Manoranjan Byapari
Manoranjan Byapari writes in Bengali. He taught himself to read and write at the age of 24 while in prison. He worked as a rickshaw puller, sweeper, porter, and cook. In 2018, the English translation of his memoir Ittibrite Chandal Jibon (Interrogating My Chandal Life) won the Hindu Prize for non-fiction. In 2019, he was awarded the Gateway Lit Fest Writer of the Year Prize. In 2022, he received the Shakti Bhatt Prize and the English translation of his novel Chhera Chhera Jibon (Imaan) was longlisted for the JCB Prize. In 2021, he became a member of the Bengal Legislative Assembly.
