“Rape of the People”: Displacement and Dispossession in the Tribal stories of Mahasweta Devi

Abstract

One of the most acclaimed writers of novels and short stories in Bengali, Mahasweta Devi is well known for her work as an activist for the various tribes of India and her fight for their rights as human beings and citizen of India. Mahasweta Devi had an unwavering commitment towards those who were marginalized and deprived by the mainstream of Indian society and victims of abject poverty. They were the people who had immense courage and survival instincts but no voice - namely tribal.