THE AILMENT OF THE INDIGENE: A STUDY OF THE SANTHAL WOMEN IN HANSDA SOWVENDRA SHEKHAR’S ‘THE MYSTERIOUS AILMENT OF RUPI BASKEY’
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29121/shodhkosh.v3.i2.2022.5965Keywords:
Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar, Ethnicity, Santhal, Gender, Agency, Paranormal.Abstract [English]
‘The Mysterious Ailment of Rupi Baskey’ is the first novel to be originally written in English by a tribal author. It represents the cultural ethos of the Santhal tribe, their mythical core and belief systems, and their adaptation into the post-independence industrial urban life. Shekhar’s ethnographic narrative posits the unique nature of the indigenes like Santhals vis-à-vis Indian modernity and upholds its integrity.
In my present venture I am going to look into how the author captures three generations of Santhal women. He celebrates the agency of the tribal women in their sexual liberation, independent choice of partners, habits of drinking and merry-making like men, and witchcraft. His representation of the economic emancipation of women epitomize the socio-economic changes in the post-independence India. My focus will be on the agency of the Santhal women in different contexts and how that resists the mainstream narrative of victimization of marginal women.
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