The short story collection “Heart Lamp” by Indian author, lawyer, and activist Banu Mushtaq has earned the esteemed International Booker Prize.

At a ceremony on Tuesday at London’s Tate Modern, the prize was presented.

On Wednesday, Mushtaq received sincere greetings from Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy.

“Congratulations to Banu Mushtaq, the proud Kannada author who has been awarded the International Booker Prize,” Siddaramaiah stated. This is a time for Kannada, Karnataka, and Kannadigas to celebrate.

“Banu Mushtaq, who has embraced and expressed the true values of harmony, secularism, and brotherhood rooted in this land, has brought great pride to us all by raising the flag of Kannada’s literary excellence on an international platform,” said Siddaramaiah.

“I wish that she continues to write with the same integrity and spirit for many more years, spreading the fragrance of Kannada literature across the world,” added the chief minister.

“I also extend congratulations, on behalf of all Kannadigas, to the talented writer Deepa Bhasthi, who translated the Booker-winning work ‘Hridaya Deepa’ into English,” he said.

For all Kannadigas, this is a time of pride, stated Union Minister Kumaraswamy. Sincere congrats to our nation’s renowned writer, Banu Mushtaq, who has been awarded the coveted International Booker Prize.

He also congratulated author Deepa Bhasthi, who created the English translation of Banu Mushtaq’s Booker Prize-winning novel “Hridaya Deepa.”

“May Banu Mushtaq produce many more outstanding pieces in the future. I hope her contributions make Kannada literature even more rich and that Kannada’s aroma permeates around the globe,” H. D. Kumaraswamy said.

The first Kannada-language novel to get the coveted award is “Heart Lamp.” The struggles faced by Muslim women in Southern India are a major theme of the novel. Thirteen short tales, spanning three decades from 1990 to 2023, are included in the collection.

She married a guy of her choosing and started writing while still in school. Her thoughts and anecdotes on Muslim women’s tenacity upset the core principles.

Mushtaq persisted in speaking up for Muslim women despite being the target of assaults and fatwas.

After receiving the prize, Mushtaq called the recognition a triumph for multiculturalism. Six books from across the globe made the shortlist for her book.