Banu Mushtaq, a celebrated writer, activist, and lawyer, has carved a unique space in the literary world with her unwavering commitment to truth and resistance. As the winner of the 2025 International Booker Prize for her work ‘Heart Lamp,’ Mushtaq’s journey from Karnataka’s Bandaya Sahitya movement to global recognition is a testament to her profound empathy for the marginalized. Emerging from a radical wave of writers in the 1970s and ’80s, she has consistently challenged caste, class, and gender hierarchies through her evocative storytelling. Her years as a journalist with Lankesh Patrike further honed her political consciousness and her ability to capture the essence of ordinary lives. Mushtaq’s writing, deeply rooted in regional idioms and everyday experiences, resonates with a global audience, offering a powerful lens into the struggles and resilience of the marginalized. In an exclusive interview, she reflects on her evolution as a writer, her politics of empathy, and the transformative power of language. Mushtaq’s work, spanning six short story collections, a novel, essays, and poetry, has earned her numerous accolades, including the Karnataka Sahitya Academy and Daana Chintamani Attimabbe awards. ‘Heart Lamp,’ her first full-length English translation, has brought her poignant narratives to a wider readership, with one story even featured in The Paris Review. Mushtaq’s journey underscores the importance of authenticity in literature, as she continues to write with a fierce love for the marginalized, refusing to ‘internationalize’ her language. Her stories, drawn from the lives of farmers, Dalits, migrants, and women, illuminate the extraordinary within the ordinary, reminding us of our shared humanity. Mushtaq’s voice, both rebellious and contemplative, remains a beacon of hope and resistance in a fractured world.