Do we like Arundhati Roy?
Our score: 7 out of 10. A long record of speaking up for the marginalised, and a real price paid for it, with a couple of positions that split even her fans.
Roy's story starts with a formidable mother. Her memoir, Mother Mary Comes to Me, is about her difficult relationship with Mary Roy, who raised two children largely alone and was known for her anger and determination. Roy told the Irish Times she learned early to watch and detach, which she says helped her writing. It was shortlisted for the 2026 Women's Prize for Non-Fiction.
The big stoush is at home. A 2010 criminal complaint accused Roy and others of giving speeches that advocated Kashmir's separation from India, and in June 2024 Delhi's lieutenant governor approved prosecuting her under the anti-terror law UAPA. Rights groups say the Modi government targets critics; the governor's office said she allegedly made provocative speeches. Dawn reported no trial outcome, and two co-accused have since died.
On the harm check, the record is mostly clean. She welcomed India's 2018 court ruling that decriminalised gay sex, and nothing turned up from her against trans people, women or the climate (that's an honest gap in what we found, not a clean bill). The contested part is Gaza: in her 2024 PEN Pinter speech she said Hamas's October 7 killings and hostage-taking constitute war crimes, but also said “I refuse to play the condemnation game.” Critics read that as dodging, and defenders read it as refusing to tell the oppressed how to resist.
The recent stuff fits the pattern. In February she pulled out of the Berlinale, where her 1989 film was in the Classics section, after jury chair Wim Wenders said filmmakers “have to stay out of politics” when asked about Gaza. She wrote that she was “shocked and disgusted”. In March she told a Delhi audience “I stand with Iran. Unequivocally”, and slammed the Indian government for not condemning the US attack.
The good stuff is real. She shared the 2024 PEN Pinter Prize with jailed writer Alaa Abd el-Fattah and said her share of the money would go to a relief fund for Palestinian children. She also talks plainly about India's caste divisions and says its democracy has been hollowed out, which is a risky thing to say there.
So where does that leave us? She's a fierce critic of power who has paid for it, and nothing found suggests she punches down. If you want your heroes to condemn everything by name, her Hamas line will itch. If you want someone who stands up at personal cost, she fits.