Munda Writers / Writers from the Munda Community
Authors from the Munda Community. There are more than 2 million Munda people in India, with the heaviest concentration in Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal.
Sushila Samad (1906-1960): A Munda poet, journalist, editor and publisher who wrote in Hindi. (Read our author profile here) (Our translations of her poems "Closed Door" and "Dedication")
Alice Ekka (1917-1978): A short story writer from the Munda community. The first Adivasi woman published in Hindi. (Read our author profile here) (Our translation of her story "Durgi's Children and Elma's Dreams")
Anuj Lugun (1986- ): One of the most compelling Hindi-language poets writing about Adivasi issues today. A writer from the Munda community, Lugun is especially powerful on issues relating to environmental destruction, displacement, and Adivasi identity. (Read our author profile here) (Our translations of his poems "Adivasi", "Globe", and "Red Indians, P.S.: 'To you, this land is nothing more than enemy territory.'")
Jaipal Singh Munda (1903-1970): A Munda writer and member of the Constituent Assembly, Olympic gold medalist, and advocate for creation of an Adivasi state (Jharkhand). His writings and speeches were published in a collection titled Adivasiyat (translated into English as Adivasidom). (English Wikipedia) (Hindi Wikipedia) (A review of his memoir, Lo Bir Sendra)
Dayamani Barla: A contemporary journalist and activist from the Munda community. Known as the 'Iron Lady of Jharkhand' for her activism against the displacement and dispossession of Adivasi people. (English Wikipedia) (Hindi Wikipedia) (Documentary about her activism) (UMass Lowell 2023 Greeley Scholar for Peace Studies profile)
Pyari Tuti (1951- ): A Munda writer and poet writing primarily in the Mundari language. (Our translation of her poem "Environment" here)
Ram Dayal Munda (1939- 2011): A scholar from the Munda community with an interest in anthropology, linguistics, folklore, and more. He published more than ten books and over fifty essays in multiple languages, including Mundari, Nagpuri, Panchpargania, Hindi, and English. In Hindi, two collections of his poems have been published—Nadi Aur Uske Sambandhi Tatha Anya Nageet (“The River and Its Kin and Other Songs”) and Wapsi, Punar Milan Aur Anya Nageet (“Return, Reunion, and Other Songs”).(English Wikipedia) (Hindi Wikipedia) (Naachi Se Baanchi, a documentary on Munda)
Walter Bhengra 'Tarun': A Hindi journalist, writer, and poet from the Munda community in Amritpur in the Khunti district of Jharkhand. Bhengra studied in Delhi and Pune before working for Doordarshan, from which he retired in 2007. He taught at St. Xavier's College in Ranchi unitl 2014. (Our translation of his short story "Sangi") (Hindi profile here) (Hindi language books for sale here) (An academic article in Hindi on Bhengra's fiction here)
Dulay Chandra Munda (1941-1982). A Munda poet from the Khunti district in Jharkhand, he taught at J.N. College, Dhurwa (Ranchi) beginning in 1976. His first collection of Mundari language poems, Suḍāsangen (New Shoots), was published in 1966, and his second collection, Bambaru (Torch), in 1978. Many of his poems have been included in various journals and books, and songs have been broadcast from All India Radio, Ranchi. His poems are included in Vandana Tete's Lokpriya Adivasi Kavitaein.
Mangal Singh Munda. (dates unknown) Mangal Singh Munda is a Munda writer from the Rangrong Village, in the Khunti district in Jharkhand. He began publishing short stories in Ranchi's Adivasi magazine in 1982. He published a novel with Rajkamal, a major Delhi-based publisher, called Chhaela Sandu in 2004. His short story "Deception" appears in the Lokpriya Adivasi Kahaniya anthology.
Krishna Mohan Singh Munda. (dates unknown) A writer from the Munda community from Jharkhand. He writes in Mundari, Panchpargania, and Hindi. He has been associated with the Jharkhandi language, literature and culture organization, Akhra. His short story "Leelmani's Duty" appears in the Lokpriya Adivasi Kahaniya anthology.
Rajendra Munda. (dates unknown) A Munda writer from the Ranchi district of Jhakrhand. He began writing in 2006, and has published short sotires and poems in Mundari and Hindi. His short story "Morhi" appears in the Lokpriya Adivasi Kahaniya anthology.