Voices from Below: Revisiting subaltern narratives by Mahasweta Devi and Arundhati Roy

The subaltern, often marginalized and silenced within dominant historical narratives, occupies a critical space in postcolonial discourse. This article revisits subaltern narratives through the lens of postcolonial theory, emphasizing the need to recognize and engage with voices historically relegated to the periphery. Drawing on the work of the Subaltern Studies collective, postcolonial theorists such as Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, and contemporary cultural critiques, this paper explores how subaltern narratives reshape our understanding of colonial histories, resistance, and identity. Mahasweta Devi (1926-2016) stands as a towering figure in Indian literature and activism, whose work has consistently centered the lives of marginalized communities—tribals, Dalits, landless laborers, and women—long silenced by mainstream narratives. As both a writer and a political activist, she devoted her life to unearthing the stories of the oppressed. This article explores Mahasweta Devi as a subaltern writer, analyzing her literary strategies, thematic concerns, and her unique commitment to bearing witness to subaltern suffering and resistance. Arundhati Roy, celebrated author and activist, has emerged as a powerful voice in contemporary Indian literature and politics. Though she gained international acclaim with her Booker Prize-winning novel The God of Small Things (1997), her subsequent work—both fictional and non-fictional—has centered on the lives of those marginalized by caste, class, gender, and state violence. As a "new subaltern writer," Roy brings subaltern issues into global visibility, blending lyrical prose with radical political critique. This essay examines Roy’s role in reimagining subalternity in a neoliberal and postcolonial context, focusing on her narrative strategies, thematic concerns, and the tensions she navigates in giving voice to the oppressed.