Intl. Booker Prize winner at Jaipur Lit Fest

Jaipur: International Booker Prize winner Banu Mushtaq has said that she endured years of harassment and violence for challenging patriarchy and communalism. Speaking at an interaction after delivering the keynote address at the five-day 19th Jaipur Literature Festival-2026 yesterday, she said she was subjected to sustained online abuse following the Mysuru Dasara-2025 festival controversy.

During the interaction, a foreign delegate questioned her about the confusion surrounding Dasara inauguration.

Responding, the writer, activist and lawyer — who won the 2025 International Booker Prize for her book ‘Heart Lamp’ — recalled that in October 2025, she had faced protests from several groups opposing the Karnataka Government’s invitation to her to inaugurate Dasara.

People barging into her home

“They trolled me continuously for one-and-a-half months,” Banu Mushtaq said, adding that people had barged into her home and demanded that she withdraw from the event. Following these incidents, the State Government provided her with Police security, which, she said, remains with her to this day.

The protesters approached both the Karnataka High Court and the Supreme Court, seeking to prevent a Muslim woman from inaugurating what they described as a Hindu festival. However, both Courts dismissed the petitions and Banu Mushtaq went on to inaugurate the Dasara celebrations under heavy security.

“It was a fight with unseen people and unseen power,” she said, terming it a period of “mental harassment.”

Describing writing as “an act of survival” and often “an act of resistance,” Banu Mushtaq said literature in societies marked by inequality, violence, silence and erasure becomes a powerful tool. She noted that her writing began with documenting “the unspoken grief of women” and “the silences inside homes.”

Banu Mushtaq became the first Kannada-language author to win the International Booker Prize. ‘Heart Lamp’, translated to English by Deepa Bhasthi, is also the first short story collection to receive the prestigious award.