Representation of Subaltern Consciousness in Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar’s The Adivasi Will Not Dance Stories

Abstract

Subaltern studies critically examine the histories of non-western societies, challenge elitist narratives, and advocate for the rights of the oppressed.  The powerful voices of subaltern studies are Antonio Gramsci, Ranajit Guha, and Gayatri Spivak, who enunciate intellectual resistance against the authoritarian structures. Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar is an organic intellectual who voices the challenges of Adivasi society and makes those voices heard across the world.  His writings focus on the dominating power structures over the proletariats. The stories in The Adivasi Will Not Dance Stories narrate the conditions and challenges of Adivasis in Jharkhand. In addition, the stories narrate the adversities of the Santhals in coal mining lands. The developmental projects pushed Adivasis to the margins, which made them lose their identity. The stories depict the Santhals and non-Santhals belonging to the different socio-economic structures of the society. The short stories “They Eat Meat!”, “November is the Month of Migrations’’, “Desire, Divination, Death’’, “Merely a Whore’’, and “The Adivasi Will Not Dance’’ discuss the challenges undergone by the Santhal Adivasis due to the domination of the power structures.  In the article “Representation of Subaltern Consciousness in The Adivasi Will Not Dance Stories,” the researcher analyses the miseries faced by the Santhal Adivasis due to the encroachments of their lands, challenges faced by their women, loss of identity, and extreme poverty of the Santhal Adivasis of Jharkhand.