This paper re-examines the representation of Adivasi women in contemporary Indian English literature by shifting the critical lens from victimhood to a voice of strength, dignity and cultural stewardship. In mainstream literary discourses, Adivasi women are still underrepresented as passive sufferers of marginalization, displacement, and patriarchal violence, this study foregrounds their role as active agency of transition from marginalization to empowerment. Literary discussions project them primarily as ‘dark-skinned’ which is simply undermining their potential and dignity. This paper shows women not merely as victims but as custodians of culture, protectors of land and voices of resistance. Drawing primarily on Angor by Jacinta Kerketta, selected poems of Nirmala Putul and prose collection of Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar among others, the paper explores how indigenous women articulate resistance through everyday practices, oral memory, and intimate connections with their environment. This paper asserts that Adivasi women actively preserve culture and identity, even shaping religious movements in Jharkhand. The emphasis is not on their oppression but Adivasi women are agents of cultural survival, ecological guardians and voices of resistance. The discourse emphasizes on the most powerful positive aspect of Adivasi women and that is not just empowerment in a modern sense but, community leadership, ecological wisdom, cultural preservation and collective confrontation. In contemporary literature, Adivasi women’s pliability despite exploitation, their assertion of dignity and identity and their survival in changing socio-economic conditions are the highlights of this research paper.

Authors:
Rema T. Das, YBN University, India

About the Presenter(s)
Dr. Rema T Das is a visiting faculty of English at Amity University, Ranchi, Jharkhand. Her current role is based on imparting soft-skill development to learners at graduate level and teaching literature to Law students at the graduate level.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Tuesday Schedule

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