This refers to the editorial, “Voice of the rebellion” (July 30). For Mahasweta Devi, literature and politics were inseparable. She did not let her ‘nationalism’ get the better of her to justify the state and structural violence against the impoverished people. In the struggle of the meek with the mighty, she sided with the meek with single-minded determination. like UR Ananthamurthy, she used the power of her pen to break down caste barriers.
As a radical humanist, she was opposed to all conditions in which humans are treated as less than human. For her, injustice was to be rectified and not rationalised. With sharp eyes and brave mind, she did what an organic writer with a social conscience should do. A writer with common touch, she represented the underprivileged and painted their plight in words to catalyse change. The best tribute that we can pay to her is to champion the cause of the weak and vulnerable as she did.