Mahasweta Devi: Witness, Advocate, Writer
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by Shashwati Talukdar
color, 27 min, 2001
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At the center of a half-century of tumultuous change, the lifetime of Mahasweta Devi has spanned the British period, Independence, and fifty years of post-colonial turmoil. Her writing has given Indian literature a new life and inspired two generations of writers, journalists and filmmakers. A celebrated writer and tireless activist for the last two decades, she has battled on behalf of the "de-notified" tribes of India - nomadic and tribal groups who were branded "natural criminals" by the British colonial state and who face discrimination to this day. Informal in style, this video explores the extent to which Mahasweta's daily life and writing is dedicated to the rights of the aboriginal peoples of India. This film includes a performance by Budhan Theatre.
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