Girma also wrote notable works, including Beyond the Horizon, The Bell of Conscience, The Call of the Red Star, and Haddis.

[1][2] Girma was born to an Indian father from Gujarat and an Ethiopian mother in Illubabor Province, Ethiopia, in 1939, while fascist forces led by the Axis were occupying the country.

His writings were influenced by George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, and other critics of government and philosophical positions regarding freedom and natural rights for societies.

In 1984, Girma disappeared, widely suspected to have been assassinated by the Derg for his critical writings and opposition to the government of Ethiopia at the time.

As a young editor, he was often critical of the emperor's administration and the government's policies, which at times forced him to interrupt his studies and go into hiding.

[15][16] The 1960s were a period during which Ethiopian social art and literature flourished, and writers like Girma, Laureate Afewerk Tekele, Gebre Kristos Desta, Mengistu Lemma, and others rose to prominence.

[24] Although Girma had supported the Derg's war efforts in the northern Ethiopian province in his previous work, The Call of the Red Star, written during his stay in modern-day Eritrea, he was not entirely keen on their policies and later expressed his disapproval through his critical writings.

While he was the editor-in-chief of Addis Zemen, Girma also wrote two of his most popular novels, Kadmas Bashager (Beyond the Horizon) and Ye'hillina Dewel (The Bell of Conscience).

The Derg regime was unable to successfully hinder the printing of Oromay, and Kuraz Publishing Agency was able to distribute it to large parts of Ethiopia, making it a national hit.

[31][32][33][34][35] In 1974, Girma left Addis Zemen and became Deputy General Manager of the Ethiopian News Agency, a state-owned media organization.

[36][c] In addition to being a journalist and writer, Girma served as a guest lecturer of creative writing at Addis Ababa University.

Mengistu Haile Mariam, the military junta ruler of Ethiopia at the time, claimed to have no information about Girma's whereabouts and stated that he had ordered a search for him, which was unsuccessful.

[38][39][40] Along with his wife, Almaz Aberra, Girma has a daughter, Meskerem, his sons, Zelalem and Kibre, and his granddaughter, Naomi-Baalu Gizaw.

Girma's legacy has received overwhelming positive feedback in Ethiopia and has spread across the diaspora, including in places such as Minneapolis, which has a large population of Ethiopian origin.