Mahasweta Devi

Mahasweta Devi (; 14 January 1926 – 28 July 2016) was an Indian Bengali language writer and activist. Her notable literary works include Hajar Churashir Maa, Rudali, and Aranyer Adhikar. She was a leftist who worked for the rights and empowerment of the tribal people (Lodha and Shabar) of West Bengal, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh states of India. She was honoured with various literary awards such as the Sahitya Akademi Award (in Bengali), Jnanpith Award and Ramon Magsaysay Award along with India's civilian awards Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan.

Early life and education Mahasweta Devi was born in a Bengali Brahmin family on 14 January 1926 in Dacca, British India (now Dhaka, Bangladesh). Her father, Manish Ghatak, was a poet and novelist of the Kallol movement, who used the pseudonym Jubanashwa . Ghatak's brother was filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak. Devi's mother, Dharitri Devi, was also a writer and a social worker primarily written in Bengali but often translated them to other languages. Her first novel, titled Jhansir Rani, based on a biography of the Rani of Jhansi was published in 1956.

Postcolonial scholar Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak has translated Devi's short stories into English and published three books Imaginary Maps (1995, Routledge), Old Woman (1997, Seagull), The Breast Stories (1997, Seagull).

Social activity Mahasweta Devi raised her voice several times against the discrimination suffered by tribal people in India. In 2012, she was one of more than 215 signatories, along with Nandita Das, Aamir Bashir, and Anusha Rizvi, to a petition delivered to president Pranab Mukherjee that opposed the death penalty after the conviction of Ajmal Kasab following the 2008 Mumbai attacks and instead favoured life imprisonment.

Personal life On 27 February 1947, she married renowned playwright Bijon Bhattacharya, who was one of the founding fathers of the Indian People's Theatre Association movement. She worked in a post office but was fired for her communist leaning. She went on to do various jobs, such as selling soaps and writing letters in English for illiterate people. In 1962, she married author Asit Gupta after divorcing Bhattacharya. In 1976, the relationship with Gupta ended.

Death

On 23 July 2016, Devi suffered a major heart attack and was admitted to Belle Vue Clinic, Kolkata. Devi died of multiple organ failure on 28 July 2016, aged 90. She had suffered from diabetes, sepsis and urinary infection. 1986: Padma Shri for Social Work 1996: Jnanpith Award – the highest literary award from the Bharatiya Jnanpith 2003: Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres 2006: Padma Vibhushan – the second highest civilian award from the Government of India 2009: Shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize 2010: Yashwantrao Chavan National Award 2011: Banga Bibhushan – the highest civilian award from the Government of West Bengal 2014 : Mamoni Raisom Goswami National Award for Literature constituted by Asam Sahitya Sabha and sponsored by Numaligarh Refinery Ltd., Assam On 14 January 2018, Google honoured Mahasweta Devi on her 92nd birth anniversary, celebrating her work by creating a doodle on her.

Major works Devi's major works include: Jhansi Rani (1956, biography) Hajar Churashir Maa (1974, novel, Mother of 1084) Rudaali (1993) Bayen (Hindi) (1993) a film based on short story directed by Gul Bahar Singh Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa (1998) Gangor (2010), Italian film based on short story Choli Ke Peeche Ullas (Bengali film based on three short stories— Daur, Mahadu Ekti Rupkatha and Anna Aranya) directed by Ishwar Chakraborty, released in 2012.

In popular culture Mahananda, a Bengali film based on her life and works, directed by acclaimed director Arindam Sil was released in 2022. Gargi Roychowdhury essayed the titular role in the film.

Mahasweta Devi Memorial Academy (2018), Jangipur, Murshidabad.