Arundhati Roy

Author, Novelist, Activist

Indian Shillong, Assam (present-day Meghalaya), India

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Quick Info

ProfessionAuthor, Novelist, Activist
NationalityIndian
Date of Birth24/11/1961
Age64 years
BirthplaceShillong, Assam (present-day Meghalaya), India

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Bio/Wiki

Full nameSuzanna Arundhati Roy

Physical Stats & More

Height5' 4" (163 cm)
Eye ColorBlack
Hair ColorSalt and Pepper

Educational Qualification(s)

School
  • Corpus Christi High School (now, Pallikoodam), Kottayam, Kerala, India
  • Lawrence School, Lovedale, Nilgiri, Tamil Nadu, India
College/UniversitySchool of Planning and Architecture, Delhi, India
Educational QualificationA Degree in Architecture from the School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi

Personal Life

ReligionBengali Hindu (Father), Syrian Christian (Mother)
HobbiesCycling, Reading, Writing, Travelling
Controversies
  • In 1994, she criticised Shekar Kapoor's film Bandit Queen and accused him of having distorted the story of Phoolan Devi. Her statement caused much controversy and peaked in a lawsuit.
  • In 1999, The Pachmarhi Special Area Development Authority (SADA) in Madhya Pradesh had served a "stop building" order on Arundhati Roy and her husband Krishen for building a house in the protected Pachmarhi area.
  • In 2001, she attracted controversy for calling convicted terrorist Mohammad Afzal a "prisoner-of-war."
  • In 2008, she was criticised by Salman Rushdie and others for linking the 2008 Mumbai Attacks with Kashmir and economic injustice against Muslims in India.
  • Roy has also attracted a controversy for her description of the Maoists as "Gandhians." In other statements, she has described Naxalites as patriots "of a kind" who are "fighting to implement the Constitution, (while) the government is vandalising it."
  • In 2010, she again attracted a controversy for her statement- "Kashmir has never been an integral part of India. It is a historical fact. Even the Indian government has accepted this." For this statement, Roy was also brought up on charges of sedition by the Delhi Police.
  • On 27 June 2024, the UN Human Rights Office, led by High Commissioner Volker Turk, requested the Indian government to drop cases against Arundhati Roy and Sheikh Showkat Hussain over comments on Kashmir.
  • In 2011, she received criticism for criticising Anna Hazare's anti-corruption campaign.
  • In 2013, Roy raised a controversy by describing Narendra Modi's nomination for the prime ministerial candidate as a "tragedy".
  • In 2019, Arundhati Roy was arrested by the Delhi Police while appealing the general public at Delhi University to mislead the authorities of the National Population register when they would come to enroll them in the National Register of Citizens. She was charged under the sections 295A, 504, 153 and 120B of IPC by Delhi Police.

Relationships & More

Marital StatusDivorced
Affairs/Boyfriends
  • Gerard da Cunha (Architect)
  • Pradip Krishen (independent filmmaker)

Family

Husband(s)
  • Gerard da Cunha (Architect)
  • Pradip Krishen (independent filmmaker)
Parents
FatherRajib Michael Roy (Tea plantation manager)
MotherMary Roy (Women's rights activist)
ChildrenTwo stepdaughters named Mithva Krishen and Pia Krishen from her second husband
Siblings
BrotherLalit Kumar Christopher Roy

Career

Awards, Honours, Achievements
  • 1989: National Film Award for Best Screenplay for the screenplay of "In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones."
  • 1997: Booker Prize for her novel The God of Small Things.
  • 2002: The Lannan Foundation's Cultural Freedom Award for her work about civil societies.
  • 2003: Awarded "special recognition" as a Woman of Peace at the Global Exchange Human Rights Awards in San Francisco.
  • 2004: The Sydney Peace Prize for her work in social campaigns and her advocacy of non-violence.
  • 2006: The Sahitya Akademi Award by the Government of India for her collection of essays on contemporary issues, "The Algebra of Infinite Justice," but she declined to accept it.
  • 2011: Awarded the Norman Mailer Prize for Distinguished Writing.
  • 2014: Featured in the list of Time 100, the 100 most influential people in the world.
  • 2024: Awarded the PEN Pinter Prize

Some Lesser Known Facts

1. Arundhati Roy smokes.
2. Arundhati Roy drinks alcohol.
3. Arundhati Roy is a renowned Indian author and novelist known for winning the 1997 Man Booker Prize for "The God of Small Things."
4. She is an advocate for environmental issues and human rights causes in India and globally.
5. Arundhati Roy was born in Shillong to a Bengali Hindu father and a Syrian Christian mother.
6. Her mother, Mary, was a women's rights activist and founder of a well-known school.
7. Roy was heavily influenced by her mother's activism while growing up in Kerala.
8. At 16, she left home to study architecture in Delhi where she met and later separated from architect Gerard da Cunha.
9. Roy briefly worked in Delhi before pursuing acting in Pradip Krishen's film "Massey Sahib."
10. She married Krishen and collaborated on projects before their eventual separation.
11. Roy transitioned from fiction writing to political essays after her acclaimed debut novel.
12. She gained international recognition for her essays and TV projects like "The Banyan Tree."
13. In 2017, Roy released her second novel, "The Ministry of Utmost Happiness."
14. Her writings have criticized government policies, environmental projects, and military actions.
15. She is known for her vocal activism on various social and political issues in India.
16. Arundhati Roy has taken a stand against government actions in conflicts and environmental projects.
17. Roy has been actively involved in protests and movements supporting human rights and social justice.
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