Santhali Writers / Writers from the Santhal 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)
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)