Truthful Portrayal of Tribal Life

‘Indian Tribal Literature: A Critical Study’ (2025) is the latest publication by Indian author-cum-editor Dr. Dipak Giri. With this book, Dr. Giri brings out his second major work in the field of tribal studies. His first book, ‘Tribal Perspectives in India: Critical Responses’ (2020), offers a general study of tribal life and culture. However, this latest publication focuses specifically on tribal literature.

The charm of this book lies in its wide-ranging engagement with both oral and written traditions of various tribal communities across India, including songs, folk tales, and other forms of cultural expression. Dr. Giri’s ‘Indian Tribal Literature’ is a work of significant academic value and has been included in the PhD coursework syllabus of Kolhan University, Chaibasa, Jharkhand.

In the introduction, Dr. Giri familiarises readers with the long-standing “disregard and little interest” shown by non-tribal writers towards tribal literature. He observes, “Today the number of mainstream literatures written by non-tribal writers is so scanty that it seems like looking for a needle in a haystack” (xii). After decades of such neglect, the present century has witnessed a remarkable rise in tribal writers. This book endeavours to understand the essence of tribalism as rooted in Indian tribal literature, with reference to emerging voices who belong to tribal communities themselves, such as Easterine Kire, Mamang Dai, Temsula Ao, Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar, Anuj Lugun, and many others.

‘Indian Tribal Literature’ comprises twenty-two chapters, each articulating the lived experiences of tribal life and community. The book examines both written and non-written forms of tribal literature, irrespective of their modes of expression, while deliberately giving greater space to tribal writers than to non-tribal ones. This focus aligns with the author’s stated objective “to foreground the hidden treasures of Indian tribal literature” (xiii). Alongside the works of major tribal writers, the book also explores tribal folk narratives from Northeast India, West Bengal, Gujarat, and several other regions.

Key themes addressed in the book include tribal cosmologies, voice and resistance, the transition of oral traditions into modern literature, the role of nature and myth, environmental consciousness, identity quests, and struggles for survival. In addition to tribal authors, the book also discusses select non-tribal writers such as Gopinath Mohanty and Mahasweta Devi, whose works reflect a genuine concern for tribal communities. Issues of gender and the position of women in tribal societies are also critically examined.

In the introduction, Dr. Giri touches upon all major areas associated with tribal literature. It not only offers brief summaries of the chapters but also outlines the origins, evolution, and present condition of tribal literature in India. The introduction serves as a distilled essence of the entire study and is presented with clarity and scholarly insight.

A remarkable feature of this book is its engagement with contemporary tribal writers and their works in an effort to revisit the true spirit of tribalism. By exploring largely neglected and unexplored aspects of tribal life and community—long obscured due to “disregard and little interest”—the book makes a valuable and timely contribution. For these reasons, ‘Indian Tribal Literature’ is poised to become an invaluable resource in the field of tribal studies in the years to come.

(The author is a Professor of English teaching at Navyug Kanya Mahavidyalaya, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.)