Representing Indigenous Political Identities in India: Text, Media and Performance

According to Jaipal Singh Munda, the prominent tribal leader and writer who was a member of the Constituent Assembly of India, and campaigner for the causes of Adivasis, ensured the constitutional protection for tribals by bringing equal voting rights, reserved political constituencies, right to practice their way of life and reservation in government jobs, ‘the indigenous people are the original inhabitants of India.’ Since then indigenous people have been fighting for their identity in independent India. Though their voices were somehow unheard, there have been consistent efforts to bring them to the surface of mainstream media since the 1990s. However, tribal representation as a workforce in media constitutes less than one per cent, the media discourse on indigenous communities is overwhelming, and their political achievement can be evidenced by the fact that a tribal woman is now the President of India. It does not mean that their social realities are sophisticated and comfortable and they enjoy equalities and rights in all spheres without exploitation and marginalization attempts. It means that, despite having a strong political representation, with a strong intellectual base, artists, and public figures at national and international forums, they are somewhat discriminated against and subjected to marginalization leading them to raise their voices against the oppressive forces. Their struggle is not merely confined to their livelihood issues, rather it is wider and beyond ordinary comprehension, that is, it includes a fight for their tradition, culture, religion, way of life, lost land, self-respect and dignity, against exploitation and marginalization. Demand for the recognition of 'Sarna' as a separate religion is their recent struggle, which is considered both political and cultural. In this context, the representation and contestation of their realities in various texts, media and performances are paid attention to understanding the social realities of the marginalized tribal communities in India in the globalization era which has opened up discussions on various fronts, addressing the human rights of the downtrodden communities. The papers that deal with the contemporary issues and rights associated with the indigenous communities and their identities in India will be included in this panel.