Arundhati Roy: 'I See gender As A Spectrum...'

- Saba Naqvi

Arundhati Roy is an award-winning writer of a work of fiction that is rated as one of the best in recent times. Anyone who has read The God of Small Things would also see the roots of her political essays that have followed. The works complement each other and make Arundhati a powerful voice not just in India but across the world.

She has also put her money where her mouth is. In 1998, she donated the 15 lakh Booker prize money for The God of Small Things to the Narmada Bachao Andolan. In 2002, the Lannan Foundation gave her a $3,50,000 (1.67 crores) prize for “her precise and powerful writing highlighting her commitment to social, economic and environmental justice”. She donated the prize money in solidarity to 50 people’s movements, publications, educational institutions, theater groups and individuals. And as her published books continue to earn royalties, she continues to share her good fortune with movements and individuals.

Arundhati, therefore, embraces a universe that is by definition larger than that of most writers. She spoke for an hour to Saba Naqvi about what shaped her, what moves her, and what gets her to start writing. Excerpts:

You are a writer but you have made some very powerful arguments and interventions on rights issues and movements. How do you see your evo­lution from a gender perspective?