Arundhati Roy (1961-present)

Arundhati Roy is an Indian author, essayist, and political activist best known for her work in English Literature. She express her outspoken views on social justice and human rights.She achieved worldwide recognition with her first novel, The God of Small Things, which earned the Booker Prize in 1997. She has authored various collections of political essays. Her writings frequently explore into themes of inequality, resistance, nationalism, and identity.

Education

Arundhati Roy was born on November 21,1961, in Shilong,Meghalaya. Her mother was a well Known Advocate for women's rights.Her father was a Bengali tea plantation manager from calcutta. He was a alcoholic and her parents seperated when Arundhati was very young.She was raised by her mother in Kerala, where she studied at Delhi School of Architecture and later she pursue acting and screenplay.Her diverse background and early experience deeply influence her literacy.

Personal Life

Arundhati Roy was briefly wed to architect Gerard da Cunha, whom she encountered during her studies in architecture. Although their marriage was short-lived, she chose to keep her surname, Roy. After departing from architecture, she embraced an unconventional lifestyle, engaging in filmmaking and crafting screenplays. In this time frame, she wrote In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones, a cherished movie that depicts life at college.Roy is renowned not only for her literary contributions but also for her unwavering dedication to activism. She has consistently confronted political controversies, and her essays often critique state policies and prevailing narratives. She has not entered into a new marriage and continues to have a significant independent role in both writing and advocacy.

As of 2025, Roy continues to write and advocate for various global and national concerns. Her most recent book, The Architecture of Modern Empire, along with her upcoming memoir Mother Mary Comes to Me (set for release in September 2025), reflects her lasting literary strength and personal insight. Her work persists in stimulating conversations about justice, freedom, and resistance, leaving a significant mark on modern literature and intellectual discourse.

Famous Novel / Essay

The God of Small Things (1997)
The Cost of Living (1999)
The Algebra of Infinite Justice(2002)
Walking with the Comrades (2011)
My Seditios Heart (2019)

Awards

Booker Prize (1997)
Lannan Foundation Cultural Freedom Award (2002)
Sydney Peace Prize (2004)
Norman Mailer Prize For Distinguised Writing (2011)
PEN Pinter Prize (2024)

1. “Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.”

2. “The only dream worth having is to dream that you will live while you are alive, and die only when you are dead.”

3. “To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you.”

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

5. “That's what careless words do. They make people love you a little less.”

6. “Change is one thing. Acceptance is another.”

7. “Enemies can't break your spirit, only friends can.”

8. “Love, after all, is the ingredient that separates a sacrifice from ordinary, everyday butchery.”

9. “Wars are never fought for altruistic reasons.”

10. “When you hurt people, they begin to love you less.”

11. “Either way, change will come. It could be bloody, or it could be beautiful. It depends on us.”

12. “We be many and they be few. They need us more than we need them.”

13. “The corporate revolution will collapse if we refuse to buy what they are selling – their ideas, their version of history, their wars, their weapons, their notion of inevitability.”