Sushma Asur (1983- ): Author Profile
Sushma Asur is a writer from the Asur community in the Gumla district of Jharkhand. She was raised under difficult circumstances in a predominantly rural and agricultural context. However, she was able to have formal education through the 12th grade in her local schools, and received support from an organization called Akhra as she grew interested in preserving Asuri language and culture. She published her first book, Asur Siring in 2010, which is described by Vandana Tete as the first written book of Asur literature.
She describes her interest in writing about Asur culture as follows: "My desire to know Asur history and to save their vanishing traditions is growing stronger. There's no mobile network either, even though bauxite has been mined on our land since before independence. This might be developing the country, but my village Sakhuapani is in a dense forest on the Netarhat plateau where there's still no electricity, no roads, and no hospital today."
Outside links for Sushma Asur:
Pragya Shukla, "Poems of Sushma Asur"
https://adivasifirstnation.in/poems-of-sushma-asur/
Neha Sinha, "Tribal Diary: Sushma Asur and My Mother" (Outlook India)
https://www.outlookindia.com/national/tribal-diary-sushma-asur-and-my-mother-magazine-239783