India, May 25 -- Activist-lawyer Banu Mushtaq has scripted history by becoming the first Kannada writer to win the International Booker Prize for her short story collection Heart Lamp, translated by Deepa Bhasthi. Having given her acceptance speech in English, the 77-year-old weighs in on the North-South language debate existing within India. "Ab main England mein hoon toh English mein baat ki. Jab wapas Karnataka jaungi toh Kannada mein bolungi, Delhi mein Hindi bolungi, Lucknow mein Hindi ya Urdu mein bolungi... We speak Dakhni Urdu at home," she says, adding, "Language ke usage mein koi problem nahin hai (but) be it south Indian or north Indian, no one should politicise language." Mention the flurry of social media posts and Reels on this ongoing language divide, and she opines, "Kannad log bahut tolerant hain, woh language issue par ladne wale nahin hain. Magar jab Kannada ko ignore kiya jaye toh unki self-respect ko thes lagegi na... All north Indians who have shifted to Bengaluru want to make the city their home. (Karnataka) ke logon aur resources ko use kar rahe ho toh local language bhi seekhna aur bolna chahhiye na!"...