Nayantara Sahgal

Madhubanti Bhattacharyya (University of East Anglia)

Ed. by John Thieme, University of East Anglia
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 10.3.1.03: Indian Writing and Culture: Post-colonial, 1947-present.
Vol. editors: Claire Gallien (Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3), Pavan Kumar Malreddy (J W Goethe University of Frankfurt), Delphine Munos (Université de Liège)

Dates

Born 10 May 1927
Activity 1947-ongoing

Places

Born in India
Active in India

Activities

Primary

Journalist
Novelist

Resources

Sahgal's Works

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It was as a political journalist that Nayantara Sahgal first made a name for herself, and the concerns of newly independent India underpin most of her non-fiction writing, which includes her memoir

Prison and Chocolate Cake

(1954) and the collections of essays and speeches

From Fear Set Free

(1962),

A Voice for Freedom

(1977),

Indira Gandhi: Her Road to Power

(1982) and

Point of View: A Personal Response to Life, Literature and Politics

(1997).

As a novelist, Sahgal stands in an interesting relation to both Indian history and politics and to the growth of Indian women’s writing in English. She was born in Allahabad into a family with a particular role in India’s “tryst with destiny”, the often-quoted phrase from the first ever radio broadcast in the history of independent India.

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1922 words

Citation: Bhattacharyya, Madhubanti. "Nayantara Sahgal". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 May 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3902, accessed 21 November 2024.]