Noted Bengali writer and activist Mahasweta Devi passed on in a Kolkata hospital on Thursday of multi-organ failure, abandoning a formidable scholarly legacy that concentrated on the lives of minimized groups.

The 90-year-old was undergoing treatment at south Kolkata’s Belle Vue Clinic and was declared dead at 3.16pm on Thursday. An eight-member group of doctors was treating the renowned writer.

“India has lost a great writer. Bengal has lost a glorious mother. I have lost a personal guide. Mahasheta Di rest in peace,” tweeted West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

Her literary journey spanned more than half a century, during which she won numerous awards, including the Jnanpith, the Sahitya Akademi and Bengal’s highest civilian honour, the Bangabibhushan.

She was also a Magsaysay award winner and was given the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian honour, in 2006.