By Mrinalini Manda

“There’s really no such thing as ‘voiceless’. There are only the deliberately silenced, or the preferably unheard.” – Arundhati Roy

Arundhati Roy is an influential Indian novelist and political activist, who became popular via her first novel ‘ The God of Small Things’. The book highlighted themes of Indian history and politics, forbidden love and social discrimination, receiving the Booker prize in 1997. She has a confident voice and is not hesitant in sharing her opinions, no matter how unpopular they may be perceived to be. Her later work has mostly concentrated on raising awareness about political issues and bringing new perspectives about them. She is a keen critic of the USA’s foreign policy and a representative of the anti-globalization movement. Additionally, she disapproves of India’s policy towards nuclear weapons, economic growth, and industrialization. Along with another activist, Medha Patkar, she campaigned against the Narmada Dam project because the building of the dam would displace half a million people and they wouldn’t receive any compensation in return. Arundhati Roy donates her earnings from her books towards the ‘Narmada Bachao Andolan.’ 

”For me, now, the only protection one has is to travel and to speak, to build protection of readers because things have become so difficult. My readers are my protection.”

Arundhati was born in Shillong, Meghalaya to Mary Roy, a women’s rights activist and educationist from Kerala, and Rajib Roy, a tea plantation manager from Calcutta. Arundhati was homeschooled......