Banu Mushtaq: "I Am The Critical Insider, The Most Dangerous Position To Be"

Women are a vital part of society, but society silences their voices. I want to talk through my women characters. I want to scream and shout through them. I write about the injustices meted out to women and men in our society. I feel a sense of duty to keep writing women바카라�s stories. From a very young age, I couldn바카라�t tolerate any injustice. I raised my voice against it. Being outspoken is considered the greatest disqualification for a woman. Growing up, I was often blamed for 바카라�talking too much바카라�. I was warned that it would bring dishonour to my family. Men, on the other hand, are encouraged to speak up. They are appreciated for it.

I am a critical insider바카라�the most dangerous position for a person to occupy. I바카라�ve been ostracised by many within my community because I express my views frankly. There have been threats. The physical assault I suffered left me traumatised. I couldn바카라�t write anything for quite a while after that attack. But eventually, I got back to writing about people who misuse their power; leaders who mix religion and politics; and about women who are denied their rights and find the strength to fight for them.

It is natural for autobiographical elements to seep into your creative writing. Elements of my own experiences do find a place in my stories. But these are not limited to me personally, There is a universal aspect to most of them. They reflect the reality of many women; their dreams and hopes; the tensions in their relationships with family and community. I바카라�m a wife and a doting mother. I바카라�ve also worked closely with resistance literature and people바카라�s movements, including farmers, Dalits, environmentalists and feminists. For me, participating in these movements was the best way to sharpen my intellectual prowess. I바카라�ve seen, at close quarters, how women and men are oppressed by powerful forces. I enjoy meeting people, talking to them, hearing their stories. All of it shapes my writing. Women should be at liberty to be active members of civil society. They should not be confined to gender-based roles and denied their freedom.

I believe that a writer바카라�s task is to register injustices. Record them in an artistic way. If you see a way forward, mention it. But never preach. Never force-feed people any solutions. Record the injustices you observe and leave the rest to the discretion of readers. It바카라�s true that we live in a divided world. In our country, with the rise of the rightwing, there is more and more policing of women today. Some politicians ask women from the majority community to give birth to more children for the sake of the community as if women are simply breeding machines. There is hate speech, name calling and so many instances of malicious prosecution. Vote bank politics capitalises on hate; not on development and people바카라�s welfare. But history teaches us that dictatorial regimes eventually fall. There are ups and downs, tragedies and celebrations...I바카라�m hopeful that change will come. Nothing is permanent.

I love the short story form and I바카라�m delighted my story collection has been longlisted for the Booker Prize. I바카라�ve written a novel as well. The short story is my 바카라�first darling바카라�. The canvas is small, but the challenge is to be poetic as well as precise within that framework. To include as many twists and turns as possible, to create flesh-and-blood characters. I think there is a place for every literary form. It바카라�s unfair to say the novel is superior to the short story and create an artificial hierarchy.

When you write about serious issues, you are full of anger. I was very agitated when I started writing. Hunger for justice consumed me, but I didn바카라�t have a clear notion of justice. What exactly constitutes it? At what point do you say that justice has truly been done? Humour clears my head. It gives me clarity on the page and I would be lost without it.

Deepa is a wonderful young woman and she had all the freedom in the world to work on the translation. I helped her to select the stories included in the collection. I바카라�m delighted we바카라�ve made it to the Booker long list. The whole world seems to have woken up and taken notice of the book after the nomination. English carries a history of colonialism of course, but it has opened up many possibilities since it is considered the universal language now. It will expand my readership and bring more attention to Kannada literature.

This article is a part of Outlook's March 21, 2025 issue 'The Pilgrim's Progress', which explores the unprecedented upsurge in religious tourism in India. It appeared in print as 'Writing Rebellion'.