“Heart Lamp”, originally written in Kannada—a language mainly spoken in Southern India—beat five other finalists.

This year's Booker International Prize jury chairman, Max Porter, said the jury spent six hours discussing before choosing “Heart Lamp”. He called it a very special book that shows a quiet but strong feminist struggle in a local setting.

At the award ceremony, writer and feminist activist Banu Mushtaq said “Heart Lamp” is powerful because it tells everyday stories that reflect many parts of social life.

She said that, "This book was born from the belief that no story is ever small, that in the tapestry of human experience, every thread holds the weight of the whole. In a world that often tries to divide us, literature remains one of the lost sacred spaces where we can live inside each other's minds, if only for a few pages”

The 77-year-old Mushtaq will share the £50,000 ($67,000) prize with her translator Deepa Bhasthi.