Santhali Writers / Writers from the Santhal (or Santal) Community
Writers who are from the Santhal community. There are estimated to be about 9 million Santhal people in India, with primary concentrations in Jharkhand and West Bengal.
Nirmila Putul Murmu (1972- ): A Santhali writer, poet, and activist writing in Hindi. (Hindi Wikipedia) (A profile of and interview with Putul here) ("Buru Gaara", a documentary about Dayamanti Birla and Nirmala Putul, here) (Critical Analysis of Nirmala Putul's Poems on Adivasi Women) (Hindi poems here) (our translation of her poem "Santhal Pargana" here)
Damayanti Beshra (1962- ): A Santali writer, scholar, and educator. She was the first woman from the Santhal community to publish a book of poems. She writes in both Santhali and Odia. (Read our author profile here)
Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar (1983- ): A writer and translator from the Santhal community. His works in English, including The Adivasi WIll Not Dance, have received widespread critical acclaim. (Read our author profile here)
Yashoda Murmu (1964- ) is a Santhali (Santali) writer originally from Jharkhand, who currently resides in Kolkata. She has published two books, Towa Dare and Sanwhet Dare. She writes in the Santali language. A selection of her poems is included in the Kavi Man Jani Man anthology; see our translation of her poem "Primitive Jarawa."
Raghunath Murmu (1905-1982): A Santhali writer who created the Ol Chiki script for writing the Santhali language. (English Wikipedia) (Hindi Wikipedia) (An article on the development of the script) (A documentary about Murmu directed by Prabal Mahto and produced by Tata Steel)
Chandramohan Kisku (1982- ): Santhali writer, poet and translator writing in Hindi and Santhali. Received the Sahitya Akademi Translation Award in 2021 for translating a Bengali novel into Santhali. (Hindi article on the award) (Hindi profile of the author)
Ruby Hembrom: A publisher and author from Kolkata, West Bengal. Ruby Hembrom founded the Adivaani Publishing House, a publishing company devoted to Adivasi literature. She is the daughter of theologian Timotheas Hembrom, a member of the Santhal community. (English Wikipedia)
Timotheas Hembrom (1939-2020): A Santhali theologian, and editor of the Santali magazine Jug-Sirijol. (English Wikipedia)
Krishna Chandra Tudu. (dates unknown) A Santhali writer from Jharkhand. K.C. Tudu has been teaching in the Department of Tribal and Regional Languages at Ranchi University. He has published three collections of poetry, two plays, as well as books on linguistics. Short story "A Span of Land" appears in the Lokpriya Adivasi Kahaniya anthology.
Sundar Manoj Hembram. (dates unknown). Santhali writer who has worked with Indian railways. He has translated works from English into Santhali, and is associated with literary and cultural organizations. He is also the assistant editor for the Santhali literary magazines Nawa Epil and Jug-Sirijol. His short story "The Last Bus of Nighttime Bengal" appears in Lokpriya Adivasi Kahaniya.
Shishir Tudu. (dates unknown) Santhali writer originally from Bihar. Since 1983, he has been associated with Good Books Education Trust, working on magazine editing and radio programming, producing around 400 radio programs. In 1986, he began working as a writer and video filmmaker. Some of his films include Manda Parv, Sarhul, Jharkhand ke Vikas, Ek Anubhuti, Sauriya Pahadiya, Binjhiya, Shiksha, Samaj aur Satta, and Akshar ki Barsaat. His short story "Stain" appears in the Lokpriya Adivasi Kahaniya anthology.