Contents
Mahasweta Devi
Writing about marginalised communities in novels including Mother of 1084 and Aranyer Adhikar.
Jhansir Rani · Mother of 1084
- Born
- 14 January 1926
- Birthplace
- Dhaka, British India
- Died
- 28 July 2016
More people
Mahasweta Devi
Mahasweta Devi was a Bengali writer and campaigner whose fiction drew on oral histories and the lives of communities neglected by powerful institutions.
Early life
Literary family
Grew up among writers and artists; her parents Manish Ghatak and Dharitri Devi both wrote.
Education
Studied at Santiniketan and later earned degrees in English.
Career
- 1956
First book
Published a researched biography of the Rani of Jhansi.
- 1964
Teaching
Began teaching at Vijaygarh Jyotish Ray College in Calcutta.
- 1965
Palamau visit
Encountered bonded labour and deprivation that helped shape her later writing.
- 1996–1997
Major recognition
Received the Jnanpith and Ramon Magsaysay awards.
Selected work
Jhansir Rani
Reconstructed Lakshmibai's life using records and local traditions.
Mother of 1084
A grieving mother confronts the political life of her dead son.
Aranyer Adhikar
Centred the history of Birsa Munda and resistance to colonial rule.
Beyond work
Community organising
Worked with tribal welfare groups, supporting literacy, livelihoods and the filing of grievances.
Family
Her son Nabarun Bhattacharya also became a Bengali writer.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Ramon Magsaysay Award citation ↗Photo: Braju wiki. CC BY-SA 4.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
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