Md Omar Faruq at 04:36, 29 April 2026

2026-04-29T04:36:57Z

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{{short description|Indian Bengali writer and poet (born 1956)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Anita Agnihotri <br />অনিতা অগ্নিহোত্রী
| image = The Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Ms. Anita Agnihotri and the MD-NSKFDC (cropped).jpg
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|24 September 1956|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Calcutta]], West Bengal, India
| citizenship = Indian
| occupation = Author, retired civil servant
| spouse =
| website = {{URL|https://www.anitaagnihotri.com}}
}}

'''Anita Agnihotri''' ({{langx|bn|অনিতা অগ্নিহোত্রী}}; born 24 September 1956) is an [[Indian Bengali]] writer and poet. Her works have been translated into several major Indian and foreign languages, including English, Swedish and German.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Book and Borrow |url=https://www.bookandborrow.com/AuthorDetails.asp?autID=2413 |access-date=2024-05-07 |website=www.bookandborrow.com}}</ref>

==Early life and career==
Anita Agnihotri (née Chatterjee) was born and spent her childhood in [[Kolkata]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival 2023 {{!}} Literature Festival India – Delegates {{!}} AKLF |url=https://www.aklf.in/delegates-2023.htm#ANITAAGNIHOTRI |access-date=2023-05-06 |website=www.aklf.in}}</ref> She earned a [[Bachelor of Arts]] in economics at [[Presidency University, Kolkata|Presidency College in Kolkata]], and graduated with a [[Master of Economics|master's in economics]] from [[University of Calcutta|Calcutta University]].<ref name=":1" />

She was selected for the [[Indian Administrative Service]] (IAS) in 1980 to the Odisha cadre. She went on to have a 37-year career in the civil service.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Admin |first=Second |title=About Me |url=https://www.anitaagnihotri.com/about-anita-agnihotri.html |access-date=2025-07-02 |website=Anita Agnihotri |language=en-GB}}</ref> As an IAS, she was Collector of Sundargarh district of Odisha and was Principal Secretary in Departments of Textiles and Industries. In 1991, she took a sabbatical from IAS and completed master's in development economics from the [[University of East Anglia]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Format of Bio data |url=https://www.dpe.gov.in/sites/default/files/1-anitaagnihotri22112016.pdf |access-date=2 July 2025}}</ref>

At the centre, she was a Joint Director General in [[Directorate General of Foreign Trade]] (DGFT) between 1996 and 2001, and then Development Commissioner of [[SEEPZ]], Mumbai in 2008–2011 at the rank of Joint Secretary. She was also the member secretary of the [[National Commission for Women]]. She retired in 2016 as Secretary, [[Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment]], [[Government of India]].

==Writing==
Anita commenced writing at an early age. The writer [[Bimal Kar]] encouraged her to pursue a literary career. As a school student, she used to write for renowned filmmaker [[Satyajit Ray]]'s children's magazine [[Sandesh (magazine)|Sandesh]], something that gave her confidence and also shaped her literary sensibilities. Her writing has been compared with that of noted Bengali writer [[Mahasweta Devi]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/brave-in-babudom/article28152369.ece|title=Brave in babudom|work=The Hindu |date=22 February 2005|accessdate=17 November 2024|via=www.thehindu.com}}</ref>

[[File:The Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Ms. Anita Agnihotri and the MD-NSKFDC.jpg|thumb|300px| The Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Ms. Anita Agnihotri and the MD-NSKFDC]]
In 1991, on a sabbatical from the IAS to pursue a course on rural development in UK's Anglia Ruskin University, she wrote the novella 'Mahuldiha Days capturing the incidents that she had encountered as an administrator in Odisha's Mahuldiha.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Team |first=BoI |title=Know Your Babu: New Hupa secretary Anita Agnihotri is a noted Bengali writer, poet |url=http://www.babusofindia.com/2014/03/know-your-babu-new-hupa-secretary-anita.html |access-date=2025-07-02}}</ref>

In 2015, Anita's book Mahanadi was published. The eponymous book is written with the river [[Mahanadi]] in the first person. It tells the story of a river that flows through some of the least developed (and poorest) regions of Chhattisgarh and Odisha, and the profound influence of the river on the regions society, culture and economics.{{Citation needed|date= May 2022}}

In 2021, Niyogi Books published the English translation of [[Mahanadi]] under the imprint Thornbird.{{Citation needed|date= May 2022}}

==Awards and recognition==
{{BLP unreferenced section|date= May 2022}}
* Tapasi basu Smriti Puraskar 1429, awarded by [[Bangiya Sahitya Parishat]] (2022)
* Khonj Sahitya Puraskar 2022, awarded by Khonj Sahitya Patrika, West Bengal, India.<ref>{{Cite web |title=খোঁজ সাহিত্য পত্রিকা |url=https://www.facebook.com/people/%E0%A6%96%E0%A7%8B%E0%A6%81%E0%A6%9C-%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B9%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AF-%E0%A6%AA%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%95%E0%A6%BE/100001686228268/ |access-date=2022-05-19 |website=www.facebook.com |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Pratibha Basu]] Smriti Puraskar (2016, awarded by Damayanti Basu Singh)
* Sailajananda Smarak Sahitya Samman 2014, awarded by Paschimbanga Bangla Akademi
* Economist-Crossword Award, 2011 in the category 'Indian Language Fiction Translation' for Anita's collection of stories Seventeen, translated from Bengali by Arunava Sinha<ref>{{Cite web |title=Crossword Book Awards {{!}} Indian literary awards {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/art/Crossword-Book-Awards |access-date=2023-05-06 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Gajendrakumar Mitra|Gajendra Kumar Mitra]] Smriti Puraskar (2010, awarded by Mitra and Ghosh Publishers)
* Bhuban Mohini Dasi Gold Medal by the [[University of Calcutta]] for contribution to Bengali literature, awarded in 2010
* Galpamela Puraskar 2007, awarded by Galpamela, Chandannagore
* Sarat Puraskar 2004, awarded by [[Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay|Sarat]] Shatabarshiki Samiti, Bhagalpur
* Indu Basu Smriti Puraskar (1998)
* Sahitya Setu Puraskar, awarded by Sahitya Setu group, Bansberia
* Bangla Academy [[Somen Chanda]] Puraskar, awarded by [[Paschimbanga Bangla Akademi]] (Anita returned this award in protest of the [[Nandigram violence|killing of innocent people in Nandigram]])

==Bibliography==
===Poetry collections===

* Chandan Gaachh (1987)
* Brishti Asbe (1992)
* Snajowa Bahini Jay (1995)
* Nirbachita Kabita (1996)
* Braille (2002)
* Kritanjali Megh (2008)
* Kabita Samagra (2009)
* MalimHarbour (2015)
* Ayna Matrisama (2016)
* Shreshtha Kabita (2019)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Shrestha Kavita, Anita Agnihotri, bestseller, poem, collection of Bengali poems {{!}} Deyspublishing|url=http://www.deyspublishing.com/index.php?route=product/product&manufacturer_id=63&product_id=3416|access-date=2021-04-20|website=www.deyspublishing.com|archive-date=20 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420114149/http://www.deyspublishing.com/index.php?route=product/product&manufacturer_id=63&product_id=3416|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Novels===

* Mahuldihar Din (1996)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ananda Publishers|url=https://www.anandapub.in/book-detail/2101|access-date=2021-05-25|website=www.anandapub.in}}</ref>
* Jara Bhalobesechhilo (1998, new Sopan edition 2019)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Jara Bhalobesechhilo – Sopan|url=https://sopanbooks.in/catalogue/jara-bhalobesechhilo/|access-date=2021-04-20|language=en-US}}</ref>
* Akalbodhan (2003)
* Alik Jiban (2006)
* Sukhabasi (2009)
* Aynay Manush Nai (2013)
* Mahanadi (2015)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mahanadi, Anita Agnihotri, bestseller, novel, Bengali novel {{!}} Deyspublishing|url=http://www.deyspublishing.com/index.php?route=product/product&manufacturer_id=63&product_id=2815|access-date=2021-04-20|website=www.deyspublishing.com|archive-date=20 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420115651/http://www.deyspublishing.com/index.php?route=product/product&manufacturer_id=63&product_id=2815|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* Upanyas Samagra (2018)
* Kaste (2019)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kaste, Anita Agnihotri, bestseller, novel, Bengali novel {{!}} Deyspublishing|url=http://www.deyspublishing.com/index.php?route=product/product&manufacturer_id=63&product_id=3034|access-date=2021-04-20|website=www.deyspublishing.com|archive-date=20 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420114149/http://www.deyspublishing.com/index.php?route=product/product&manufacturer_id=63&product_id=3034|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* Mahakantar (2021)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mahakantar, Anita Agnihotri, Bestseller, Novel, Bengali Novel {{!}} Deyspublishing|url=http://www.deyspublishing.com/index.php?route=product/product&manufacturer_id=63&product_id=5051|access-date=2021-05-25|website=www.deyspublishing.com|archive-date=25 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210525101317/http://www.deyspublishing.com/index.php?route=product/product&manufacturer_id=63&product_id=5051|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* Labanakta (2022)<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first=|title=Labanakta Anita Agnihotri |url=https://www.deyspublishing.com/product/labanakta-e9nmm |access-date=2022-05-19 |website=www.deyspublishing.com |language=en |archive-date=18 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220618043345/http://www.deyspublishing.com/product/labanakta-e9nmm |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* Aynay Manush Nai (2023)<ref>https://www.deyspublishing.com/product/aynay-manus-nai-qm5lb</ref>

===Collections of short stories===

* Chandan Rekha (1993)
* Pratikshan Galpa Sankalan (1997)
* Tarani (2000)
* Atal Sparsha (2006)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ananda Publishers|url=https://www.anandapub.in/book-detail/2893|access-date=2021-05-25|website=www.anandapub.in}}</ref>
* Shrestha Galpa (2003, enlarged 2018)
* Panchashti Galpa (2012)
* Dashti Galpa (2009)
* Bhalobasar Galpa (2018)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bhalobasar Galpo – Sopan|url=https://sopanbooks.in/catalogue/anita-agnihotri-bhalobasar-galpo/|access-date=2021-04-20|language=en-US}}</ref>
* Sera Panchashti Galpa (2018)<ref>{{Cite web|title=SERA PANCHASTI GALPA, ANITA AGNIHOTRI, SHORT STORIES, BESTSELLER, COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES|url=http://www.deyspublishing.com/index.php?route=product/product&manufacturer_id=63&product_id=2817|access-date=2021-04-20|website=www.deyspublishing.com|archive-date=20 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420114152/http://www.deyspublishing.com/index.php?route=product/product&manufacturer_id=63&product_id=2817|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* Panchashti Galpa (2019)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ananda Publishers|url=https://www.anandapub.in/book-detail/3353|access-date=2021-05-25|website=www.anandapub.in}}</ref>
* Palasher Ayu (2022)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Palasher Ayu |url=https://www.patrabharati.com/shop/palasher-ayu/ |access-date=2022-05-19 |website=Patra Bharati {{!}} Prestigious Bengali Books |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Children's and juvenile literature===

* Akim O Porikonye (1993)
* Akim O Dwiper Manush, Akim Niruddesh, Ratan Master er Pathshala, Bandi Rajkumar (2004)
* Joyramer Sinduk (2006)
* Ebu Gogo (2009)
* Chhotoder Galpa Samagra (2012)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Chhotoder Golpomela – Sopan|url=https://sopanbooks.in/catalogue/chhotoder-golpomela/|access-date=2021-04-20|language=en-US}}</ref>
* Chhotoder Galpamela (2020)
* Gachhera Gelo Berate (2023)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=704576641339363&set=pb.100053610998216.-2207520000.&type=3|title=Facebook|website=www.facebook.com|accessdate=17 November 2024}}</ref>

===Essay collections / non-fictions===

* Kolkatar Pratima Shilpira (2001)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ananda Publishers|url=https://www.anandapub.in/book-detail/2540|access-date=2021-05-25|website=www.anandapub.in}}</ref>
* Unnayan O Prantik Manush (2007)
* Desher Bhitor Desh (2013)
* Ei Andhare Ke Jage (2019)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ei Andhare ke jage- Anita Agnihotri – Karigar Publishers|url=http://www.karigarpublishers.com/product/ei-andhare-ke-jage-anita-agnihotri/|access-date=2021-04-20}}</ref>
* Rod Bataser Path (2021)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Rod Bataser Path, Anita Agnihotri, Bestseller, Autobiography, Bengali Autobiography {{!}} Deyspublishing|url=http://www.deyspublishing.com/index.php?route=product/product&manufacturer_id=63&product_id=5017|access-date=2021-05-25|website=www.deyspublishing.com|archive-date=25 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210525101315/http://www.deyspublishing.com/index.php?route=product/product&manufacturer_id=63&product_id=5017|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* Amar Pratibader Bhasha (2022)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Amar Protibader Bhasha [Anita Agnihotri] |url=https://boighar.in/product/amar-protibader-bhasha-anita-agnihotri/ |access-date=2022-05-19 |website=Boighar Dot In |language=en-US}}</ref>
* Likhte Likhte Athoi Door (2023)<ref>https://www.deyspublishing.com/product/likhte-likhte-athoi-door-wibaw</ref>
* ''Involuntary Displacement in Dam Projects'' edited by A.B. Ota & Anita Agnihotri; foreword by Michael Cernea. Prachi Prakashan, 1996. {{ISBN|8185824037}}

===Translated books===

* Those who had known love (2000)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Agnihotrī |first1=Anitā. |title=Those who had known love = Jara Bhalobesecchilo |date=2000 |publisher=Srishti Publishers & Distributors |location=New Delhi |isbn=9788187075561}}</ref>
* Forest Interludes (2001/ Kali for Women)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Forest Interludes: A Collection of Journals & Fiction – Zubaan|url=https://zubaanbooks.com/shop/forest-interludes-a-collection-of-short-stories/|access-date=2021-04-20|language=en-US}}</ref>
* Dagar I Mahuldiha (Swedish) (2006 / Bokförlaget Tranan)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Dagar i Mahuldiha: berättelser och reportage från östra Indien|url=https://tranan.nu/bocker/dagar-i-mahuldiha-berattelser-och-reportage-fran-ostra-indien/|access-date=2021-04-20|website=Bokförlaget Tranan – Köp böcker direkt från våra förlagshyllor|language=sv-SE}}</ref>
* The Awakening (2009/ Zubaan)<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Awakening – Zubaan|url=https://zubaanbooks.com/shop/the-awakening/|access-date=2021-04-20|language=en-US}}</ref>
* Sabotage (2013)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Agnihotrī |first1=Anitā |title=Sabotage |date=2013 |location=New Delhi |isbn=9788187358732}}</ref>
* Seventeen (2015/ Zubaan)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Seventeen – Zubaan|url=https://zubaanbooks.com/shop/seventeen/|access-date=2021-04-20|language=en-US}}</ref>
* Mahuldiha Days (2018/Zubaan)<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Mahuldiha Days – Zubaan|url=https://zubaanbooks.com/shop/mahuldiha-days/|access-date=2021-04-20|language=en-US}}</ref>
* A Day in the life of Mangal Taram ( 2020)<ref>{{Cite news|title=Review: A Day in the Life of Mangal Taram|url=https://www.thehindu.com/books/creatures-of-blood-and-bone-review-of-anita-agnihotris-a-day-in-the-life-of-mangal-taram/article31363427.ece|access-date=2021-12-08|work=[[The Hindu]]|date=18 April 2020 |last1=k. b |first1=Pragati }}</ref>
* The Sickle (2021)<ref>{{Cite news|title=Book excerpt: In The Sickle, Anita Agnihotri foregrounds the lives of Marathwada farmers and migrant workers|work=Firstpost|url=https://www.firstpost.com/living/book-excerpt-in-the-sickle-anita-agnihotri-foregrounds-the-lives-of-marathwada-farmers-and-migrant-workers-9341131.html|access-date=20 April 2021}}</ref>
* Mahanadi (2021/ Niyogi Books)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Author Anita Agnihotri's next to be based on Mahanadi|date=10 February 2021 |url=https://www.thestatesman.com/books-education/author-anita-agnihotris-next-based-mahanadi-1502951402.html|access-date=2021-12-08|publisher=The Statesman|language=en-US}}</ref>
*Mahanadi (2023/ Setu Prakashan) (Hindi, translated by Lipika Saha)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.anitaagnihotri.com/ Official website]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Agnihotri, Anita}}
[[Category:1956 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Bengali Hindus]]
[[Category:21st-century Bengali people]]
[[Category:Bengali women poets]]
[[Category:20th-century Bengali poets]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian poets]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian poets]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian translators]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian translators]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian novelists]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian novelists]]
[[Category:Indian women short story writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian short story writers]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian short story writers]]
[[Category:Indian children's writers]]
[[Category:Indian women children's writers]]
[[Category:Indian women essayists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian essayists]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian essayists]]
[[Category:Indian women non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:University of Calcutta alumni]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of East Anglia]]
[[Category:Writers from Kolkata]]
[[Category:Women writers from West Bengal]]
[[Category:Bengali-language novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian civil servants]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women civil servants]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women poets]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian women poets]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women novelists]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian women novelists]]

Anita Agnihotri - Revision history

Md Omar Faruq at 04:36, 29 April 2026