Mahasweta DeviĀ was an Indian fiction writer in Bengali and a socio-political activist. Her notable literary works include Hajar Churashir Maa, Rudali, and Aranyer Adhikar. She was a self-recognised communist and worked for the rights and empowerment of the tribal people (Lodha and Shabar) of West Bengal, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh states of India.
She was honoured with various literary awards such as the Sahitya Akademi Award (in Bengali), Jnanpith Award and Ramon Magsaysay Award along with India's civilian awards Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan. Mahasweta Devi was born in 1926 in Decca, British India (now Dhaka, Bangladesh).
Her father, Manish Ghatak, was a well-known poet and novelist of the Kallol movement, Ghatak's brother was noted filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak. Devi wrote over 100 novels and over 20 collections of short stories primarily written in Bengali but often translated to other languages.