Desecrating tribal autonomy: Investigating subjugation of Indian tribes through facts and fictions

Abstract The fundamental rights of people in a nation not only serve the necessities of its subjects as citizens but also as humans deserving primary self‐supporting conditions. It is inevitable that these rights for the tribal communities in India are violated by external forces on a regular basis over various levels. On such a scale, violations demanding crucial counteract could include life under bonded labor systems, and forced sex workers among the tribals. The concept might be alien to many, yet the same is true for tribal and economically weaker communities across the nation. The persistence of such a system against the enforcement of the law is due to its unreachable implementation in remote areas of the state and nation. Social workers and representatives like Mahaswetha Devi, Pankaj Sekhsaria, G.N. Devi, etc., working among different societies, communities and cultures, help and represent the subjugated and marginalized in their fight for basic rights against social hierarchy, gender dominance, false accusations, etc. Many such take the help of stories and literature as a medium to fight against injustice. This article attempts to investigate a few literary representations of tribal plights and their historical and cultural evolution based on factual analysis.