Minakshi Sen finished her schooling from Kolkata in 1970 during the turbulent time when many youths were responding to the call of the naxalites. She was not an exception and was arrested on false charges by the police in 1973, tortured and detained without trial. After her release in 1977, despite the traumatic experience, she went on to complete her post-graduation in Physiology with a gold medal from Calcutta University. She began serious writing in the seventies and a large part of her prison memories was serialized in Spandan, a literary magazine edited by her husband. In 1993, a book in her days spent in prison, titled Jailer Bhetor Jail was published in 1993 winning considerable critical acclaim.