August 9 is the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. It is believed that there are about 370 million indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities living in more than 90 countries worldwide. In India, the government currently recognises 705 tribal groups as indigenous peoples. These communities with their unique languages, knowledge systems and beliefs play a vital role in preserving our natural resources, conserving our biodiversity and combatting climate change.

It is interesting to see how Indian children’s books have engaged with the stories and histories of our indigenous peoples. From highlighting their complex realities and supporting their rights to building new perspectives, a range of fiction and non-fiction books offer a unique window into indigenous lives. 

The trailblazing activist-writer Mahashweta Devi, who worked tirelessly for the rights and empowerment of the tribal people of West Bengal, has two of the most illuminating books on this theme. Her book Etoa Munda Won the Battle tells the story of young Etoa who, supported by his Aba (grandfather), battles the odds to get an education, so their community can stop being oppressed by the babus. The book uses striking black-and-white photographs to describe the rich customs and culture of the Munda tribals while telling Etoa’s story. That their belief systems are so entwined with nature is beautifully brought alive in this conversation between Etoa and his Aba: 

“You talk too much, Etoa. Your father wouldn’t have dared to ask so many questions. We lost out because we didn’t know how to read and write. We didn’t understand the laws of the government.”

“Just answer one more question, Aba. When did you leave your land to come here?”

“Thousands of moons ago. Why do you laugh?”

“No one counts years by moons any more.”

“We’ve always done so, and I’ll continue to, until I die…”

The Why-Why Girl, Mahashweta Devi’s first picture book for young readers, raises questions of gender, class and politics through the probing questions of a young Shabar girl Moyna and her never-ending whys: Why shouldn’t I catch a cobra? Why do I have to walk so far to the river to get water? Why can’t we eat rice twice a day? Why do I have to graze the Babus’ goats when their sons are there? Why can’t I study too?

Activist-writer Rinchin’s The Trickster Bird and The Gular Flower draw attention to the plight of the displaced Paardhi tribals, who were once the people of the forest but are now forced to eke out a living as ragpickers in the city. Renchu, the protagonist of both books, loves things that most children do – listening to stories that inspire a sense of wonder, forging a deep connection with the forest and its flora and fauna – and yet lives a life of systemic oppression and poverty. 

Zai Whitaker’s Kali and the Rat Snake and Termite Fry turn the spotlight on the Irulas of Tamil Nadu, who are traditional snake catchers. Kali, Thenee and Mari, child-protagonists of Whitaker’s books, are proud to belong to the Irula tribe. However, at different spaces, be it a school or a government office, they are looked down upon or discriminated against because of their vocation. Whitaker leads readers through their stories with empathy and a sensitive understanding of marginalisation. 

Two powerful books that take young adults into Dongria Kondh territory in Odisha are Year of the Weeds and Oonga. Pegged on the historic Supreme Court decision on the Niyamgiri Hills, Siddhartha Sarma plots a superb story of how two young people Korok and Anchita battle apathy, corruption, the bureaucracy, the complicity between private corporations, the state and the media, to restore a sacred land to its people. 

Set against a similar backdrop of illegal mining activity, Devashish Makhija’s Oonga juxtaposes a mythological story with a hard-hitting account of the Adivasi struggle against the CRPF and covetous corporations. The eponymous protagonist of the book (a young tribal boy) and his people become victims of violence by being forced into conflicts that are not of their own making. 

Makhija’s We Are the Dancing Forest, a brilliant English translation of ​‘Hum Jangal ke Jagar Magar’, co-created with Raj Shekhar, Venkat Shyam and Nina Sabnani, entices children into the rhythmic natural world of the Adivasis through joyous verse. 

This close communion with nature that indigenous peoples have is also reflected in two artistically produced books of non-fiction by Madhuri Ramesh and Manish Chandi, Walking is a Way of Knowing: In a Kadar Forest and Speaking to an Elephant and Other Tales from the Kadars. Both books lead the reader through the tropical forests of Kerala and Tamil Nadu by walking in the path of the Kadars, a vulnerable South Indian tribe. How indigenous peoples protect some of the most biodiverse areas on earth even when they own almost none of it is at the core of these books, not to mention important life lessons in regrowing our forests.

Other books of non-fiction like 10 Indian Tribes and the Unique Lives They Lead by Nidhi Dugar Kundalia and The Incredible Life of Birsa Munda by Swati Sengupta give children glimpses into the diverse tribal communities of India, including the Bhils, the Jarawas, the Khasis, the Hill Marias and more. 

This piece would be incomplete without a mention of Adivaani, ​“a platform for indigenous expression and assertion” that has taken up the much-needed task of ​“archiving, chronicling, publishing and disseminating” the voices of the indigenous peoples of India. Their children’s book Disaibon Hul, written by Ruby Hembrom (Adivaani’s founder), traces the course of the Santhal Rebellion of 1855 to remember and celebrate a defining moment in Adivasi history. Hembrom writes in its preface: ​“It is our duty to keep our stories of injustice, persecution and hope alive in public spaces. … Dear gidra, don’t let the Sido and Kanhu in all of us die.” This is perhaps the first time in Indian children’s literature in English when an author (herself a Santhal) has used words like ​“our” and ​“us”, referring to a readership of Santhal children (gidra) who know of Sido and Kanhu as their freedom fighters.

While we do have these and more books that bring alive the lives, cultures and challenges of our indigenous peoples, clearly a lot more ground remains to be covered. Perhaps, like Etoa Munda’s Aba, we would do well to count years by moons!

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Etoa Munda Won the Battle: The Story About Tribal Life (NBT)

The Why-Why Girl (Tulika)

The Trickster Bird (Tulika)

The Gular Flower (Tulika)

Kali and the Rat Snake (Tulika)

Termite Fry: A Novel (Bloomsbury)

Year of the Weeds (Duckbill)

Oonga (Tulika)

We are the Dancing Forest (Tulika)

Walking is a Way of Knowing: In a Kadar Forest (Tara)

Speaking an Elephant and Other Tales from the Kadars (Tara)

10 Indian Tribes and the Unique Lives They Lead (Duckbill)

The Incredible Life of Birsa Munda (Speaking Tiger)

Disaibon Hul (Adivaani)

Jungu: The Baiga Princess (Young Zubaan)

Visit the Bhil Carnival (Tara)

Aamu’s Kawandi (Katha)

Rebellion in Ranchi (Duckbill)

The Magical Fish (Tulika)

We Come from the Geese: Santal Creation Stories (Adivaani)

About the author:

Vidya Mani is an editor and children’s writer, who wears many hats. She is a founder-member and chief curator at Funky Rainbow, a Bangalore-based independent children’s bookshop and book consultancy that is committed to bringing books and children together in exciting ways. She also runs a content and design studio called Melting Pot that creates children’s books and magazines for publishers and NGOs.