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• 1 2025-08-15T16:19:14-04:00 Adivasi Literature: a Gentle Introduction and Guide 8 Adivasi Literature for Beginngers; plain 2025-08-21T09:30:56-04:00

  Adivasi Literature: a gentle introduction for teachers and learners

  This introduction is aimed at students, including those in Anglo-American universities, who may have little background knowledge about communities and cultures in India. For teachers interested in assigning a unit on Adivasi literature, check out the texts in the Primary Texts and Translations section. 

   

  1. Let’s start with a poem by an Adivasi writer named Abhay Xaxa written around 2011. 

  I am not your data 

  By Abhay Flavian Xaxa

   

  I am not your data, nor am I your vote bank,
  I am not your project, or any exotic museum object,
  I am not the soul waiting to be harvested,
  Nor am I the lab where your theories are tested.

  I refuse, reject, resist your labels,
  your judgments, documents, definitions,
  your models, leaders and patrons,
  because they deny me my existence, my vision, my space.

  Your words, maps, figures, indicators,
  they all create illusions and put you on a pedestal,
  from where you look down upon me.

  So I draw my own picture, and invent my own grammar,
  I make my own tools to fight my own battle,
  For me, my people, my world, and my Adivasi self!

   

  (Note: “Xaxa” is pronounced like “Khakha” – with an aspirated K sound) 

  Basic Background. Before looking at this poem in greater depth, let’s give a little basic background about Adivasis: In South Asia, “Adivasi” means “original people” or “first people.” It describes a large number of people from different communities from all over the Indian subcontinent. There are more than 700 recognized communities (or Tribes), with large concentrations especially in eastern and central India (a region sometimes referred to as the “Tribal Belt”) and Northeastern India (the region bordering Myanmar). Here is a map showing where Adivasis live in South Asia, by percentage of total population in each region. 
  

  Some Adivasi communities were nomadic, while others had fixed settlements that remained ‘off the grid’ and culturally largely unaffected by the arrival of waves of outsiders, including the Mughal Empire, the British Empire, and even the postcolonial Indian state. The British in particular found their disregard for the legal system and their difference from the cultural norms of caste Hinduism threatening – and labeled them “Criminal Tribes.” After Indian independence, many of these communities have been granted protections as Scheduled Tribes under the Indian Constitution, including territorial rights over their forests. However, these are often contested and Adivasi communities frequently find themselves displaced by projects in the “national interest” – including especially mining projects and big dams. 

  Adivasi communities have their own languages and religions – they are considered outside of caste, and many differentiate their religious beliefs and practices from mainstream Hinduism to this day (others have been brought into the fold, and do identify as Hindu). A substantial number of Adivasis have also converted to Christianity. (Look up: Sarna)

  A number of stereotypes of Adivasi people persist, including that they are exotic and primitive – images of “Tribals” are sometimes put forward by mainstream India as an example of radical cultural otherness, to be studied and appropriated. Their art and literature is sometimes studied in ethnographic frameworks rather than as the product of specific authors and artists. They are also said to have problems with alcohol and drugs. And Adivasi women are also often at great risk of sexual harassment and sexual assault. 

  In some ways, Adivasis could be compared to indigenous communities in other parts of the world. Their experience does have some overlaps with Native American communities in the Americas, as well as indigenous communities in Australia and Aotearoa (New Zealand). However, the specific historic, legal, and territorial problems facing Adivasis in India today may be somewhat different from those facing other communities. 

  In recent years, Adivasi communities have engaged with modern politics in India in any number of ways. The biggest shift was probably the creation of the state of Jharkhand, formerly part of Bihar. Jharkhand has a particularly high concentration of Adivasi communities, and its creation was long a demand of Adivasi activists like Jaipaul Singh Munda. However, mainstream political parties frequently appeal to Adivasis for their votes – trying to form “vote banks” they can rely on.   

  Finally, it should be noted that Adivasis have historically been talked about quite a bit – and often not been given space to speak for themselves. Colonial era scholars and advocates like Verrier Elwin gave influential early accounts of Adivasi life and culture; more recently, the writer and activist Mahasweta Devi has been strongly associated with Adivasi issues and advocacy. However, increasingly writers from Adivasi backgrounds are insisting on speaking for themselves. 
   

  Now, let’s go back to the poem we started with. All of the issues we discussed are represented here – the “vote banks” referenced in the first line, suggesting the author’s frustration with being exploited by mainstream political parties. 

  The second and third lines also elegantly indicate the author’s refusal to be used by scholars and religious missionaries for their own purposes: 

  I am not your project, or any exotic museum object,

  I am not the soul waiting to be harvested,

   

  As the poem progresses, Xaxa turns the tables on the addressee – indicating his aspiration to tell his own story and construct his own knowledge, rather than continue to be defined from without by a broad array of interested parties. 
  
  The creation of a strong, self-conscious sense of Adivasi identity is often referred to by activists and writers as Adivasiyat (Adivasi-ness). To see more writing related to this theme, click on the Adivasiyat tab.

  
  2. Let’s take a look at a second poem, by a writer named Nirmala Putul. 

  This is called “Santhal Pargana” (or Santhal Division); the title refers to a region of what is today the state of Jharkhand that represents the ancestral homeland of the Santhal people.

  Santhal Pargana (translated from Hindi)

  By Nirmala Putul 

   

  Santhal Pargana is no longer what it used to be!
  Very few people remain here
  in their native language and traditional attire.

  Rushing toward the market,
  everything has gotten muddled these days.
  The great old trees have been uprooted,
  and in the sprawling concrete jungle,
  its identity has been lost.

  Its very essence is being transformed.
  Bows, arrows, mandals, drums, and flutes —
  all are being gathered into folk museums,
  loaded onto the funeral cart of time,
  in the name of its “betterment.”

  Like mushrooms after rain, institutions have sprung up,
  housing so-called social workers,
  officials, lackeys, contractors, middlemen —
  and all of them,
  with open, colorful bottles in hand,
  are drafting plans at round tables.

  In the bottles is intoxication.
  Floating in that intoxication
  are many Adivasi girls,
  their tender bodies adrift.
  The Adivasi girls have dreams —
  within those dreams, incomplete desires.

  There is hunger,
  and in that hunger stretches a rugged land.
  Upon the land are black, bare hills;
  upon the hills — desolation…

  That’s it!!!
  What more is there in Santhal Pargana?
  Not even “that much” remains
  of Santhal Pargana
  as there are stories
  of its culture.

   

  Some of the themes we saw in the Abhay Xaxa poem are repeated here – one notes the references to aspects of traditional Santhal culture that are being relegated to museums: 

  Bows, arrows, mandals, drums, and flutes —
  all are being gathered into folk museums,

   

  (Note: in many Adivasi communities, traditional hunting in primeval forest plays an especially important ritual role, and the bow and arrow are culturally very important signifiers.)
  
  But this poem also raises a number of issues that are a little different – including especially the negative impact of the encounter with modernity and globalization. In recent years, many Santhals have been leaving their homeland for economic opportunity elsewhere. Meanwhile, outsiders are coming in, drawing up plans for “development” – which often comes with exploitation of local natural resources. 
  
  Along with cultural changes is the incursion of alcohol abuse – where women are specifically endangered. 
  
  (For more on gender roles and feminism in Adivasi literature, click on our Gender Roles and Feminism tab. For more on the effects of displacement and development on Adivasi communities, click here or here) 

  (Also see our list of Santhali writers.)

  3. To conclude this introduction. Let’s look at a final example, a poem by Anuj Lugun called “Adivasi”:

  Adivasi (translated from Hindi)

  By Anuj Lugun

   

  Those who live in comfort,
  or are opportunists,
  or who seek reservations,
  say, “We are Adivasis.”

  Those who want votes
  say, “You are Adivasis.”

  Those who preach religion
  say, “You jungle Adivasis are savage.”

  Those who believe
  they are the real original inhabitants
  say, “You are forest dwellers.”

  But those who walk barefoot,
  silently, along forest trails,
  never say
  “We are Adivasis.”

  They know how to heal themselves
  with wild herbs.

  They understand the moods of the weather
  by watching the movements of animals.

  All the trees and plants,
  mountains and hills,
  rivers and waterfalls
  know who they are.

   

  Again, the poet is invoking certain stereotypes and political scenarios associated with the Adivasi experience in mainstream India – the myth that Adivasis are “savage,” for instance. Lugun also invokes the “vote bank” politics we saw in Abhay Xaxa’s poem. 

  However, in the second half, this poem takes a somewhat more defiant and optimistic turn. Rather than fixate on labels and political identities, for Lugun the truth of the Adivasi experience is something different – something you can find only in a state of one-ness with nature, relying on folk knowledge about healing / medicine, about the movements and behaviors of animals, and about the broader environment. 

  This ecological – or eco-indigenous – sensibility is a powerful through-line running through a great deal of Adivasi literature. To see more writings with an environmentalist sensibility, click on our “Environment” tag. 

• 1 2025-05-12T13:26:22-04:00 आदिवासी लेखक: भारत के आदिवासी साहित्य का परिचय 4 Welcome page for the site -- translated into Hindi plain 2025-08-21T09:39:11-04:00

  यह साइट आदिवासी लेखन के लिए एक केंद्र और शैक्षणिक संसाधन बनने का उद्देश्य रखती है, जिसमें दक्षिण एशिया के स्वदेशी साहित्य को व्यापक दुनिया के साथ साझा करने की आकांक्षा है। हम व्यक्तिगत लेखकों के प्रोफ़ाइल बनाएंगे, उनकी समुदायों और संस्कृतियों के बारे में जानकारी प्रदान करेंगे, विषयगत टैग्स बनाएंगे जो समूहों और विषयों को दिखाएंगे, और नक्शे शामिल करेंगे ताकि पाठक इन लेखकों को उनके सांस्कृतिक और भौगोलिक संदर्भों में समझ सकें।

  जहाँ संभव हो, हम विभिन्न भारतीय भाषाओं से अंग्रेज़ी या अनुवाद में लेखन के छोटे अंश भी प्रदान करेंगे, लेखकों या उनके उत्तराधिकारियों की अनुमति से; कई महत्वपूर्ण आदिवासी आवाजें कभी भी अंग्रेज़ी में अनुवादित नहीं हुई हैं। इन्हें यहीं एकत्र किया जाएगा।

  आदिवासी कौन हैं?

  भारत की स्वदेशी समुदायों को कई अलग-अलग नामों से जाना जाता है – जनजातीय, आदिवासी, अनुसूचित जनजातियाँ (सरकारी नाम), विमुक्त जनजातियाँ (1952 से; एक और सरकारी नाम), और ब्रिटिश औपनिवेशिक सरकार का एक डरावना नाम "आपराधिक जनजातियाँ" (1871-1952)।

  इनमें से सबसे सम्मानजनक और राजनीतिक रूप से सशक्त नाम “आदिवासी” माना जाता है, जो एक संस्कृत शब्द है जिसका अर्थ है “मूल निवासी।” यह शब्द 1930 के दशक से कार्यकर्ताओं द्वारा इस्तेमाल किया जा रहा है (ऐसा माना जाता है कि इसे गांधीवादी कार्यकर्ता ठक्कर बापा ने गढ़ा था)। हम यहाँ “आदिवासी” शब्द का ही उपयोग करेंगे, यद्यपि इसके प्रयोग में कुछ ऐतिहासिक और नृविज्ञान संबंधी जटिलताएँ भी हैं। कई आदिवासी लेखक और कार्यकर्ता स्वयं को “Tribal” कहकर भी संबोधित करते हैं। अन्य लोग अपनी विशिष्ट समुदायों की पहचान को अधिक प्राथमिकता देते हैं।

  आदिवासी समुदाय सांस्कृतिक और भाषाई रूप से अत्यंत विविध हैं। उनकी कुछ भाषाएँ द्रविड़ मूल की हैं, कुछ ऑस्ट्रिक, और कुछ दक्षिण-पूर्व एशियाई भाषाओं से संबंधित हैं। उनकी संस्कृतियाँ भी अत्यंत विविध हैं, और कई आदिवासियों की प्राचीन आस्थाएं और रीतिरिवाज हिंदू संस्कृति से अलग हैं। हाल के वर्षों में, कई आदिवासी लेखक और बुद्धिजीवी ईसाई धर्म में परिवर्तित हुए हैं, और इस साइट पर प्रोफ़ाइल किए गए कई लेखक ईसाई पृष्ठभूमि से आते हैं।

  आदिवासी साहित्य क्या है?

  1970 और 80 के दशक से एक सशक्त आदिवासी कार्यकर्ता आंदोलन उभरा, जो दलित आंदोलनों के समानांतर चला; इसमें भूमि अधिकार, भाषा अधिकार, और सांस्कृतिक एवं राजनीतिक स्वायत्तता की माँगें शामिल थीं। सुशीला समद (1906-1960), जूलियस तिग्गा (1903-1971), और एलिस एक्का (1917-1978) जैसे लेखक स्वतंत्रता से पहले के राष्ट्रवादी आंदोलन के समय सक्रिय थे, लेकिन उस समय व्यापक रूप से जाने नहीं गए। (वर्तमान में लेखकों और संपादकों द्वारा उनके कार्यों को सामने लाने का प्रयास हो रहा है, जैसे कि वंदना टेटे ने 2015 में एलिस एक्का की कहानियों का पहला संग्रह प्रकाशित किया।)

  1970 और 80 के दशक में आदिवासी लेखकों की दूसरी पीढ़ी सामने आई, जिनमें लक्ष्मण गायकवाड़, लाको बोडरा और सीता रत्नमल जैसे नाम शामिल हैं। पहले के लेखक आमतौर पर हिंदी या अंग्रेज़ी में लिखते थे, लेकिन इस पीढ़ी के कुछ लेखक अपनी भाषाओं में भी लिखने लगे; कुछ मामलों में उन्होंने अपनी भाषाओं के लिए लिपियाँ तक बनाई (जैसे कि लाको बोडरा ने हो भाषा के लिए वरांग क्षिति लिपि बनाई, जिसे भारत के पूर्वी हिस्से में 20 लाख से अधिक लोग बोलते हैं।)

  2000 के बाद की तीसरी पीढ़ी के लेखक जैसे कि हांसदा सौवेंद्र शेखर, जैसिंटा केरकेट्टा, और वंदना टेटे सामने आए हैं। कुछ नए लेखक अंग्रेज़ी में लिख रहे हैं, जबकि अन्य हिंदी और अपनी भाषाओं का प्रयोग कर रहे हैं। जबकि पहले की पीढ़ी सांस्कृतिक भिन्नता और विशिष्टता को दर्शाने पर केंद्रित थी, नई पीढ़ी आधुनिकता और वैश्विक पूंजीवाद के प्रभावों पर ध्यान केंद्रित करती है। समकालीन आदिवासी लेखक अब भी भूमि अधिकार, भौगोलिक और सांस्कृतिक विस्थापन, मुख्यधारा मीडिया द्वारा वस्तुकरण और हाशिये पर धकेले जाने, और पारिस्थितिक विषयों पर लिख रहे हैं।

  कई शहरी भारतीयों ने पहली बार आदिवासी मुद्दों से परिचय सवर्ण (उच्च जाति) लेखकों जैसे कि महाश्वेता देवी और जी.एन. देवि के माध्यम से पाया। महाश्वेता देवी ने 1960-70 के दशक में बंगाल और बिहार/झारखंड में आदिवासी कार्यकर्ताओं के साथ काम किया और अपने कथा-साहित्य में इन संघर्षों को दर्शाया (जैसे "प्टेरोडैक्टिल, पुराण सहाय, पृथ"). उनके कुछ लेखन का अनुवाद गायत्री चक्रवर्ती स्पिवक ने किया, जिससे पश्चिमी (मुख्यतः अकादमिक) पाठकों तक आदिवासी मुद्दे पहुँचे। वहीं, जी.एन. देवि ने एक महत्वपूर्ण संग्रह Painted Words (2002) और Being Adivasi: Existence, Entitlements, Exclusion (2022, अभय फ्लावियन क्षा के साथ) संपादित किया। उन्होंने भाषा अनुसंधान एवं प्रकाशन केंद्र और तेजगढ़ में आदिवासी अकादमी की स्थापना भी की। हालांकि ये योगदान महत्वपूर्ण हैं, इस साइट पर हम जी.एन. देवि, गायत्री स्पिवक, या महाश्वेता देवी की आवाजों को केंद्र में नहीं रखेंगे।

  स्वदेशीयता की ट्रान्सनेशनल रेटोरिक:

  कुछ आदिवासी लेखकों ने वैश्विक स्वदेशी अधिकार आंदोलनों (जैसे आदिवासियत) के साथ अपनी पहचान बनाई है, और अपने संघर्षों को अमेरिका के मूल निवासी समुदायों, ऑस्ट्रेलिया और न्यूजीलैंड के एबोरिजिनल समुदायों के साथ जोड़कर देखा है। इस विषय पर अधिक जानकारी के लिए हमारी सैद्धांतिक टिप्पणी देखें।

  भाषा:

  अब तक जो आदिवासी साहित्य प्रकाशित हुआ है, उसका अधिकांश भाग हिंदी में है, लेकिन अंग्रेज़ी में प्रकाशित लेखकों की संख्या बढ़ रही है। साथ ही, आदिवासी भाषाओं में लेखन और प्रकाशन की एक सक्रिय आंदोलन भी है। इस साइट पर हमारा ध्यान मुख्य रूप से हिंदी और अंग्रेज़ी में प्रकाशित साहित्य पर रहेगा, हालांकि कुछ मामलों में हम अनुवादित सामग्रियों को भी उपलब्ध कराएंगे।

  जनसंख्या का आकार:

  भारत की 2011 की जनगणना के अनुसार, देश की लगभग 8% जनसंख्या आदिवासी है, यानी 10 करोड़ से अधिक लोग। अन्य दक्षिण एशियाई देशों में भी स्वदेशी/जनजातीय समुदाय हैं। एक अनुमान के अनुसार, बांग्लादेश की 1% जनसंख्या भी आदिवासी है, और पाकिस्तान में लगभग 6 लाख भील रहते हैं – संभव है कि वास्तविक संख्या और अधिक हो।

  कुछ क्षेत्र हैं जहाँ आदिवासी समुदायों की घनत्व अधिक है; इस साइट पर जिन लेखकों की प्रोफ़ाइल दी गई है, वे प्रायः इन्हीं क्षेत्रों – झारखंड, नागालैंड, अरुणाचल प्रदेश, मध्य प्रदेश और महाराष्ट्र – से आते हैं। नीचे दिए गए विकिपीडिया के नक्शे में प्रति व्यक्ति जनसंख्या सघनता को दिखाया गया है।
  

  देश के मध्य भाग से गुजरने वाले क्षेत्र को अक्सर “जनजातीय पट्टी” कहा जाता है। उत्तर के क्षेत्रों (जम्मू-कश्मीर और लद्दाख) और पूर्वोत्तर में आदिवासी जनसंख्या का अनुपात अधिक है, लेकिन वहाँ कुल जनसंख्या अपेक्षाकृत कम है। इस प्रकार, मध्य भारत के राज्य – गुजरात, महाराष्ट्र, मध्य प्रदेश, ओडिशा, छत्तीसगढ़, झारखंड, बिहार, और पश्चिम बंगाल – पारंपरिक रूप से आदिवासी आंदोलनों के केंद्र रहे हैं। हालाँकि, अब पूर्वोत्तर के लेखक भी अपने समुदायों की कहानियाँ प्रभावशाली ढंग से प्रस्तुत कर रहे हैं, जैसे अविनुओ किर, ईस्टरीन किर, मामंग दाई, और टेम्सुला आओ।

  ऐतिहासिक और नृविज्ञान संबंधी जटिलताएँ:

  भारत भर की आदिवासी जनसंख्या अत्यंत विविध है। कुछ समुदाय ऐसे हैं जिनकी उपस्थिति किसी क्षेत्र में प्राचीन समय से हो सकती है (शायद आर्यों के आगमन से पहले), वहीं कुछ समुदायों के बारे में भाषाई और नृवंशीय साक्ष्य यह दर्शाते हैं कि वे दक्षिण-पूर्व एशिया जैसे क्षेत्रों से आए होंगे (विशेषकर उत्तर-पूर्व भारत के जनजातीय समुदाय)। कुछ समुदाय आज भी शिकारी-संग्राहक जीवन शैली में रहते हैं। अतः, वे अन्य प्रमुख समूहों से पहले के नहीं भी हो सकते, लेकिन ऐतिहासिक रूप से उनका व्यवहार समान रूप से हुआ है।

  साथ ही, समुदायों के भीतर भी विविधता है, जैसे गोंड, भील, और मुंडा समुदायों की कई उप-शाखाएँ हैं, जिनके अपने नाम हैं और कभी-कभी वे बड़ी समूहों से अलग मानी जाती हैं।

  एक महत्वपूर्ण स्पष्टता – नीचे उल्लिखित समुदाय वे हैं जिन्हें भारत सरकार द्वारा “अनुसूचित जनजाति” के रूप में मान्यता प्राप्त है। इस परियोजना में हमारा ध्यान केवल “अनुसूचित जनजाति” समुदायों पर है, “अनुसूचित जाति” (जैसे दलित) पर नहीं। हालांकि, कुछ लेखक ऐसे हैं जो दलित और आदिवासी दोनों पहचानों से संबंधित हो सकते हैं।
  
  आदिवासी और तुलनात्मक आदिवासियता: उपनिवेशवादोत्तर और उपनिवेश-मुक्त दृष्टिकोण

• 1 2025-08-14T12:38:31-04:00 Adivasi Literature: a more in-depth introduction 1 plain 2025-08-14T12:38:31-04:00

  Who are Adivasis? 
  
  India’s indigenous communities are known by a number of different names – Tribals, Adivasis, Scheduled Tribes (a government name), Denotified Tribes (since 1952; another government name), and the British colonial government’s rather ominous Criminal Tribes (1871-1952).  

  The most respectful, politically empowering term in use is probably the term Adivasi, which is a Sanskrit word that means “Original Inhabitants." The term has been in use by activists since the 1930s (the term is thought to have been coined by the Gandhian activist Thakkar Bapa). Here, we will use the term Adivasi in most instances to describe these communities – though there are some historical and ethnographic complexities in doing so. Many Adivasi writers and activists use the word "Tribal" to describe themselves. Others might emphasize their specific communities in describing their orientation to identity. 
  
  Adivasi communities are extremely culturally and linguistically heterogeneous. Some of their languages have Dravidian roots, others are Austric, and yet another branch are closely related to Southeast Asian languages. Their cultures are also quite diverse, and many Adivasis have ancient belief-systems and ritual practices that are clearly distinct from Hindu culture. In recent years, a sizeable number of Adivasi writers and intellectuals have converted to Christianity, and several of the writers profiled on this site come from Christian backgrounds. 
  
  What is Adivasi Literature?
  
  A vibrant Adivasi activist movement emerged in parallel with Dalit activism beginning in the 1970s and 80s; Adivasis have been involved with agitations for land rights, language rights, and cultural and political autonomy within the Indian nation state. Writers like Sushila Samad (1906-1960), Julius Tigga (1903-1971), and Alice Ekka (1917-1978) were active during the nationalist movement before Indian independence, but were not well-known at the time. (Contemporary writers and editors have been working to make their works more available, with the writer and editor Vandana Tete publishing the first collection of Alice Ekka's stories from the 1960s in 2015.) An important figure in Adivasi political history is Jaipal Singh Munda, who advocated for Adivasi rights in India's Constituent Assembly. A second generation of Adivasi writers emerged in the 1970s and 1980s, with writers like Laxman Gaikwad, Lako Bodra, and Sita Rathnamal. While earlier writers generally wrote in Hindi or English, this generation also began to write in their own languages; in some cases, they even created their own scripts for language groups that previously had not had them! (In Lako Bodra's case, he created the Warang Chiti script for the Ho language, spoken by more than 2 million people in eastern India.)
  
  Finally, a vibrant third generation of Adivasi writers has emerged in the 2000s, most visibly with figures like Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar, Jacinta Kerketta, Anuj Lugun, and Vandana Tete. Some of the new generation have been publishing in English, while others have used Hindi as well as their own languages. The newer generation (exemplified by Shekhar and Kerketta) often focuses on the consequences of the encounter with modernity and global capitalism on Tribal communities (see for instance the poem Santhal Pargana by Nirmala Putul or Shekhar's short story "The Adivasi Will Not Dance"). Other topics covered by contemporary Adivasi writers continue to follow the themes of land rights, geographical and cultural dispossession, exoticization and marginalization by the mainstream media, and ecological themes. 
  
  Many urban Indians were first introduced to Adivasi issues through Savarna (high caste) writers like Mahashweta Devi and G.N. Devy. Mahashweta Devi worked closely with Adivasi activists in Bengal and Bihar/Jharkhand in the 1960s and 70s, and also described the struggles of these communities in many of her works of fiction (see especially "Pterodactyl, Puran Sahay, Pirtha"). Some of Mahashweta Devi's Bengali writings about Adivasis were also notably translated into English by the scholar and theorist Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, which helped bring awareness of Adivasi people to western readers. For his part, G.N. Devy edited an important collection of Adivasi writings (Painted Words, 2002), as well as a more recent collection Being Adivasi: Existence, Entitlements, Exclusion (co-edited with Abhay Flavian Xaxa, 2022). He also founded the non-profit Bhasha Research and Publication Centre as well as the Adivasi Academy in Tejgadh.
  
  These projects have all been important contributions, though we will not be centering the voices of G.N. Devy, Gayatri Spivak, or Mahashweta Devi on this site.  
  
  Transnational Rhetorics of Indigenity:
  
  Some Adivasi writers have explicitly engaged the rhetoric of indigeneity (or: Adivasiyat), coming to see their struggles for justice, recognition, and cultural preservation as aligned with other Indigenous rights movements around the world, including Native American communities in North America, Aboriginals in Australia and New Zealand, and others. For more on comparative theories of indigeneity and decoloniality, see our theoretical note here. 
  
  Language:
  
  The majority of published Adivasi literature we have encountered is in Hindi, though a growing number of Adivasi writers have been publishing in English. There is also a vibrant movement for writing and publishing in Adivasi languages. Here, we will focus on Adivasi literature published primarily in Hindi and English, with an expectation that readers will benefit from having access to previously untranslated materials in some instances.  
  
  Size of population
  
  The Indian census of 2011 estimated about 8% of the country’s population to be Adivasi, meaning that the population is 100 million or more. There are also indigenous/Tribal communities in other South Asian countries. There is an estimate that 1% of the population of Bangladesh is also Adivasi. And about 600,000 Bhils reside in Pakistan; there could be more.

  There are certain regions that have particularly high concentrations of Adivasis; many Adivasi writers profiled on this site come from those regions -- Jharkhand, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, but also Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The following map from Wikipedia shows population concentrations per capita. 

  
  The area that runs through the central part of the country is often referred to as the “Tribal Belt.” The regions in the north (Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh) and the Northeast have high proportions of the population understood to be “Tribal,” but these are much more sparsely populated areas overall. So it's that middle region of the country -- the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa (Odisha), Chattisgarh, Jharkand, Bihar, and West Bengal that have historically been the center of Adivasi activism. That said, it's important to note the emergence of a growing community of writers from the northeastern Indian states who identify as Adivasi, including Easterine Kire, Temsula Ao, and Avinuo Kira. 
   

  Historical and Ethnographic Complexities. Names and Naming; ST, SC, DNT, OBC...

  The Adivasi populations around India are quite heterogeneous, with some communities likely with ancient roots in certain regions of India that might predate other settlers (such as the Indo-Aryans) In other cases, linguistic and ethnographic evidence suggests the communities might have migrated from other regions of Asia, including Southeast Asia (this is especially likely to be true for Tribal communities in Northeastern India); some of these communities continue to be nomadic, hunter-gatherer societies to the present day. So these communities may not ‘predate’ other (dominant) groups, but they nevertheless have been treated the same as the others historically. Also, the communities can be quite diverse, even internally, with several different sub-groups of the Gond, Bhil, and Munda communities (for example). Sometimes those subgroups have their own names, and there are some inconsistencies regarding whether and how they are marked as separate from the larger groups.

  One important point of clarification – the communities listed below are specifically understood as indigenous “Scheduled Tribes” by the Indian government. For this project, we are generally not including communities known as “Scheduled Castes” (i.e., Dalits); our focus is specifically on communities that have been included under “Scheduled Tribes.”  However, there is at least some overlap between writers understood as Dalit and those defined as Adivasi. 
  
  Finally, some of the writers we are profiling and including on our lists may not be strictly speaking members of Scheduled Tribes (ST). The Chhara community in Ahmedabad, for instance, is technically classified by the government as a Denotified and Nomadic Tribe (DNT), under the broader category of the Other Backward Classes (OBC). However, the writer Dakxin Bajrange Chhara has indicated he believes that classification is a mistake, and communities like the Chharas (who were formerly referred to by the British as Criminal Tribes) should in fact be reclassified as a Scheduled Trib (see our profile of Dakxin Chhara here).