4 min readMay 22, 2026 07:00 AM IST Indian writer Sharon Aruparayil, one of the three finalists in the eye of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize scandal, was just 18 when she sent a story to the Foundation for the first time. Seven years on, she is the Asia finalist, but finds herself accused of AI plagiarism. “No AI tools were used at any stage in the writing, editing, or development process of Mehendi Nights,” said Aruparayil in an email to indianexpress.com seeking response to the allegations, adding that she had the paper trail to prove it. She calls the controversy, which has widened to allege that even a judge’s remarks were AI-generated, “an entertaining witch-hunt, right until you realise that there is nobody backing the writer.” The controversy The accusations, which have forced a reckoning in the world of letters, cropped up after the stories of all five regional finalists were published in the prestigious British literary magazine, Granta. Initially, readers took to social media upon spotting “telltale signs of AI” in the story …