By Durba Chakraborty, EIH Intern

I have read more books than I have eaten food. The matter for my writing comes from there. Writing is activism for me.” – Mahasweta Devi
She was a writer, an activist and an icon of women’s empowerment. But above all, she was a voice of compassion, justice and equality, who conveyed the struggles of the downtrodden masses of society through the magic of her pen. She applied feminist ideology to words and sentences and taught us to fearlessly fight for the rights that we truly deserve. Born in 1926, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Mahasweta Devi is one of the prominent writers in Bengali, who left an indelible mark on literature with her prolific writings. She wrote voraciously for the rights of marginalized communities like landless labourers, tribals, poor peasants, and oppressed women, chronicling the injustices against them through her fiction and political writings. In her novels, she talks about the complex realities of the society and allows her readers to understand the role of social institutions, cultural practices, and identity formations and how it operates in the power dynamics of the society. Her writings strongly cover the role of women in patriarchal society. Besides writing, she also made an immense contribution to the development of the neglected tribes by using her privileged position.
Some of her most famous works included Hajar Churashir Ma (Mother of 1084), Jhansir Rani (The Queen of Jhansi), Aranyer Adhikar (Rights to the Forest), Titu Mir, which earned her several literary awards and recognition. Her work has been translated into many Indian and foreign languages and has also been made into movies. She was awarded the most prestigious Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan award for her role as an activist, working with the tribal groups of Purulia and Medinipur district of West Bengal. Till her last breath, Mahasweta Devi fought ardently in highlighting the concerns of the people living at the bottom of the social hierarchy and acted as a source of inspiration for everyone.