Mahasweta Devi

Mahasweta Devi
Devi at the Ramon Magsaysay Award ceremony (1997)
Devi at the Ramon Magsaysay Award ceremony (1997)
Born(1926-01-14)14 January 1926
Dacca, Bengal Presidency, British India
(now Dhaka, Bangladesh)
Died28 July 2016(2016-07-28) (aged 90)
Kolkata, West Bengal, India
OccupationWriter, activist
Alma materVisva-Bharati University
Calcutta University
Vijaygarh Jyotish Ray College
Notable worksHajar Churashir Maa
(Mother of 1084)
Aranyer Adhikar
(The Right of the Forest)
Titu Mir
Notable awardsPadma Vibhushan
Padma Shri
Sahitya Akademi Award
Ramon Magsaysay Award
Jnanpith Award
SpouseBijon Bhattacharya (1947–1962)
Asit Gupta (1965–1976)
ChildrenNabarun Bhattacharya
RelativesManish Ghatak (father)
Dharitri Devi (mother)
Ritwik Ghatak (uncle)
Signature

Mahasweta Devi (14 January 1926 – 28 July 2016)[1][2] was an Indian writer in Bengali and an activist. Her notable literary works include Hajar Churashir Maa, Rudali, and Aranyer Adhikar.[3] 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.[4] 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.[5]

  1. ^ Detailed Biography Archived 26 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine Ramon Magsaysay Award.
  2. ^ John Charles Hawley (2001). Encyclopedia of Postcolonial Studies. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 142–. ISBN 978-0-313-31192-5. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
  3. ^ "Tearing the curtain of darkness". The Hindu. 31 July 2016. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  4. ^ "Mahasweta Devi: The Life Immortal". The Indian Express. 30 July 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  5. ^ Datta, Sudipta (31 July 2016). "Tearing the curtain of darkness". The Hindu (Op-ed). Retrieved 27 June 2017.