


Volume 20 No 5 (2022)
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Ethnography of the Dispossessed Tribal: A Study of Mahasweta Devi’s “Bitter Soil”
Mary Vijayam Alias Jinju V.J, Dr. Giftlin P J
Abstract
Mahasweta Devi was an Indian writer and social activist who mainly acknowledged for her writings on the tribal life and marginalized communities. She is one of the few authors who keeps an emotional attachment and an unbounded commitment toward the voiceless humans. Her works employ the themes of exploitation, discrimination and oppression faced by the Indian tribals. Her writing style extensively portray Indian rural life. Her use of local dialects and idioms gives uniqueness for her writings and it grabs the attention of many. Her belief towards literature to explode the exploitation towards the tribals succeeded to get many helping hands. She courageously exposed the harsh realities faced by the marginalized communities. In addition to her literary contributions, Devi aimed to get the attention of the authorities through her coloumns, where she wrote about tribal issues.Her activism and writing earned her several awards and honors, including the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and Jnanpith awards. “Bitter soil” includes a collection of four stories, “Little Ones”, “Seeds”, “Witch” and “Salt”. The paper aims to bring out the atrocities and harsh realities, faced by the poor Adivasi. Devi became an inspiration for many writers and activists around the world to address the social inequalities and the problems faced by the low class people, to give voice to the voiceless. Her power and courage to bring social issues through stories changed the society in a positive aspect.
Keywords
Exploitation, extractivism, victimization, environmental justice, degradation, oppression.
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