Eminent writer, activist Mahasweta Devi no more

Eminent writer and social activist Mahasweta Devi died on Thursday, following prolonged illness. She was 90.

Devi was a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award, Padma Vibhushan, Jnanpith and Magsaysay Award, among several others.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the demise of Devi and said she was a voice of compassion, equality and justice.

"Mahashweta Devi wonderfully illustrated the might of the pen. A voice of compassion, equality & justice, she leaves us deeply saddened. RIP," Prime Minister Modi tweeted.

Condoling her demise, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, "India has lost a great writer. Bengal has lost a glorious mother. I have lost a personal guide. Mahashweta Di rest in peace."

Congress president Sonia Gandhi has also mourned Devi's demise.

"Remembering her as a writer who addressed the issues and conscience of the subaltern, the middle class and women. Through her writings, Mahasweta Devi incessantly fought injustice, oppression, inequality and bias. She deeply loved and celebrated Indian Tribal life. She was brutally honest and her words echoed her inner voice, representing voiceless and faceless countrymen," Gandhi said in a statement while extending her condolences to millions of Devi's readers and admirers.

Describing the loss, Gandhi said India has lost a conscience keeper and one of the greatest Indian women writers of the times.

"We stand in this hour of grief with her family and everyone who loved her," she added.

Born in 1926, in Dhaka, now Bangladesh , Devi did her graduation and Master of Arts from the Calcutta University.

She retired from her job as an English lecturer in 1984.