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{{short description|Indian Bengali fiction writer and socio-political activist}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox writer 
| name = Mahasweta Devi
| image = Mahashweta_devi (cropped).jpg
| caption = Devi at the [[Ramon Magsaysay Award]] ceremony (1997)
| pseudonym =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1926|1|14|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Dhaka]], [[Bengal Presidency]], [[British India]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2016|7|28|1926|1|14|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Kolkata]], India
| occupation = Writer, [[activist]]
| alma_mater = [[Visva-Bharati University]] [[Calcutta University]]
| notableworks = ''[[Hajar Churashir Maa]]'' (Mother of 1084) ''[[Aranyer Adhikar]]'' (The Right of the Forest) ''Titu Mir''
| spouse = [[Bijon Bhattacharya]] (1947–1962) Asit Gupta (1965–1976)
| children = [[Nabarun Bhattacharya]]
| relatives = [[Manish Ghatak]] (father) Dharitri Devi (mother) [[Ritwik Ghatak]] (uncle)
| awards = [[Padma Vibhushan]] [[Padma Shri]] [[Sahitya Akademi Award]] [[Ramon Magsaysay Award]] [[Jnanpith Award]] [[SahityaBramha Award]] (2012) [[World Forum for Journalists and Writers, Kolkata]]
| signature = মহাশ্বেতা দেবীর স্বাক্ষর.svg
| website =
}}

'''Mahasweta Devi''' (14 January 1926 – 28 July 2016)<ref name=ram>[http://www.rmaf.org.ph/Awardees/Biography/BiographyDeviMah.htm Detailed Biography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100326080914/http://www.rmaf.org.ph/Awardees/Biography/BiographyDeviMah.htm |date=26 March 2010 }} ''[[Ramon Magsaysay Award]]''.</ref><ref name="Hawley2001">{{cite book|author=John Charles Hawley|title=Encyclopedia of Postcolonial Studies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tQILKOwnX-0C&pg=PA142|access-date=6 October 2012|year=2001|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-31192-5|pages=142–}}</ref> was an Indian writer in [[Bengali language|Bengali]] and an activist. Her notable literary works include ''[[Hajar Churashir Maa]]'', ''Rudali'', and ''Aranyer Adhikar''.<ref name=HinduCurtain>{{Cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/mahasweta-devi-tearing-the-curtain-of-darkness/article8922158.ece|title=Tearing the curtain of darkness|date=2016-07-31|newspaper=The Hindu|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X|access-date=2016-07-31}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/books/mahasweta-devi-the-life-immortal-gayatri-chakravorty-spivak-2943277/|title=Mahasweta Devi: The Life Immortal|work=The Indian Express|date=2016-07-30|access-date=2016-07-31}}</ref> She was honoured with various literary awards such as the [[Sahitya Akademi Award]] ([[Sahitya Akademi Award to Bengali Writers|in Bengali]]), [[Jnanpith Award]] and [[Ramon Magsaysay Award]] along with India's civilian awards [[Padma Shri]] and [[Padma Vibhushan]].<ref name="hindu">{{cite news|last1=Datta|first1=Sudipta|title=Tearing the curtain of darkness|url=http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/Tearing-the-curtain-of-darkness/article14517167.ece|access-date=27 June 2017|work=The Hindu|date=31 July 2016|type=Op-ed}}</ref>

== Early life and education ==
Mahasweta Devi was born in a [[brahmin]] family<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-08-29|title=O Tempora! O Mores!|url=https://www.thestatesman.com/opinion/o-tempora-o-mores-1503000149.html|access-date=2022-01-16|website=The Statesman|language=en-US}}</ref> on 14 Jan 1926 in [[Dacca]], [[British India]] (now [[Dhaka]], [[Bangladesh]]). Her father, [[Manish Ghatak]], was a poet and novelist<ref name="Panth 2016">{{cite news |last1=Panth |first1=Sirshendu |title=Mahasweta Devi lived like she wrote: Fearlessly and without restraint |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/books/mahasweta-devi-lived-like-she-wrote-fearlessly-and-without-restraint/story-ypNPCoE1gX1D0VDKjjaueO.html |access-date=21 June 2021 |work=Hindustan Times |date=July 28, 2016}}</ref> of the [[Kallol]] movement, who used the pseudonym Jubanashwa ({{lang-bn|যুবনাশ্ব}}).<ref name="Sethi2012">{{cite book|author=Sunil Sethi|title=The Big Bookshelf: Sunil Sethi in Conversation With 30 Famous Writers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iPDjseAl0ooC&pg=PA74|access-date=5 October 2012|date=15 February 2012|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-14-341629-6|pages=74–}}</ref> Ghatak's brother was filmmaker [[Ritwik Ghatak]].<ref name="Hindu28Jul16">{{cite news | url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/mahasweta-devi-writeractivist-passes-away/article8911291.ece | title=Mahasweta Devi passes away | work=The Hindu |place=Kolkata | date=28 July 2016 | access-date=29 July 2016}}</ref> Devi's mother, Dharitri Devi, was also a writer and a social worker<ref name="Panth 2016" /> whose brothers include sculptor Sankha Chaudhury and the founder-editor of ''Economic and Political Weekly'' of India, Sachin Chaudhury.

Devi's first schooling was in Dhaka,<ref name="Panth 2016" /> Eden Montessori School (1930). After that, she moved to [[West Bengal]] (now in India).<ref name="Panth 2016" /> Then she studied in Midnapore Mission Girls High School (1935). After that she was admitted to Santiniketan (1936 to 1938). After that, she studied at Beltala Girls' School (1939-1941) where she finished her matriculation. Then in 1944 she got I.A. from Asutosh College. She attended [[Rabindranath Tagore]]-founded [[Visva-Bharati University]] and completed a B.A. (Hons) in English, and then finished an M.A. in English at [[Calcutta University]].<ref name="Panth 2016" />{{Sfn|Johri|2010|p=150}}{{Sfn|Tharu|Lalita|1993|p=234}}

== Career ==

=== Literary works ===
Devi wrote over 100 novels and over 20 collections of short stories<ref name="Chatterjee 2020">{{cite news |last1=Chatterjee |first1=Debjani |title=Remembering Writer Mahasweta Devi - The Voice Of The Downtrodden |url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/mahasweta-devi-writer-activist-remembered-on-her-death-anniversary-today-2270039 |access-date=21 June 2021 |work=NDTV |agency=All India |date=July 28, 2020}}</ref> primarily written in [[Bengali language|Bengali]] but often translated to other languages.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/mahasweta-devi-dies-at-90-bengali-writer-social-activist/1/726438.html|title=Who was Mahasweta Devi? Why her death is a loss for Indian readers|access-date=2016-07-31}}</ref> Her first novel, titled ''Jhansir Rani'', based on a biography of the [[Rani of Jhansi]] was published in 1956.<ref name="Panth 2016" /> She had toured the [[Jhansi]] region to record information and folk songs from the local people for the novel.<ref name=HinduCurtain/>

Mahasweta Devi's specialisation lay in the studies of Adivasi, Dalit and Marginalized citizens with a focus on their women. They were associated as protestor in the face of [[British Empire|British colonialism]], the Mahajanas and upper class corruption and injustice. She lived in the Adivasi villages in West Bengal, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh years afer years, befriending them and learning from them. She has embodied their struggles and sacrifices in her words and characters.<ref name="Panth 2016" /> She had claimed that her stories aren't her creation, they are the stories of the people of her country. Such an example is her work " Chotti Mundi Ebong Tar Tir"

In 1964, she began teaching<ref name="Panth 2016" /> at [[Vijaygarh Jyotish Ray College]] (an affiliated college of the [[University of Calcutta]] system). In those days Vijaygarh Jyotish Ray College was an institution for working-class women students. During that period she also worked—as a journalist<ref name="Panth 2016" /> and as a creative writer. She studied the ''Lodhas'' and ''Shabars'', the tribal communities of West Bengal, women and [[dalit (outcaste)|dalits]]. In her elaborate Bengali fiction, she often depicted the brutal oppression on the tribal people and untouchables by the powerful authoritarian upper-caste landlords, money-lenders, and venal government officials.{{Sfn|Johri|2010|p=150}} She wrote of the source of her inspiration:
{{blockquote|text=
I have always believed that the real history is made by ordinary people. I constantly come across the reappearance, in various forms, of folklore, ballads, myths and legends, carried by ordinary people across generations. ... The reason and inspiration for my writing are those people who are exploited and used, and yet do not accept defeat. For me, the endless source of ingredients for writing is in these amazingly noble, suffering human beings. Why should I look for my raw material elsewhere, once I have started knowing them? Sometimes it seems to me that my writing is really their doing.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/ofwomenoutcastes00bardrich | url-access=registration | title=Of Women, Outcastes, Peasants, and Rebels: A Selection of Bengali Short Stories | publisher=University of California Press | author=Bardhan, Kalpana | year=1990 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/ofwomenoutcastes00bardrich/page/24 24] | isbn=9780520067141}}</ref>
}}
[[Postcolonial]] scholar [[Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak]] has translated Devi's short stories into English and published three books ''Imaginary Maps'' (1995, Routledge), ''Old Woman'' (1997, Seagull), ''The Breast Stories'' (1997, Seagull).<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y27-uhJSE6IC&pg=PA145 | title=Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak | publisher=Routledge | author=Stephen Morton | year=2003 | pages=144–145 |isbn=978-1-13458-383-6}}</ref>

=== Social activity ===
Mahasweta Devi raised her voice several times against the discrimination suffered by tribal people in India.<ref name=HinduCurtain/> Devi's 1977 novel ''Aranyer Adhikar'' (Right to the Forest) was about the life of [[Birsa Munda]].<ref name=HinduCurtain/> And in June 2016, consequent to Devi's activism, the [[Jharkhand State Government]] finally saw to the removal of the manacles from the figure of Munda, which had been part of the commemorative sculpture of the notable young tribal leader due to its having been based on a photograph dating from the era of British rule.

Devi spearheaded the movement against the industrial policy of the earlier [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]] government of West Bengal. Specifically, she stridently criticized confiscation from farmers of large tracts of fertile agricultural land by the government which then ceded it to industrial houses at throwaway prices. She supported the candidature of [[Mamata Banarjee]] in the [[2011 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election]] which resulted in the end of the 34-year long rule of CPI(M).<ref name="IE29Jul16">{{cite news | url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/mahasweta-devi-author-writer-social-activist-death-2941143/ | title=Mahasweta Devi, voice of subaltern, rebellion | work=The Indian Express| date=29 July 2016 | access-date=1 August 2016 | author=Biswas, Premankur}}</ref><ref name="Panth 2016" /> She had connected the policy to the commercialization of [[Santiniketan]] of [[Rabindranath Tagore]], where she spent her formative years. Her lead in the [[Nandigram violence|Nandigram agitation]] resulted in a number of intellectuals, artists, writers and theatre workers joining in protest of the controversial policy and particularly its implementation in [[Singur]] and [[Nandigram]].<ref name=HinduCurtain/>

She is known to have helped the noted writer [[Manoranjan Byapari|Manoranjan Bypari]] to come into prominence as his initial writings were published in her journal and as prompted by her.

At the [[Frankfurt Book Fair]] 2006, when India was the first country to be the Fair's second time guest nation, she made an impassioned inaugural speech wherein she moved the audience to tears with her lines taken from the famous film song "[[Mera Joota Hai Japani]]" by [[Raj Kapoor]].{{Sfn|Johri|2010|p=153}}
{{blockquote|text=
This is truly the age where the Joota (shoe) is Japani (Japanese), Patloon (pants) is Englistani (British), the Topi (hat) is Roosi (Russian), But the Dil... Dil (heart) is always Hindustani (Indian)... My country, Torn, Tattered, Proud, Beautiful, Hot, Humid, Cold, Sandy, Shining India. My country.{{Sfn|Johri|2010|p=153}}
}}

In 1997, president [[Shankar Dayal Sharma]] commuted two death sentences after Devi led a petition campaign.<ref name="Chishti 2015">{{cite news |last1=Chishti |first1=Seema |title=Pranab Mukherjee’s role in deciding Yakub’s petition raises fresh questions on powers of President’s office |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/sunday-story-changing-picture/ |access-date=26 November 2021 |work=[[Indian Express]] |date=August 2, 2015}}</ref> In 2012, she was one of more than 215 signatories, along with [[Nandita Das]], [[Aamir Bashir]], and [[Anusha Rizvi]], to a petition delivered to president [[Pranab Mukherjee]] that opposed the death penalty after [[2008 Mumbai attacks#Kasab's trial|the conviction of Ajmal Kasab]] following the [[2008 Mumbai attacks]] and instead favored life imprisonment.<ref name="Janwalkar 2012"/> The letter stated, "In the land of Buddha, Mahavira and Gandhiji, let it not be said there is no place in our hearts for mercy."<ref name="Janwalkar 2012">{{cite news |last1=Janwalkar |first1=Mayura |title=Don’t hang him, give him a chance to atone, citizens wrote to President |url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/don-t-hang-him-give-him-a-chance-to-atone-citizens-wrote-to-president/1034566/0 |access-date=26 November 2021 |work=[[Indian Express]] |date=November 22, 2012}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
On 27 February in 1947, she married renowned playwright [[Bijon Bhattacharya]], who was one of the founding fathers of the [[Indian People's Theatre Association]] movement.<ref name="Hindu28Jul16" /> In 1948, she gave birth to [[Nabarun Bhattacharya]], who became a novelist and political critic.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kolkata/writer-nabarun-bhattacharya-passes-away/article6271522.ece|title=Writer Nabarun Bhattacharya passes away|date=1 August 2014|work=The Hindu|access-date=29 July 2016}}</ref> She worked in a post office but was fired for her communist leaning.{{Sfn|Tharu|Lalita|1993|p=234}} She went on to do various jobs, such as selling soaps and writing letters in English for illiterate people. In 1962, she married author Asit Gupta after divorcing Bhattacharya.{{Sfn|Tharu|Lalita|1993|p=234}} In 1976, the relationship with Gupta ended.

== Death ==
[[File:Mahasweta Devi memorial.jpg|thumb|upright|Mahasweta Devi Memorial unveiled at Adivasi Academy of [[Tejgadh]], Gujarat]]
On 23 July 2016, Devi suffered a major [[heart attack]] and was admitted to [[Belle Vue Clinic, Kolkata]]. Devi died of [[multiple organ failure]] on 28 July 2016, aged 90.<ref name="Scroll">{{cite news|author=Scroll Staff|title=Eminent writer Mahasweta Devi dies at 90 in Kolkata|url=http://scroll.in/latest/811738/eminent-writer-mahasweta-devi-dies-at-90-in-kolkata|access-date=28 July 2016|work=Scroll}}</ref> She had suffered from [[diabetes]], [[sepsis]] and [[urinary infection]].<ref name="Hindu28Jul16"/>

On her death, [[Mamata Banerjee]], Chief Minister of West Bengal tweeted "India has lost a great writer. Bengal has lost a glorious mother. I have lost a personal guide. Mahasweta Di rest in peace."<ref name="Hindu28Jul16"/> Prime Minister [[Narendra Modi]] tweeted "Mahashweta Devi wonderfully illustrated the might of the pen. A voice of compassion, equality & justice, she leaves us deeply saddened. RIP."<ref name="Hindu28Jul16"/>

== Awards and recognition ==
* 1979: [[Sahitya Akademi Award]] ([[Sahitya Akademi Award to Bengali Writers|Bengali]]): – ''Aranyer Adhikar'' (novel)<ref name="Award">{{Cite web|url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/mahasweta-devi-dies-at-90-bengali-writer-social-activist/1/726438.html|title=Who was Mahasweta Devi? Why her death is a loss for Indian readers|access-date=2016-07-31 |work = India Today}}</ref>
* [[Padma Shri Awards (1980-1989)|1986]]: [[Padma Shri]] for Social Work<ref name="award80-89">{{cite web|title=Padma Awards Directory (1954–2014)|url=http://www.mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/YearWiseListOfRecipientsBharatRatnaPadmaAwards-1954-2014.pdf|publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs (India)|date=21 May 2014|access-date=22 March 2016|pages=72–94|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161115022326/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/YearWiseListOfRecipientsBharatRatnaPadmaAwards-1954-2014.pdf|archive-date=15 November 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* 1996: [[Jnanpith Award]] – the highest literary award from the [[Bharatiya Jnanpith]]<ref name="Award"/>
* 1997: [[Ramon Magsaysay Award]] – [[List of Magsaysay awardees#Journalism, Literature, and the Creative Communication Arts|Journalism, Literature, and the Creative Communication Arts]] for "compassionate crusade through art and activism to claim for tribal peoples a just and honorable place in India’s national life."<ref name="Hawley2001" /><ref>[http://www.rmaf.org.ph/Awardees/Citation/CitationDeviMah.htm Citation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426164807/http://www.rmaf.org.ph/Awardees/Citation/CitationDeviMah.htm |date=26 April 2012 }} [[Ramon Magsaysay Award]].</ref>{{Sfn|Prasad|2006|p=216}}
* 2003: [[List of members of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres|Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres]]<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-literaryreview/of-ordinary-lives/article3218963.ece | title=Of ordinary lives | work=The Hindu | date=1 January 2006 | access-date=1 August 2016 | author=Kurian, Nimi}}</ref>
* 2006: [[Padma Vibhushan]] – the second highest civilian award from the [[Government of India]]<ref name="Award" />
* 2007: [[SAARC Literary Award]]<ref>{{cite news | url=http://archive.thedailystar.net/2007/04/14/d704142103101.htm | title=On Hallowed Ground: SAARC Translation Workshop at Belur, Kolkata | work=The Daily Star | date=14 April 2007 | access-date=31 July 2016 | author=Haq, Kaiser}}</ref>
* 2009: Shortlisted for the [[Man Booker International Prize]]<ref>{{cite web | url=http://themanbookerprize.com/international/2009 | title=The Man Booker International Prize 2009 | work=Man Booker Prize | access-date=31 July 2016}}</ref>
* 2010: Yashwantrao Chavan National Award<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/yashwantrao-chavan-award-for-mahasweta-devi/article1532464.ece | title=Yashwantrao Chavan Award for Mahasweta Devi | work=The Hindu | date=13 March 2011 | access-date=31 July 2016}}</ref>
* 2011: [[Banga Bibhushan]] – the highest civilian award from the [[Government of West Bengal]]<ref>{{cite news | url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Soumitra-refuses-Banga-Bibhushan-Award/articleshow/20142611.cms | title=Soumitra refuses Banga Bibhushan Award | work=The Times of India | date=20 May 2013 | access-date=31 July 2016}}</ref>
* 2012: Nominated for [[Nobel Prize for Literature]]
* On 14 January 2018, [[Google]] honored Mahasweta Devi on her 92nd birth anniversary, celebrating her work by creating a [[Google Doodle|doodle]] on her.<ref>{{cite news|title=Who is Mahasweta Devi? Google Doodle celebrates 92nd birth anniversary of Indian writer|url=http://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/who-is-mahasweta-devi-google-doodle-celebrates-92nd-birth-anniversary-of-indian-writer/1013990/|publisher=[[The Financial Express (India)|Financial Express]]|date=14 January 2018}}</ref>

== Major works ==
Devi's major works include:{{Sfn|Tharu|Lalita|1993|p=235}}
* ''Jhansi Rani'' (1956, biography)<ref name="Chatterjee 2020" />
**''The Queen of Jhansi'', by Mahasweta Devi (translated by Sagaree and Mandira Sengupta). This book is a reconstruction of the life of [[Rani of Jhansi|Rani Lakshmi Bai]] from extensive research of both historical documents (collected mostly by G. C. Tambe, grandson of the Queen) and folk tales, poetry and oral tradition; the original in Bengali was published in 1956; the English translation by Seagull Books, Calcutta, 2000, {{ISBN|8170461758}}
* ''[[Hajar Churashir Maa]]'' (1974, novel, ''Mother of 1084'')<ref name="Chatterjee 2020" />
* ''Aranyer Adhikar'' (1979, novel ''Right to the Forest'')<ref name="Chatterjee 2020" />
* ''Agnigarbha'' (1978, short stories collection)<ref name="Chatterjee 2020" />
* ''Murti'' (1979, short stories collection)
* ''Neerete Megh'' (1979, short stories collection)
* ''Stanyadayani'' (1980, short stories collection)
* ''Chotti Munda Ebong Tar Tir'' (1980, short stories collection)

=== Film adaptations ===
* ''[[Sunghursh (1968 film)|Sunghursh]]'' (1968), Hindi film based on short story ''Layli Asmaner Ayna''<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160417/jsp/7days/story_80508.jsp | title=The book thief | work=The Telegraph |location=Kolkata | date=17 April 2016 | access-date=31 July 2016 | author=Upala Sen}}</ref>
* ''[[Rudaali]]'' (1993)<ref name="Chatterjee 2020" /><ref name="Indiatoday28Jul16">{{cite web | url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/mahasweta-devi-death-dead-famous-films-rudaali-hazaar-chaurasi-ki-maa/1/726293.html | title=Mahasweta Devi, RIP: Rudaali to Sunghursh, 5 films that immortalise the author's works | work=India Today| date=28 July 2016 | access-date=31 July 2016 | author=Devarsi Ghosh}}</ref>
* Bayen (Hindi) (1993) a film based on Short story Directed by Gul Bahar singh
* ''[[Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa]]'' (1998)<ref name="Chatterjee 2020" /><ref name="Indiatoday28Jul16"/>
* ''[[Maati Maay]]'' (2006), Marathi film based on short story B''aayen''<ref name="Indiatoday28Jul16"/><ref name=fron>{{usurped|[https://web.archive.org/web/20080227051654/http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2320/stories/20061020001908200.htm Marathi cinema has been producing a range of serious films..]}} ''[[Frontline (magazine)|Frontline]]'', The Hindu Group, Volume 23 – Issue 20: 7–20 Oct. 2006.</ref>
* ''[[Gangor (film)|Gangor]]'' (2010), Italian film based on short story ''Choli Ke Peeche''<ref name="Indiatoday28Jul16"/>
*[[Ullas (film)|''Ullas'']] (Bengali film based on three short stories— ''Daur'', ''Mahadu Ekti Rupkatha'' and ''Anna Aranya'') directed by Ishwar Chakraborty, released in 2012.

== In popular culture ==
''[[Mahananda (film)|Mahananda]],'' a Bengali film based on her life and works, directed by acclaimed director [[Arindam Sil]] was released on 2022. [[Gargi Roychowdhury]] essayed the titular role in the film.

== See also ==
* [[List of Indian writers]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|40em}}

=== Biography ===
* {{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j1iegDJAYakC&pg=PA153| title=Greatness of Spirit: Profiles of Indian Magsaysay Award Winners | publisher=Rajpal & Sons | last=Johri |first= Meera | year=2010 | isbn=978-8-17028-858-9}}
* {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QN0CNTVzO24C&pg=PA222 |title=Feminism in Indian Writing in English |first1= Amar Nath |last1=Prasad |publisher= Sarup & Sons |year= 2006 |isbn=978-8-17625-684-1}}
* {{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OjZYf9Xf9bcC&pg=PA234 | title=Women Writing in India: The twentieth century | publisher=Feminist Press at CUNY | first1=Susie J. |last1=Tharu |first2=Ke |last2=Lalita | year=1993 | isbn=978-1-55861-029-3}}

== External links ==
* {{Internet Archive author}}
* {{IMDb name|1194313}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070624103630/http://films.shashwati.com/about-mahasweta-devi Mahasweta Devi: Witness, Advocate, Writer] – A film on Mahasweta Devi by Shashwati Talukdar
* [http://www.rediff.com/news/dec/24devi.htm The Rediff Interview/Mahasweta Devi]

{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Social Work}}
{{Jnanpith Award}}
{{Padma Vibhushan Awards}}
{{RMA winners of India}}
{{SAARC Literary Award|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Devi, Mahashweta}}
[[Category:1926 births]]
[[Category:2016 deaths]]
[[Category:Writers from Kolkata]]
[[Category:Bengali Hindus]]
[[Category:Indian women activists]]
[[Category:Indian human rights activists]]
[[Category:Bengali writers]]
[[Category:Bengali-language writers]]
[[Category:Women writers from West Bengal]]
[[Category:Visva-Bharati University alumni]]
[[Category:University of Calcutta alumni]]
[[Category:University of Calcutta faculty]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in social work]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Jnanpith Award]]
[[Category:Ramon Magsaysay Award winners]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in literature & education]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Bengali]]
[[Category:Officiers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian short story writers]]
[[Category:Indian women short story writers]]
[[Category:Indian Hindus]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian novelists]]
[[Category:Indian women novelists]]
[[Category:Bengali language activists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian educators]]
[[Category:Activists from West Bengal]]
[[Category:Novelists from West Bengal]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian biographers]]
[[Category:Indian women non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Women biographers]]
[[Category:People associated with Santiniketan]]
[[Category:People from Dhaka]]
[[Category:20th-century women educators]]

Mahasweta Devi - Revision history

CleanupBot II at 21:43, 13 August 2023