i'll stay political - arundhati roy

"I believe in political writing whether it is fiction or non-fiction. When you place yourself in it and try to make an honest declaration it is difficult. You can't function like some government ministry with certain policies here. It is a very delicate writing. I write about the most politicised class in India which is the poor."

"When I wrote 'God of Small Things', I wasn't sure if it will work with anyone. It was five or six years of working, completely alone. I won the Booker and became darling of the middle-class. I won the national pride. Then, I wrote non-fiction. I wrote about nuclear tests and realised that speaking out is as political as keeping quiet. People who once were supportive and liked me, started looking at me as an enemy."

Not for Arundhati Roy any of that arm-wringing about whether or not writing should be political. The Booker Prize winning author of The God of Small Things - "the great soaring masterpiece of 1997"* - vows to stay political in her writings. Read it here.

*William Dalrymple's praise for Arundhati Roy's novel.