Ethnically, Shekhar is a Santhal, one of India's Adivasi groups; this background is reflected in his fiction. His stories are rich in "fine details that add to the deep dimensions" and "open to us a world we have deliberately dismissed" and contain "a surplus of understanding that comes from a kind insider-outsider." Indeed, he characterised his first novel as "the first full-fledged Santhal novel written in English, and published by a mainstream publisher." Born in Ranchi, Shekhar grew up in Ghatshila and Chakulia and went to school in Musabani. His parents used to work with Hindustan Copper in Ghatshila. By profession, he is a medical doctor and is employed as a medical officer with the government of Jharkhand, based in 2017 in Pakur. Though Shekhar writes primarily in English, he also translates from Santhali to English and Hindi to English.
Works
The Mysterious Ailment of Rupi Baskey
'
'
My Father's Garden
Who's There?
Sumi Budhi and Sugi
Awards
For his debut novel, The Mysterious Ailment of Rupi Baskey, Shekhar won the 2015 Yuva Puraskar, was shortlisted for the 2014 Hindu Literary Prize and the 2014 Crossword Book Award, longlisted for the 2016 International Dublin Literary Award, and jointly won the 2015 Muse India Young Writer Award. The Mysterious Ailment of Rupi Baskey was named by The Hindu in December 2019 as one of the ten best fiction books of the decade. For his second book, ', Shekhar was shortlisted for the 2016 Hindu Literary Prize. ' is Shekhar's first book for children. This book features illustrations by Krishna Bala Shenoi. It was shortlisted for a 2019 Neev Book Award in the category Junior Readers and a 2019 Crossword Book Award in the children’s books category. His fourth book, a novel entitled My Father's Garden, has been called "rich and surprising" and " more emotion, detail and narrative heft than...books four times its size." My Father's Garden was shortlisted for the JCB Prize for Literature 2019 and won the best book prize at the Likho Awards for Excellence in Media 2019 presented by the Humsafar Trust.
Controversy
On 11 August 2017, the government of Jharkhand banned ' and summarily suspended Shekhar from his job, on the grounds that the book portrayed Adivasi women and Santhal culture in a bad light. The key complainants appear to have been the ruling party in Jharkhand, the Bharatiya Janata Party; the opposition party, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha; and an academic at Jamia Millia Islamia. The government's actions were widely criticised. The ban on ' was removed in December 2017 and Shekhar's suspension was removed and he was reinstated into his job in 2018.
