Mapping History in Fiction through Orality in Mahasweta Devi’s The Armeniun Champa Tree

Quleen Kaur Bijral¹ & Vandana Sharma²

¹Research Scholar, Department of Languages and  Literature, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Katra, J&K. Email: quleen.kaur@gmail.com

²Head, Literature, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Katra, J&K

  Volume VII, Number 1, 2017 I Full Text PDF

DOI: 10.25274/bcjms.v7n1.en-v7-01-05

ABSTRACT

The paper establishes how the novel The Armeniun Champa Tree attacks the cemented belief that fiction is in direct contradiction to history, as it is apparently a harbinger of falsehood. In rewriting and refocusing history from the vantage of the subaltern, the paper also highlights Mahasweta Devi’s endevour to assert the importance of Orality and to sensitize the masses about the marginalized sections of the society with special reference to aboriginals. The paper, consequently, ascertains the power of oral sources, the need to signify the importance of literature vis-a-vis history, Devi as a subaltern historian and how she attempts to seek the voice of the subaltern.

 KEYWORDS: Mahasweta Devi, Subaltern, orality, aboriginals, history

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