Recovering the Silenced: Postcolonial and Ecocritical Perspectives on Tribal Identity in Mahasweta Devi’s Works

Abstract

Mahasweta Devi’s literary works demonstrate the power of representing marginalised tribal communities in India to expose postcolonial socio-political structures and environmental exploitation. This paper analyses Devi’s works, specifically Chotti Munda and His Arrow (1980) and Pterodactyl, Puran Sahay, and Pirtha, (1995), through postcolonial and ecocritical perspectives to understand how tribal identities form and get suppressed and then recovered. The research examines how Devi represents tribal resistance against systemic oppression and ecological devastation to illustrate the interconnectedness of caste and class with environmental justice. The analysis employs postcolonial theories by Edward Said and Gayatri Spivak, as well as ecocritical perspectives from Rob Nixon, to demonstrate how Devi’s narratives challenge dominant discourses while advocating for subaltern community identity.