BANU MUSHTAQ
Writer and activist from Karnataka, Banu Mushtaq gained international recognition in 2025 after her Kannada work ‘Edeya Hanate’, translated as ‘Heart Lamp’, won the International Booker Prize. Known for her sharp, socially rooted storytelling, her writing foregrounds themes of gender, faith, and everyday resistance for Muslim women in South India
DEEPA BHASTHI
Writer, literary translator and journalist from Karnataka, Deepa Bhasthi rose to international prominence in 2025 after winning the International Booker Prize for her English translation ‘Heart Lamp’. The win marked a major global recognition for Indian regional literature and translation
B DAYANANDA
Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) B Dayananda became the first officer to be suspended while holding the coveted post of Police Commissioner, Bengaluru city. The state government, which came under severe attack following the M Chinnaswamy Stadium stampede on June 4, in which 11 people died, suspended five police officers including the top cop of Bengaluru for “failing” to contain the situation
BHAVISH AGGARWAL
Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO of Bengaluru-based company OLA, made news for all the wrong reasons. After disgruntled customers of electric scooters manufactured by OLA took to social media to complain about malfunctioning scooters and unresponsive customer service, Aggarwal failed to take any accountability, a failure further highlighted by his online spat with comedian Kunal Kamra. He was also booked by Bengaluru City Police after a 38-year-old employee allegedly committed suicide, leaving behind a note accusing the OLA management of harassment. The company approached the Karnataka High Court, challenging the FIR
PRAJWAL REVANNA
Prajwal Revanna, former Hassan Lok Sabha MP and grandson of former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, remained in the headlines in 2025 after he was convicted by a special court and sentenced to imprisonment for the remainder of his life for raping a former domestic worker. This is perhaps the first time in Karnataka’s history that a former MP has been convicted in such a case
MEENAKSHI NEGI
In February 2025, Karnataka government appointed Meenakshi Negi as head of Forest Force. She became the first woman Principal Chief Conservator of Forests of Karnataka, and second in India after Maharashtra. She joined the Indian Forest Service in 1989 and joined service in Karnataka. She held a range of posts from 1993 to 2007, including wildlife, social forestry, territorial and working plan. She was earlier engaged as Member Secretary, National Commission for Women, before taking on the big role
UMA REDDY
In October, the Federation of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry appointed its first woman president. While the 108-year-old chamber has many women industrialist partners, Uma is the first woman to be elected FKCCI president. She took charge with the aim to empower MSMEs and encourage women in the business sector
KN RAJANNA
KN Rajanna, former minister and Congress MLA from Madhugiri, was dropped from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s cabinet in August after his comments that Congress was in power in Karnataka when voter lists for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls were prepared, left the party red-faced. He contradicted the party’s stance of blaming the Election Commission and Union Government and hinted that party leaders in the state, too, should take the blame. A confidant of Siddaramaiah, the former minister has a penchant for making remarks that trigger political storms. He had courted controversy after speaking in the Assembly about honey-trap attempts on politicians. His remarks on ‘revolutionary’ developments in state politics had kicked up a political storm