Joseph Macwan

Joseph Ignas Macwan (Gujarati: જોસેફ ઇગ્નાસ મેકવાન; 9 October 1936 – 28 March 2010) was a Gujarati language novelist, short story writer and essayist from India. He received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1989 for his novel Angaliyat (1986). He was also a recipient of the Dhanji Kanji Gandhi Suvarna Chandrak (1990). His significant works include: Vyathana Vitak (Agony of Suffering; 1985), Angaliyat (The Step Child; 1986) and Mari Paranetar (1988). He died on 28 March 2010, in Nadiad following kidney failure. Macwan's grandfather was a Hindu, but he adopted Christianity in 1892. Macwan was born on 9 October 1936 in Tranol, a small village of Kheda taluka, Anand district, Gujarat. His family were natives of Oad, a small village nearby. He was born in Tranol because his father Ignas a.k.a. Dahyalal was working with a Christian mission there. His father was also known as a master in his village. His childhood passed in poverty and lack of maternal care. His mother Hiriben a.k.a. Hira died when he was young. His father soon married another woman who was cruel to him.