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Mahasweta Devi
Literature Activism & Humanitarian Historical Figures

Mahasweta Devi

Bengali writer and activist for tribal communities

14 January 1926 – 28 July 2016 India Verified by our editors
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Lived
90 yrs
1926 – 2016
Works listed
5
Book, Novel
Honours
4
Most recent 2006
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2
0 followers

Mahasweta Devi was a Bengali writer and activist whose novels and stories gave voice to tribal communities, Dalits and the poor. Works such as Mother of 1084 and Aranyer Adhikar won major literary prizes, and she spent decades campaigning for denotified tribes. She died in 2016.

Biography

Writing history from below

Her first book, Jhansir Rani (1956), was a biography of the Rani of Jhansi based on travel and oral histories. Aranyer Adhikar (1977), about the tribal leader Birsa Munda, won the Sahitya Akademi Award. Hajar Churashir Maa (Mother of 1084), about a mother whose Naxalite son is killed, was filmed by Govind Nihalani.

Stories of the marginalised

Stories such as Draupadi, Rudali and Breast-Giver, many translated into English by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, depicted exploitation of women, tribal people and the landless with fierce realism. Rudali was made into a film in 1993.

A literary family

Mahasweta Devi was born into a family of writers and artists; her father Manish Ghatak was a poet and her uncle the filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak. She studied English at Visva-Bharati in Santiniketan and at Calcutta University and worked as a teacher and journalist.

Activism and honours

She worked for decades with tribal communities in West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand, especially the denotified tribes labelled “criminal” in colonial times, editing the journal Bortika as a platform for them. She received the Jnanpith Award in 1996, the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1997 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2006. She died in Kolkata on 28 July 2016.

Timeline

  1. 1926

    Born in Dacca, Bengal Presidency (now Dhaka, Bangladesh)

  2. 1956

    Jhansir Rani

  3. 1974

    Hajar Churashir Maa

  4. 1977

    Aranyer Adhikar

  5. 1979

    Sahitya Akademi Award

  6. 1996

    Jnanpith Award

  7. 1997

    Ramon Magsaysay Award

  8. 2006

    Padma Vibhushan

  9. 2016

    Dies in Kolkata

  10. 2016

    Died, aged 90

Notable works

  • 1956

    Jhansir Rani Book

  • 1974

    Hajar Churashir Maa Novel

  • 1977

    Aranyer Adhikar Novel

  • 1978

    Draupadi Short story

  • 1979

    Rudali Short story

Awards and honours

  • Sahitya Akademi Award

    1979 · Aranyer Adhikar.

  • Jnanpith Award

    1996

  • Ramon Magsaysay Award

    1997

  • Padma Vibhushan

    2006

Did you know?

  1. 1

    Her uncle was the filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak.

  2. 2

    Her first book was about the Rani of Jhansi.

  3. 3

    Several of her works were adapted into films.

Connections

Related people

Frequently asked

Who is Mahasweta Devi?

Mahasweta Devi was a Bengali writer and activist whose novels and stories gave voice to tribal communities, Dalits and the poor. Works such as Mother of 1084 and Aranyer Adhikar won major literary prizes, and she spent decades campaigning for denotified tribes. She died in 2016.

When did Mahasweta Devi die?

Mahasweta Devi died on 28 July 2016 at the age of 90.

Where is Mahasweta Devi from?

Mahasweta Devi was born in Dacca, Bengal Presidency (now Dhaka, Bangladesh).

What is Mahasweta Devi known for?

Mahasweta Devi is best known for Hajar Churashir Maa, Aranyer Adhikar, Rudali, Draupadi; activism for Adivasi rights.

What awards has Mahasweta Devi received?

Notable honours include Sahitya Akademi Award (1979), Jnanpith Award (1996), Ramon Magsaysay Award (1997), Padma Vibhushan (2006).

References

  1. Mahasweta Devi — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  2. Mahasweta Devi — IMDb. IMDb. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  3. Mahasweta Devi — Goodreads author page. Goodreads. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  4. Mahasweta Devi — Hindi Wikipedia. Wikipedia (Hindi). Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  5. Mahasweta Devi (Q144391) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 27 October 2026.

Includes material from the Wikipedia article “Mahasweta Devi”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That text is available under the same licence. Learn more

External links

Wikipedia
Filed under Adivasi rightsBengali literatureJnanpith Award ActivistWriter

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27 October 2026

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“Mahasweta Devi.” TrackFame, last updated 28 October 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/mahasweta-devi

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