Mahasweta Devi (1926-2016) was an Indian writer and activist born in Dhaka and educated at Santiniketan, a school and art center in West Bengal, and the University of Calcutta. She wrote more than one hundred novels and many story collections, and is widely honored for her writing and public advocacy. Maitreya Ghatak is a translator and social researcher with extensive on-the-ground experience, closely associated with Mahasweta Devi's activism for many years.