Indian writer and polemicist, born around 1962. She won the Booker prize in 1997 for her novel "The God of Small Things". She was studying architecture in Delhi when, at the age of 18, she stopped returning home and did not see her mother for seven years. She eventually found financial stability at 36 with the novel's success, having supported herself writing scripts for British producers during the four years it took to write.
Rather than pursue a lucrative literary career, Ms Roy became one of the foremost polemicists of the 21st century. She has spoken out against India's nuclear testing, supported Kashmiri independence, fought a mega-dam in the western state of Gujarat, denounced American wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and has staunchly opposed Hindu nationalism.
In 2002 India's Supreme Court found her guilty of contempt for criticising the judiciary. In 2024 Narendra Modi's government approved her prosecution under anti-terrorism legislation for comments she had made about Kashmir 15 years earlier; no action had been taken as of late 2025.
Her mother, Mary Roy, was a "dreamer, warrior, teacher". Mary Roy fought all the way to India's Supreme Court for equal inheritance rights for the women of her community in Kerala, and won. She also built a successful school in her home state. Ms Roy's first memoir, "Mother Mary Comes To Me", recounts their fractious relationship.
statistics, n.: A system for expressing your political prejudices in convincing scientific guise.