Tribal Activism: Voices of Protest

"Tribal Activism: Voices of Protest is a book with a difference. Redefining the relationship between literature and life, it presents the voices of protest in an eminently authentic manner. The novely of the approach and the attempt lies in matching the social events and phenomena and their reflection in literature in a two way manner, that is, from literature to life and from life to literature. Although the focus in the book is on Mahasveta Devi's works which have for the first time brought the tribal protests under mainstream gaze, it seeks to push ahead the frontiers of exploration and evaluation. It is not incidental, therefore, that the book brings to the fore such facts about tribal consciousness and action as were kept away from history books. Coupled to this is the emotive thrust on usually unnoticed or ignored facts which compels the reader to sit up and rid himself of the misconceptions about the tribals. The book offers not only the first full-scale study of Mahasveta Devi's works, but also of the tribal voices of protest: not as a mere documentation of certain actions that took place during the course of the last two hundred and odd years, but one throbbing and pulsating with life, with larger-than-life portrayals of the fighting tribals of middle India."