The Book
A collection of essays on Adivasis. Tribal groups (adivasis) in India have often been excluded, marginalized and oppressed by `mainstream’ society. In many ways this exclusion, marginalization and oppression is fostered by the way in which `mainstream’ society looks at the adivasis – as exotic, dangerous, or `primitive’ others. Devy’s book looks at the problems of adivasis, the threat to their physical environment, the terror and indignity of the stigma of being considered “criminal” tribes and their induction into the communal violence in Gujarat. But he also discusses the simple sophistication of Adivasi knowledge systems, language and literature, as also initiatives taken along with tribals in the areas of health, microfinance and preservation of cultural forms.
The Author(s)
Prof. G.N. Devy was for many years, Professor of English at MS University, Baroda. Turning full time to activism, he founded the Bhasha Research and Publication Centre at Baroda to document the cultural practices, languages and literatures of tribals. He is also a founder-member of the Adivasi Academy at Tejgadh – an open `university’ for the study of tribal life and knowledge, and of the world through tribal eyes. He is currently Professor of Humanities at the Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information Technology. He is the author of several books – 3 of these have been published by Orient Blackswan (After Amnesia, Of Many Heroes and Indian Literary Criticism).