Chotti Munda and His Arrow

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by Mahasweta Devi,

Translated by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak

Blackwell Publishers

Due/Published February 2003, 256 pages, paper

ISBN 1405107057

'I had but that one arrow,' say Chotti Munda, the hero of this epic tale. A 'magic' arrow that stood for the pride, the wisdom, the culture, of their society, a society threatened with inevitable disintegration as its traditional structures crumbled under the assault of 'national development'. The wide sweep of this important novel encompasses many layers. It ranges over decades in the life of Chotti - the central character - in which India moves from colonial rule to independence and then to the unrest of the 1970s. It probes and uncovers the complex web of social and economic exchange based on power relations. It traces the changes, some forced, some welcome, in the daily lives of a marginliazed rural community. And at its core, it celebrates Chotti, legendary archer, wise and farsighted leader, proud role model to his younger brethren. Written in 1980, this novel is also remarkable for the manner in which it touches on vital issues that have, in subsequent decades, grown into matters of urgent social concern. It raises questions about the place of the tribal on the map of national identity, land rights and human rights, the 'museumization' of 'ethnic' cultures, and the justifications of violent resistance as the last resort of a desperate people, amongst others.

In the words of Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, "This is the first novel where Mahasweta articulates tribal history with colonial and postcolonial history. . . . After Chotti, the text of tribality frees itself from the burden of a merely 'Indian' history... Chotti Munda repeatedly dramatizes subaltern solidarity: Munda, Oraon, and the Hundu ooutcastes must work together. Today such a solidarity has a name: Dalit."