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VOL. 11, ISSUE 3 (2025)
Tribal voice in The Death Script by Ashutosh Bhardwaj: A subaltern study
Authors
Sunil Kumar
Abstract
The representation of tribal communities in
contemporary Indian narratives often reveals the complex intersections of
marginalization, conflict and resistance. This paper examines the articulation
of tribal voices in Ashutosh Bhadwaj’s The Death Script through the
theoretical framework of Subaltern Studies. Drawing on the works of Ranajit
Guha, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak and Dipesh Chakrabarty, the study explored how
the text foregrounds the lives experiences of Adivasi communities in the Bastar
region of central India, where prolonged armed conflict between state security
forces and Maoist insurgents has significantly affected everyday life. The
narrative highlights institutional challenges such as wrongful criminalization,
displacement, custodial abuse and social marginalization. Through testimonies,
reportage, and cultural references, Bhardwaj’s work reveals how tribal
communities remain largely absent from dominant political and historical
narratives. At the same time, the text documents moments of protest, collective
mourning and everyday forms of resistance that indicates the persistence of
subaltern agency. By presenting alternative perspectives from the margins of
the nation-state, The Death Script functions as a counter-narrative to
official accounts of conflict. The study emphasizes the importance of
recognizing tribal experiences as central to understanding contemporary
socio-political realties in India.
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Pages:51-53
How to cite this article:
Sunil Kumar "Tribal voice in <i>The Death Script </i>by Ashutosh Bhardwaj: A subaltern study". International Journal of English Research, Vol 11, Issue 3, 2025, Pages 51-53
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