1

Chapter I: Introduction
Literature is a mirror that reflects cultural, social, historical,
economic and political events refracted through imaginary or fictional
realms. Interestingly, in such narratives, literature also reflects the
imbalances/complexities that exist in social as well as individual
relationships. In this role, literature becomes a commentary on the
inequalities in society. These social inequalities create disparity in many
ways, affecting the lives of individuals.
Despite the Indian Constitution‟s claims of India as a democratic
and egalitarian state, social inequalities do exist. Even after sixty-six
years of independence, Indian society still faces inequality that results in
oppression and exploitation and also suppression of individuals or
groups through misuse of power, position, status or authority. In such a
condition, the oppressed is deprived of his basic rights and freedom and
is forced to live in a helpless state. Such a condition has given rise to
various notions, beliefs and theories on the issue of inequality and
oppression.
The religio-mythical belief about the establishment and origin of
caste system explains the creation of the various castes from Purush, the
primal man, who destroyed himself for the creation of human society.
2
The Brahmins are believed to be created from his head, the Kshatriyas
from the hands, the Vaishyas from the thighs and Sudras from his feet.
Another religious concept believes in the creation of varnas from
the body organs of Brahma, the creator of the world. The physical
notion/theory believes in the existence of three qualities in all things,
namely Sattva (qualities like honesty and kindness) inherent in the
Brahmins, Rajas (qualities like pride, valour and passion) inherent in the
Kshatriyas and Vaishyas and Tamas (dullness, stupidity and lack of
creativity) was believed to be present in the Sudras.
According to the socio-historical concept, the caste system began
with the coming of the Aryans in India who formed three groups among
themselves- the warriors, known as the Rajayana or the Kshatriyas, the
priests who were called Brahmins and the farmers and craftsmen, known
as the Vaishyas. The skin colour was an important factor in caste system
as the word „Varna‟ means colour. The native inhabitants were divided
into two categories, the polluted and the non- polluted groups based on
their occupations. The polluted groups were called the Sudras who
were the natives. They were subdued and oppressed by the Aryans (Ekta
Singh, Caste System in India: A Historical Perspective 35-6).
From the above stated beliefs, the dominance of the upper castes
over the lower castes is obvious. It is also evident that the oppressed
group occupies the lowest position in the social strata. They are deprived
3
of the rights which are enjoyed by the upper castes and classes. Caste
system is also believed to have been formed after Manu. Incidentally, in
the Manusmriti (also known as the Dharmasutras of Manava) written
during the post-Vedic period, there is no mention of caste but about
Varna system viz. Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra which
advocates a system based on the qualities of a person. This means that if
a Shudra possesses the qualities of a Brahmin, he could be promoted to a
Brahmin‟s ststus but if a Brahmin does not possess the qualities
required, then he should be demoted to a Shudra‟s status. From the
above contradictory perspectives on the origin of caste, one can
understand that caste system certainly led to the oppression of the lower
castes, who began their fight for their rights as time rolled on, being
empowered by education, uprisings and the movements.
Different kinds of uprisings, protests and movements at both
societal and individual levels helped fight oppression in an attempt to
establish a truly egalitarian society. Consequently, the issues of social
inequalities, oppression and consequent struggles found expression in
the writings of many literary authors, both in India and abroad. The Dalit
Movement started in the year 1917 with the collective protests of
the Dalits against the exploitation on the basis of class, caste, creed,
cultural and social injustice prevailing in the Indian society in an attempt
to attain equal treatment and opportunity. It was a protest against the age
4
old hierarchical divisions in the Hindu society. The Tebhaga Movement,
a militant campaign of 1946 started with the peasants demand for
reduction of the landlord‟s share of crops from half to one third. The
Naxalite Movement of 1967 took place with the armed risings of poor,
agricultural labourers whose lands were forcefully taken away by the
landlords. These tillers of the land wanted to become the owners of the
land. And they demanded the due recognition of their rights by the
government. Women‟s movements began in India with the social reform
movements started by Indian reformers like Behramji Makbari,
Mahadev Govind Ranade, Rammohan Roy, Iswarchandra Vidyasagar
and Dayanand Saraswati who emphasized on women‟s education
and bringing about awareness in them to fight for their rights.
The various movements mentioned above and their fights for
reforms constitute the theme of the works of many Indian writers.
Writers like Arundhati Roy, Munshi Premchand, Rohinton Mistry, Raja
Rao and Mulk Raj Anand mirror the problems related to the
underprivileged. Poets like L.S. Rokade, Vilas Rashinkar, Tryambak
Sapkale and Waman Kardak brought about a new awareness and
uprising among the masses through literature. Gender issues, with an
aim to create awareness among women, form part of the works of
authors like Shashi Deshpande, Gita Hariharan, Anita Desai, Shobha De,
Bharati Mukherjee, Manju Kapoor and Taslima Nasreen and the
5
poetesses Kamala Das, Toru Dutt and Tara Patel. These writers highlight
social, familial, caste, class, political as well as gender oppressions that
exist in society.
Class oppression is the prime energy in Prem Chand‟s novels. His
most relevant novel Godan (1960) unravels a pathetic saga of Hori Ram,
the poor farmer, who lives in utter poverty and starvation and yet
hopeful of better days to come. Mulk Raj Anand‟s novel Untouchable
(1935) voices Bakha‟s tirade against untouchability. His famous trilogy
The Village (1939), Across the Black Waters (1940) and The Sword and
the Sickle (1942) records a strong protest against various social
injustices present in the Indian society. The story follows the life of Lai
Singh from his experiences as an adolescent to his rebellious
and revolutionary activities till his return home. Another novel of Anand
named Two Leaves and a Bud (1937) again reveals the story of a poor
Punjabi peasant who is brutally exploited in the tea plantation and is
later killed by a British official.
Contemporary writers like Salman Rushdie, Arundhati Roy, Anita
Desai, Gita Hariharan, Shashi Deshpande, Bharati Mukherjee, Taslima
Nasreen and Mahasweta Devi also address in their works various forms
of oppression and inequalities that exist in the Indian society. Salman
Rushdie‟s epic novel Midnight’s Children (1981) discusses the social
inequalities persisting in societies where moneylenders, landlords and
6
tax collectors continue to exploit the peasants and agricultural labourers.
In the novel The God of Small Things (1997) Arundhati Roy portrays the
miserable condition of the „paravans‟(untouchables) as victims of caste
discrimination as seen in the acute suffering of characters like Kelan,
Vellya Paapen and Velutha.
Contemporary women writers like Anita Desai, Gita Hariharan,
Bharati Mukherjee, Shashi Deshpande, Taslima Nasreen and Mahasweta
Devi particularly address the issues of gender discrimination leading to
oppression. All these writers portray women in quest of identity. Shashi
Deshpande‟s The Dark Holds No Terrors (1980) and Binding Vine
(1993) and Bharati Mukherjee‟s characters particularly women in The
Tiger’s Daughter (1971) and Wife (1975) reveal women‟s confrontation
with the problems of social identity and cultural rootlessness due to
social stereotyping of their roles as women. Taslima Nasreen‟s
Lajja portrays exploitation and oppression of women. Interestingly, all
these works represent and fictionalize resistance, rebellion and protests
in various forms by oppressed victims who protest against injustices.
Mahasweta Devi is one such contemporary woman writer who
deals with all these forms of oppression in her works. What
differentiates Mahasweta Devi from the other writers is the activist zeal
in her writings that represent her involvement with the problems of the
underprivileged. Her experiences of social and political activism go into
7
her writings of the underprivileged. She gives voice to the voiceless by
exposing different forms of oppression inherent in the Indian society and
also fights for their rights. Mahasweta Devi‟s approach to oppression is
unique because while most women writers deal with gender oppression
of middle class or upper class women, Devi deals with the issue of
gender oppression enmeshed within its class and caste dichotomies. Her
activist writing as they exist in the form of essays, short stories, plays
and novels explore the trident forms/patterns of oppression– class, caste
and gender oppression.
Mahasweta Devi‟s works to be discussed below clearly reflect the
author‟s concern for the underprivileged Dalits, Adivasis, Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes who are deprived of their basic rights by
the dominant upper classes. Devi‟s works do not present a glorified
picture of the downtrodden but they certainly present their lives amidst
adversity and exhibit their spirit and strength to resist any form of
social oppressions. To understand Mahasweta Devi‟s discourse on class,
caste and gender oppression and her depiction of the spirit of the
oppressed, the researcher here quotes from Gail Omvedt‟s Dalits and
the
Democratic Revolution where the spirit of the oppressed is effectively
picturized in the lines: “Things began to change „when someone brought
him news of Naxalbari‟ and awakened the spirit of rebellion creating a
power of thought to fight for his rights” (11). Such a change indicated
8
above can be seen in Mahasweta Devi‟s writings too. Hence, the
author‟s discourse of class, caste and gender oppression reveals a unique
narrative of the downtrodden, his/her oppression and finally his/her
resistance to oppression. Such a discourse on class/ caste/ gender
oppressions in Mahasweta Devi‟s works forms the basic grounds of
argument of the thesis.
In Omvedt‟s book, the awareness of the oppressed on his
predicament is likened to the situation of a dead man‟s resurrection and
of his act of chopping off the branches of feudalism. The oppressed is
humiliated, whipped, slain and denied the status of a human being. And
his wife is treated like a prostitute (11). The same spirit of rebellion
described by Omvedt is also brought out by Mahasweta Devi in her
narratives of the oppressed, in her fictionalized accounts of social and
political protest movements and through her depictions of upper class
greed and violence.
Mahasweta Devi, born on 14th January, 1926 at Dhaka,
Bangladesh is the most powerful and realistic woman writer of
contemporary India, who has earned a literary reputation for her socially
committed writings. Through her writings, Mahasweta Devi explores
and challenges new ideas in the existing social troops in the country and
the existing cultural practices that affect the downtrodden.
9
Mahasweta Devi comes from a culturally distinguished upper
class background. Some of her distinguished family members in the field
of art and culture are Manish Chandra Ghatak (father), Ritwik Ghatak
(uncle), Dharitri Devi (mother), Sankha Chaudhury and Sachin
Chaudhury (brothers) and Bijon Bhattacharya (husband). Though she
hails from a culturally rich background with her family members in the
field of literature, film-making and journalism, Mahasweta Devi is
unique in her approach to writings and has chosen a chiseled path for
herself viz, literary activism.
Mahasweta Devi denies the influence of family literary heritage in
her writings. In conversation with the American fiction writer Sue
Dickman, Mahasweta Devi states that “No one influences anyone. If my
father influenced his children, then my other brothers and sisters should
have become writers too” (“In Conversation: Sue Dickman and
Sabyasachi Deb” 30-35). She emphasizes a similar point in her interview
with Amar Mitra and Sabyasachi Deb, remarking that she does not
believe in inheritance since the ideas of an artist cannot be transferred or
passed on from one generation to another. Ideas and creativity
are entirely one‟s own. She draws inspiration from the society itself and
learns from her personal encounter of suffering and exploitation she has
witnessed around her. Devi therefore firmly believes in creation and
10
moulding of the self (“In Conversation with Amar Mitra and Sabyasachi
Deb” 50-53).
Similar to the manner in which the writer denies the influence of
family literary heritage in her writings, she also denies the influence of
any writers on her writings. However Mahasweta Devi is well-read with
her penchant for the writings of Leo Tolstoy, Tarashankar
Bandopadhyay, Satinath Bhaduri, Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay and
many others.
In Mahasweta Devi‟s long and chequered career, she has
attempted diverse professions as school teacher, dealer, entrepreneur,
and reporter before she finally turned to writing fiction and drama. She
began her writing career with the pseudonym „Sumitra Devi‟ and
became a well-known Bengali writer by mid 1950s. Till 1980s,
Mahasweta Devi divided her time between writing and serving the rural
commoners after which she devoted her time whole-heartedly for the
service of the underprivileged.
Mahasweta Devi‟s works represent her intention to provide a
voice and social standing to the marginalized deprived of their basic
rights. Her writings therefore characterize and also seem to be ignited by
luminous aggression, passion, and burning anger directed against a
failed system, failed because it did not succeed in liberating the people
from miserable conditions.
11
Crossing all barriers of caste and class, Mahasweta Devi became
committed to the cause of the Tribals, Dalits and Adivasis in the states
of Orissa, West Bengal and Bihar. Her commitment to the socially
marginalized has brought three facets to her literary and political
writings- social activism, social criticism and aesthetics of the
oppressed. In these three facets is revealed her concern for the
underprivileged and her contempt for ruling class who, by ignoring the
oppressed, directly or indirectly have taken part in the process of their
exploitation. They also reveal her infinite admiration for the
marginalized and their zeal to withstand and resist oppression
through centuries. With the marginalized as the subject of her writings,
she creates the aesthetics of the oppressed.
What has been discussed above is reflected in the issues that
Mahasweta Devi chooses to give literary space. The bigotry of the upper
class, exploitation of the underprivileged sections, the Machiavellian
tactics used by the landed gentry to deprive the lower sections of their
rights, the caste system, all find expression in her works. Devi uses the
tools of irony, sarcasm, criticism as well as colloquialisms to express her
discontentment against society in her works as she highlights the evils
and hypocrisy present in society.
What is integral to Mahasweta Devi‟s literary as well as activist
works is how she links the idea of oppression to history, particularly the
12
people‟s movements against corruption and oppression. Historical
events like the Partition and political Movements like the Quit India
Movement, Dalit and Naxalite Movement, Women‟s Movement and
Tebhaga Peasant Movement are deeply embedded in her writings. All
these historical events figure in her works like Mother of 1084, her
novel Agnigarbha, Titu Mir, Bashai Tudu and her short story
“Draupadi”, which trace the tales of exploitation and their subsequent
protests. These protests and rebel movements led to the deaths of large
number of people from the lower classes who found themselves
ruthlessly crushed by the ruling class. The tribal participation in various
movements like Tebhaga, Naxalbari, Uttarakhand and Boro would
remain unknown to the masses but for Mahasweta Devi‟s choice to
provide literary space to their resistance.
Mahasweta Devi‟s close activist associations with the
underprivileged made her realize that even after independence, people
are still deprived of the basic necessities like food, water and land. This
deprivation compelled them to become bonded labourers and slaves. For
Mahasweta Devi, literary activism is not a task of pedagogy or
enlightenment but only a catalytic process. As an activist, Mahasweta
Devi spends her time for the social welfare activities in villages around
Bundelkhand, Midnapore, Bankura, Purulia and Palamou and makes
demands to the government departments „telling them where a village
13
needs a well, where a few young fruit- trees and eight or ten goats or
chickens might mean a new life for a group of people condemned to
eternal penury‟ (Sandip Bandyopadhyaya, “About this Collection” N.
Pag.). Devi participated and took part in various movements and also
involved herself in the engendering of a consciousness of the rights of
the underprivileged. Since her writings evince an interest in history,
several movements like the Tebhaga Revolt of the Bengal peasants,
the Narkelberia Uprising (1830-31) of the Bengal peasants against the
British and the Partition and its aftermath, figure prominently in her
works.
Mahasweta Devi has been actively involved with a number of
social and tribal welfare organizations. Some of them are Paschim
Banga Oraon Tribal Kalyan Samiti, Paschim Banga Munda Tribal Samaj
Sudhar Ganthra, Paschim Banga Kheria Sabar Kalyan Samiti (Purulia),
Paschim Banga Lodha Sabar Denotified Tribal Kalyan Samiti and
Paschim Banga Bhumij Tribal Samaj Kalyan Samiti (Purulia District).
Devi‟s involvement with these organizations reveal her dynamic
personality, her ardent devotion towards the welfare of the
underprivileged sections of society and the trend of an activist turned
writer in her.
Devi has understood the failure of the politicians to address the
problem of the most backward classes of the Indian society. As a writer,
14
Mahasweta Devi is unique because her activist experiences are
impressively translated in her written word. Her writings unravel the real
life experiences of the unlettered, the bonded labourers, the downtrodden
masses and the tribals. As a woman artist and activist writer, Devi had to
meet with many challenges and hardships. Her fictions chronicle the
“silent revolution” she herself has witnessed and that has been
wonderfully brought out in her works. By „silent revolution‟ Mahasweta
Devi refers to the self awareness of one‟s oppression and working
towards revolution which she believes are inevitable and indispensible
for redeeming oneself from oppression. This does not mean that
Mahasweta Devi is pedagogic about tribal activism. Rather she remarks-
“Go to the temple, to learn from them, not to teach. In the forties, as
Communists we believed that Revolution was lurking behind the lamp
post, and we only had to usher it in. I know that we have to work for
transportation to occur- and work within the system” (The Wordsmiths
163).
The writer used to travel extensively to various places for her
activist work and also for gathering information for her writings. A
significant consequence of her travelling experience was her desperate
urge to communicate to the world about the class, caste and gender
struggles for survival and also the ironical happenings in the name
of development.
15
For this purpose, Devi has chosen drama as a medium to create
awareness among the working classes, especially the tribals and Dalits
and also about the multiple forms of exploitation they were subjected to.
In fact, she mentions “If I work on drama…I‟ll do it for my people”
(Bandyopadhyay, “About this Collection” N. pag.). This strategy of
activism through drama enabled her to reach out to the underprivileged
and participate in their struggle. She worked extensively for
the liberation of bonded labourers by writing in many journals. She
acknowledged the validity of women‟s liberty but at the same time, she
goes beyond gender discrimination to focus on caste and class
exploitation.
Mahasweta Devi‟s writings cover a wide range of issues- the
deprivation amongst and discrimination against the rural poor, police
atrocities, official crimes, struggles of the poor and underprivileged for
survival, identity and dignity. The need for literacy, education and social
welfare of workers in various unorganized sectors, problems of
environment and ecology and the need for more effective monitoring of
government programmes were some issues discussed in her activist
writings.
Her productive writing career spread across almost five decades,
has culminated in a rich repertoire that ranges from innumerable
shortstories,
novels, plays, stories for children as well as several activist
16
prose-writings written originally in Bengali. Her resourcefulness and
popularity is implicit from the number of theatre and film adaptations of
her works that are available to us today. Her repertoire of works is to be
discussed below. her novels include Jhansir Rani (The Queen of Jhansi)
(1956), Nati (A Dancer) (1957), Madhrey Madhur (1958), Yamuna ke
Teer (1958), Etotuku Asha (1959), Premtara (1959), Bioscoper Baksha
(The Box of Bioscope) (1960), Amrita Sanchay (1964), Kobi
Bondyoghoti Gainer Jeevan Mrityu (The Life and Death of Bandyoghoti,
the poet) (1966), Andher Manik (The Support of the Blind)
(1967), Anabaratar Abishashya (The Incredible Tales of Anabaratar
Bagchi) (1971), Aranyer Adhikar (Rights over the Forest) (1977), Swaha
(1977), Agnigarbha (Womb of Fire) (1978), Chotti Munda and His
Arrow (1979), Subhaga Basanta (1980), Sidhu Kanhur Daakey (1981),
Sri Sri Ganesh Mahima (The Glory of Sri Sri Ganesh)
(1981), Srinkhalito (1985), Bish Ekuh (1986), Iter Parey It (1987),
Rudali (1997), The Armenian Champa Tree (1998), and Titu Mir
(2000).
Mahasweta Devi has also published several anthologies of her
short stories. Her short story collections are the following: Shresta
Galpa (1985), Imaginary Maps (1994), Prosthan Parba (1995), Krishna
Dwadoshi (1995), Breast Stories (1997), Bitter Soil (1998), Our Non-
Veg Cow and Other Stories (1998), Old Women (1999), Till Death
17
Do Us Part (2001), Outcast: Four Stories (2002), Byadhkhanda (The
Book of the Hunter) (2002) and Bait (2010). Dust on the Road (1997) is
an activist non fictional work that deals with the issues of rural
development projects, degradation of tribal life and environment, land
alienation, exploitation and struggles of poor peasants,
sharecroppers, bonded and contract labourers and miners.
Many of her articles and investigative reports written both in
English and Bengali appear in standard newspapers like The Economic
and Political Weekly, Business Standard, Sunday, Frontier and New
Republic. The spirit of Mahasweta Devi‟s journalism lies in her social
commitments and in her consequent attempt to explore certain
unexplored issues such as police atrocities, failure of the government to
implement relevant government programmes, harassment of workers,
unemployment and landlessness, environmental degradation and
promotion of tribal languages and also cultural identity.
Mahasweta Devi has also written plays in Bengali, translated and
adapted them into English. These plays are Bayen (1971), Mother of
1084 (Hazaar Chaurasir Ma) (1973), and Urvashi and Johnny (Urvashi
o Johnny), Aajir and Water (Jal) (1997). The last three plays mentioned
above were staged during the mid seventies and then published as a
collection of Five Plays along with the other two. Most of these plays
portray social oppression.
18
Her works have received several translations from mainstream
and tribal languages to foreign languages like Italian, French, Chinese
and Japanese. The most important works of Mahasweta Devi which have
been widely adapted and translated are the following: Mother of 1084,
Rudali, Behind the Bodice etc. Among her translators, Gayatri
Chakravorty Spivak, Samik Bandyopadhyay, Ipshita Chanda and Rimi
Chatterjee‟s translations have contributed to Mahasweta Devi‟s
cognizance among the world readers.
The introductory chapter discusses briefly the relevant works of
Mahasweta Devi. Her activist experience brings exceptionality to her
works, since she documents not only well known historical figures but
also scarcely known tribal heroes and rural legendary figures. For
instance in The Queen of Jhansi (Jhansir Rani, 1956), if Mahasweta
Devi presents the legendary story of the Rajput Queen, as a courageous
child, woman, mother and ruler. She documents the undocumented
in Amrita Sanchay (1964), Andher Manik (1967), Aranyer Adhikar
(Rights over the Forest) (1977) and Titu Mir (2000). Amrita Sanchay
and Andher Manik, similarly present a different approach to history, by
which the history of Indian rebellion against the British is seen through
the „bargis‟, the Maratha tribes‟ resistance to the British in the
mid eighteenth century. Titu Mir is a historical tale of the heroic revolt
and martyrdom of a peasant leader, Titu Mir against the British and
19
against the cruel landlords to defend the rights of the rural poor. Aranyer
Adhikar a historical fiction is about the life and struggles of the tribal
leader Birsa Munda and the famous Munda Rebellion in the
late nineteenth century. Sidhu Kanhur Daakey (1981) revolves around
the lives of two tribal heroes of the Santhal Tribal Rebellion in 1855-
1856.
Mahasweta Devi‟s works focus on the lives of working class
people and their exploitation in the hands of landlords, money-lenders
and their upper class masters. Hence, these works are known for her
authentic portrayals of working class characters like Mato, the tribal boy
in The Armenian Champa Tree, Mary Oraon, the eighteen year old girl
in her short story “The Hunt”, the poor orphan Johnny and the prostitute
Moti in the play Urvashi and Johnny and characters like Chotti, Kuli,
Mohini and Kamal in her novel and short stories as symbols of working
class suffering. Chotti Munda and his Arrow (1979) is an epic tale of the
struggle of Chotti, the marginalized tribal hero against the powerful
landlords. Till Death Do Us Part (2001) is a collection of five tales that
deal with the touching tales of five men and women living in the
margins of society, struggling to make both ends meet. Kuli (“Talaq”),
Mohini (“The Saga of Kagaboga”), Kamal (“The Poet‟s Wife”), Anandi
(“He Said Pani”) and Kusum (“Love Story”) are examples of such
pitiable characters. The Armenian Champa Tree (1998) is about
20
the struggles of Mato, the poor tribal boy in a society where religion
exploits superstition for its own ends.
The short stories “The Hunt” and “Pterodactyl, Puran Sahay and
Pritha” from the collection Imaginary Maps trace the condition of
working class people and also represent Devi‟s anger against the
exploitation of the poor.
In the story “Shishu” (“Little Ones”), Devi‟s characters are
malnourished adults reduced to the size of pygmies. The relief officer
sent by the government to Lohri is confused by the tales of regular theft
and disappearance of relief materials. His confusion is cleared once he
moves into the forest and finds that they are actually adult human beings
albeit with a stunted growth. He learns from them that their generations
have been starving for years due to which their bodies have shriveled.
Women lost their ability to bear children while men are too weak
to work. It is the urge to survive which makes them indulge in stealing.
His shock at having witnessed human beings in this condition in
independent India fills him with remorse and he curses himself for their
miserable condition.
The story “Seeds” relates the landlord Lachman Singh‟s
exploitation. The story tells the woes and poverty as seen in the
deprivation of fair wages to the workers, denial of education for their
children, against which the poor rebel.
21
The play Urvashi and Johnny traces the woes of the poor orphan
Johnny, his escape from the orphanage to seek fortunes as a
ventriloquist, his obsession with his marionette Urvashi, his failure to
find success due to throat cancer and his struggle to survive amidst all
these obstacles.
Other than class oppression as seen in the above works,
Mahasweta Devi also deals with caste oppression that is predominant in
the following works- Aajir, Bayen, Water and Rudali. These works
reflect the concerns of individuals suffering from the dehumanizing
scheme of slavery, the negligence of old people belonging to lower
castes and the conservative lifestyle of the rural masses. Among the
works listed above, Rudali is a relevant novel to understand Mahasweta
Devi‟s approach to caste oppression. The play Aajir deals with social
realism, exposing the effects of dehumanizing system of slavery.
The Bengali word „aajir‟ stands for one who has sold oneself into
slavery for a small sum of money. The play reflects a bonded labourer‟s
dreams of freedom from slavery and his ensuing struggles towards
success of his dream. Bayen (witch) depicts the tragedy of a mother
branded as a witch, banished from the village and separated from
her son. Mahasweta Devi rewrites the story of rebellion of the outcaste,
when Chandidasi, accused as the „evil eye‟ saves many lives by averting
a train accident, sacrificing her life in the process. Similarly, the play
22
Water stages the protest of the Domes, who are deprived of employment
opportunities and fair wages, denied relief materials coming from the
Government and prohibited from drinking water from public wells.
Rudali revolves around the lower caste Ganju tribal woman‟s tale of
exploitation, survival and struggle. Mahasweta Devi builds up the
history of repression of the Ganjus and the Dushads by the Rajputs.
Devi, through the story of Sanichari is able to give both the microcosmic
as well as the macrocosmic view of caste oppression.
It is not merely the oppression of tribals and the underprivileged
castes that have been her subject of attention and concern in her works.
She gives importance to women and their lives too. In some of her
works, Mahasweta Devi deals with the following women‟s
issuesloneliness,
separation and old age; women‟s struggle for survival amidst
general suffering; exploitative situations like rape, marital violence,
death and its loss, motherhood, negligence of the diseased female,
prostitution and female slavery. Devi‟s extensive travelling aided her to
witness the varying degrees of oppression and exploitation meted out to
women in all sections of society. Everywhere they are forced to live in
fear of the incomprehensible shadow of patriarchy. A girl child suffers
negligence with the line of barrier drawn from her birth, alienating her
both at home and society, tortured by inner conflicts from which there
seems to be no escape. Although the pivot of the family, she is
23
subordinated, having no right to speak although her role is to preserve
the essential values of a family and to bring up children where she
hardly finds a place for herself. Such situations are brought to light by
Devi through her works. However, Mahasweta Devi does not write only
about women. Rather she presents a real world where women are
victimized in various ways.
Motherhood takes a new turn when the woman is imprisoned
within the four-walls of the house to look after her children and yet the
control of children lie in the hands of male members. This is the theme
of Devi‟s short story “Breast Giver” (“Stanadaini”) that deals with
Jashoda‟s sacrifices in embracing motherhood as a profession. She
becomes the foster mother of upper caste children which leads her to
long periods of confinement, limits her freedom and finally breaks her
down with breast cancer. A woman‟s capability extends much beyond
performing domestic chores. Devi upholds this principle through her
works.
Being someone whose courage and resistive power knew no
bounds, Devi‟s anger luminously found expression in her art. Critics
like
Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak view Mahasweta Devi‟s works as rich sites
of feminist discourse. Whether she is a feminist is yet again a subject
which demands discussion at a relevant context. Though not a staunch
feminist, yet, like many writers, Devi creates awareness among women
24
and believes in the emancipation of women from their subordination to a
state of equality and empowerment. She feels that a woman must have
freedom to make decisions, live the way she desires and participate in
activities outside her home. Feminists also believe in a similar premise
that woman can consciously and collectively transform their social status
in the oppressive society which would eventually eradicate sexist
domination. These discussions highlight Devi‟s interest in social work
and activism which finds expression in her literary works too.
Mahasweta Devi traces the history of prostitution and female
bondage in the story of “Douloti the Beautiful” where Douloti is tricked
into bonded labour and prostitution and finally becomes a victim of
venereal disease. Mahasweta Devi articulates a strong protest against
gender oppression i.e, gang-rape in police custody. It narrates the story
of Dopdi (“Draupadi”), a tribal woman working as an underground
activist. When Dopdi is arrested and gang-raped by the police, she
refuses to put on her clothes and thereby stages a loud protest against the
gender injustice and male violation of the female body, staging a
discourse of the female subaltern resistance to the triadic form
of oppression on the female body. Similar to Draupadi, Devi‟s novel
The
Glory of Sri Sri Ganesh (Sri Sri Ganesh Mahima) and Behind the Bodice
(Choli ke Pichhe) fictionalize shocking revelations of gender injustices
and violence since these works deal with the transaction of the female
25
body and its victimization by the upper class male. Another story of
gender oppression is dealt with when Devi depicts Chandidasi branded
as a witch in Bayen.
Sometimes Mahasweta Devi contextualizes her study of
oppression by relating it to the historical movements like the Naxalite
Uprising, Tebhaga Movement etc. Mother of 1084 is one such work
dramatizing the post independence Naxalite Uprising, particularly the
Naxalite Revolt of the Naxalbari area that occurred with the
unexpected coalition of the peasants and the intellectuals. According to
Mahasweta Devi, this powerful movement brought about a realization
among writers, artists and political activists and among the masses
leading to class struggle. At one level, the play Mother of 1084 is about
police repression of the Naxalite Movement in West Bengal leading to
the mass killing of young activists along with mental and physical
torture inflicted on the survivors. At the other level, it is a tragedy of an
“apolitical” mother Sujata, her visit to the Government Morgue for
physical identification of corpse number 1084, her guilt at having failed
to realize her son Brati‟s heroic ideals, the cause of his revolt against
the age-old social values all of which brings about a new awakening and
the „discovery‟ of her son. The stifling patriarchal values launch her on
a
quest for truth about Brati.
26
Though the writer has won many laurels for her writings, her most
remarkable literary achievements could be mentioned here. Some of
them are- the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1979, the Padmashree Award
in 1986, the Jyanpith Award in 1996, the Ramon Magsaysay Award in
the year 1997, the Bharat Ratna Award in 2006, the Bangabibhushan
Award and the Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award in the year
2011 and 2012 respectively. Besides, she visited the United States as
Fulbright Lecturer in 1990.
Above all, the researcher is of the opinion that Mahasweta Devi‟s
works are predominantly an attempt at historicizing, depicting and
dramatizing the triadic oppressions (caste, class and gender) that exist in
the Indian society, which has neglected the underprivileged individual
even after sixty-six years of independence. Hence, Mahasweta Devi‟s
works are aesthetic case histories that document the
undocumented political, social and cultural oppressions. The thesis
entitled “Resistance to Oppression: A Study of Mahasweta Devi‟s Select
Works” aims to study Devi‟s select novels, short stories and plays for
their representations of class, caste and gender oppression. For this
purpose, the study analyses the writer‟s portrayal of the marginalized/
underprivileged and various ways through which they resist oppression.
The researcher has made use of published primary and secondary
sources like text books, articles, journals, critical essays, novels
27
plays, short stories, interviews and web- pages in order to arrive at a
better understanding of the above mentioned dimensions in her works.
These works will also be studied in relation to her non-fictional writings
and film adaptations of her select works.
Feminist critical works of Susanne Clark, Gayatri Chakravorty
Spivak, Betty Friedan and Gail Omvedt have also been examined to help
in the comprehension of Mahasweta Devi‟s approach to the diverse
problems of the oppressed/ marginalized/ downtrodden in her
works. The thesis consists of five chapters organized in the following
manner:
Chapter I: Introduction
Chapter II: Representation of Class and Caste Oppression in
Mahasweta Devi‟s Works
Chapter III: Gender Oppression in Devi‟s Works
Chapter IV: Resistance and Rebellion in Devi‟s Protagonists
Chapter V: Conclusion
The introductory chapter attempts to understand oppression in
Mahasweta Devi‟s works in the context of different notions/ theories/
beliefs on the issue of oppression. Some of them include the religious
notion, the socio- historic notion as well as the biological notion. The
origin of caste system has also been discussed briefly in this chapter.
28
Secondly, the chapter also highlights the subject of and the
struggle against oppression through various uprisings/ protests/
movements that has taken place to resist oppression. These familial,
social, political, economic, class, caste and gender exploitation forms the
theme in the works of many Indian English writers which have been
discussed here. Thirdly, the chapter tries to view Mahasweta Devi as a
unique writer who can be clearly distinguished from the other Indian
writers in her active participation with the underprivileged and also in
her reflection of historical, social and political events in her writing. Her
attempt to deal with the triadic pattern of oppression namely caste, class
and gender centering women‟s role in this struggle is note-worthy. Next,
this chapter discusses her life, career and an achievement, highlighting
her creative works in detail and her various roles as a writer,
socialactivist
and a human being.
The second chapter “Representation of Class and Caste Oppression
in Mahasweta Devi‟s Works” explores Devi‟s characters as victims of
class and caste exploitation. It aims to elaborate on the roots/origin,
characteristics, classification, forms and causes of oppression in order to
enrich comprehension and analysis of caste and class. The chapter
further discusses Mahasweta Devi‟s representation of caste and class
exploitation both in inclusion and exclusion to her writings and also in
relation to the works of Indian writers.

The third chapter “Gender Oppression in Devi‟s Works” defines

gender oppression and views the history of gender oppression from a
sociological and literary perspective. It briefly discusses the role of
social reformers in the elimination of this oppression. The chapter then
looks into the role of Indian writers and films in highlighting this form
of oppression existing in society as well as the traditional, social and
religious views on gender. The various ways in which gender oppression
occurs and how women of both high and low caste/ class become
victims through marriage, familial ties, rape, prostitution, religion and
such other manner comprise the issues of this chapter. The major part of
the discussion of this chapter is devoted to Devi‟s representation
of gender oppression in her works.
The fourth chapter “Resistance and Rebellion in Devi‟s
Protagonists” examines the various forms of resistance to oppression and
traces the cause for rebellion. Secondly it highlights the various forms of
resistance like outrageous protest, silence and acts of rejection and
ignorance. It describes the various levels of resistance- familial, social
and political- with respect to Devi‟s characters.
The final chapter sums up the contents of the preceding chapters
and examines the outcome of the study of Mahasweta Devi‟s works
drawing certain critical conclusions. It also summarizes Mahasweta
Devi‟s views on caste, class and gender oppressions along with her
30
outlook on the woman‟s protest against oppression and exploitation. The
chapter attempts to contextualize Mahasweta Devi
through understanding her ideology as a writer, her unique style, use of
language and lucid style of narration that visibly brings out her radical
ideas on society. Further, the concluding chapter also discusses Devi‟s
potential as a sensitive artist who voices the misery of the lower sections
of society through her works. Her humility as a writer well as
her humane interaction with the Dalits and the tribals is truly
appreciable. The chapter also highlights certain interesting dimensions
of Devi‟s works like Devi‟s contribution to history through literature,
her inclination towards folklores, myths and legends of India, and her
contribution and role as an activist. It will be seen whether Mahasweta
Devi really deserves merit as an activist writer through the study of her
approach to oppression, which comprises of the subject to be discussed
in the subsequent chapters.