Unheard voices of the Voiceless: Analysing Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar’s The Adivasi Will Not Dance

Abstract

The displacement of people in the context of development has been a recurrent theme in the recent ecocriticism literature. Displacement is inevitable, but the victims are always the underprivileged. This paper focuses on the theme of displacement of the marginalised. The paper voices for the voiceless victims. The developmental projects are always aimed at the deprived community. There are so many social, political and racial agendas in implementing such mega projects. The paper pictures the trauma of a tribal community, in particular the protagonist, Mangal Murmu. Most of the developmental projects are opposed by the people, in particular the residents of that particular vicinity, where the projects shape out. There are many volunteers and environmental activists who join hands in opposing such projects. The writer Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar’s title story The Adivasi Will Not Dance depicts the plight of a tribal who could not even voice out his trauma. It is the tale of an old man, Mangal Murmu, a trained artist, who runs a dance troupe for many years. He denies to sing and dance for a high profile function to show his protest, which goes unnoticed. The tribal community is hailed as a heritage of a country. Every country preserves its own cultural milieu through different projects. The tribal people are accoladed annually during national or international celebrations. They are given a stage only to exhibit their cultural art. The protagonist makes use of such an opportunity to expose the plight of his people, which finally turn out to be a fiasco. This paper gives voice over to Mangal Murmu, who could not get a proper platform to put across his trauma. The paper explores the multiple exploitation of the tribal community.