what nationalistic politicians may have us believe Banu Mushtaq, translated by Deepa Bhasthi Heart Lamp: Selected Stories Penguin, 2025 Mushtaq's achievements have put a spotlight on significant issues worthy of attention. Her stories contain vital social context, focussing on Muslim and Dalit women and children – showcasing her lifelong dedication and commitment to marginalised voices. Through fiction, she captures the textures of life in southern India's patriarchal Muslim society, which she also experiences first-hand as a lawyer fighting for these women. As an activist, her insights carry both emotional depth and political weight, making Heart Lamp a work of both literary and social importance. In Deepa Bhasthi's translation, Mushtaq's work, spanning over three decades, gains a new international audience — a significant milestone given the linguistic and cultural barriers often faced by regional writers, especially women. This award has come at a time when the region from Bangladesh to Pakistan is embroiled in uncertainty and conflicts. Mistrust among communities and countries are high. At a personal level, Mushtaq's success is far more than just another Booker. Over three decades ago, I lived in Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka, for undergraduate studies in a Muslim neighbourhood, Shivajinagar, just after the demolition of historic Babri Masjid in 1992 and the arrest of Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, coinciding with the release of his blockbuster Khal Nayak. Communal tensions ran high, but as a teenager from a Muslim majority Bangladesh, I had the opportunity for casual, unguarded discussions with local Muslims, including over occasional meals at their homes. It was starkly obvious how ostracised ordinary Muslim women were in the glitzy, globalised metropolis Muslim girls in Mushtaq's generation seldom got the chance to finish high school before being married off to begin and look after families. She herself was allowed to attend a Kannada-medium missionary school on condition that she would be able to read and write in Kannada within six months. If this puzzles you, my observation from a long while ago was that Indian Muslims regardless of the regions they were from usually spoke Urdu with varying accents and proficiency as their first tongue, sometimes before the local native languages. There are post-Moghul historical and political reasons for this. What about the situation of Muslim girls in the three decades since? Mushtaq responded to this question from Vikhar Ahmed Sayeed in an English-language video interview for Frontline Magazine, after Heart Lamp was shortlisted for the Booker. She said that there are more Muslim (and other) girls with education and degrees now compared to then, but alas not so for Muslim boys who are accepting jobs, even menial jobs. This discrepancy is probably creating tensions, disharmonious relationships, issues and challenges for women which Mushtaq's work highlights. In fact, listening to Mushtaq in numerous interviews has been truly inspirational. We often hear how successful people overcome unfathomable odds to reach their goals. Mushtaq's obstacles were manifold, they include her own postpartum depression. Her dogged pursuit of raising her voice for marginalised women brought threats and attacks on her. Mushtaq's over three decades-long work encompasses these experiences,portraying the injustices, unfairness and confinement that society subjects girls and women to. Her success is about resilience and defying patriarchy. It is important to realise that Mushtaq would not have achieved her goals, specially the goal of writing, without the help and guidance of her community and wider public – majority non-Muslim. Besides her husband, she mentions a number of local literary societies and her involvement in the Bandaya Sahitya movements in the early 1970s which introduced protest writing by minority communities in the Kannada language, aiming to establish an equal society, without hierarchy – based on caste, creed, gender or languages. While the movement appealed to her as a youngster, Mushtaq struggled not only to choose the language she would write in, but her topics. Workshops and discussions with the Bandaya Sahitya guided her, and she began writing about her own Muslim community and challenging its patriarchy. Recognition of her work should be heartening to all Southasians, helping to remain positive during an uncertain time. Southasian artists, sport personalities have always tried to break the arbitrary boundaries, and the general public also responded positively. Ask many Indians who contributed to Imran Khan's cancer hospital for example. Mushtaq's determination and resilience showcases how individuals still continue to fight for greater betterment of society at large. She is a beacon of solidarity. As she said in her acceptance speech at the Booker award ceremony, 'This moment feels like a thousand fireflies lighting up a single sky – brief, brilliant and utterly collective…' She accepted the honour 'not as an individual but as a voice raised in chorus with so many others.' 'I am happy for the entire world which is full of diversity… this is more than a personal achievement… it is an affirmation that we as individuals and as a global community can try when we embrace diversity, celebrate our differences, and uplift one another… that in the tapestry of human experience every thread holds the weight of the whole… ' Irfan Chowdhury is a public-sector policy analyst and adviser from Bangladesh based in Australia. He writes opinion columns for Bangladeshi dailies and online platforms, like The Daily Star, Dhaka Tribune, Alalodulal, besides Sapan News. This is a Sapan New s syndicated feature. Make a contribution to Independent Journalism Related News The Politics of 'Heart Lamp' Is Profound, Urgent and Reflects the Lived Reality of Millions Banu Mushtaq's 'Heart Lamp' – Translated By Deepa Bhasthi – Is 2025 International Booker Prize Winner Humour, Scepticism and the Realities of the Familial in Banu Mushtaq's 'Heart Lamp' 'Heart Lamp' Wins International Booker: Banu Mushtaq's First Reaction Why Banu Mushtaq and Deepa Bhasthi's International Booker Is a Seminal Moment Adrift in Conscience: 'Small Boat' Navigates Guilt and Apathy, But Finds No Just Shore No Story Is Ever 'Small': Banu Mushtaq's International Booker Acceptance Speech Instances When PM Modi Did Not Congratulate Indians for International Recognition Trump's Drive for Ocean Bed Mining Threatens Law of the Sea View in Desktop Mode About Us Contact Us Support Us © Copyright. All Rights Reserved.
Mint
06-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
India-UK Trade Deal: Tariffs on auto imports to be cut to 10%, Whisky and gin tariffs down to 75%
India and the United Kingdom, on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, have decided on a free trade agreement, reported the news agency AFP. India will cut its auto tariffs to 10 per cent from its current levels of more than 100 per cent, as per the report. Apart from automotive tariffs on imports into India, the trade agreement also states that India will slash its import duties for UK goods, including whisky, gin, cosmetics and medical devices. The import tariffs on whisky and gins are set to be halved to 75 per cent levels, according to the agency report. In exchange for India cutting its tariffs on imports, the United Kingdom has also agreed to cut tariffs on clothes, footwear and food products, including frozen prawns from the South asian nation, reported the news agency. According to the agency report, the free trade agreement is expected to increase trade between the two countries by 25.5 billion pounds, and also be beneficial for the British economy and wages. India and the UK's free trade agreement comes amid the ongoing tensions over US President Donald Trump's tariff hikes, which have resulted in a trade war between the United States and other world nations. The trade deal was in talks, however was relaunched in February 2025, after Trump started threatening about the US import duty hikes. 'Today we have agreed a landmark deal with India — one of the fastest growing economies in the world, which will grow the economy and deliver for British people and business,' said the UK PM Keir Starmer in an official statement cited by the news agency. Starmer's Labour Party also said this deal with India marks the 'biggest and most economically significant bilateral trade deal' since the UK left the European Union, as per the report. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that these landmark agreements with the UK will further deepen the trade and investment relations with the two nations. 'Delighted to speak with my friend PM @Keir_Starmer. In a historic milestone, India and the UK have successfully concluded an ambitious and mutually beneficial Free Trade Agreement, along with a Double Contribution Convention. These landmark agreements will further deepen our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, and catalyse trade, investment, growth, job creation, and innovation in both our economies. I look forward to welcoming PM Starmer to India soon,' said Modi in his post on the social media platform X.
