LITERARY REFLECTIONS OF TRIBAL ISSUES IN MAHASWETA DEVI’S ARJUN

The short story, Arjun is written by Mahasweta Devi. The Arjun tree and tribal society that appear in the center of the story. The tribal people in the story cut trees to earn their means of livelihood. Cutting trees for money and other means was not their own choice but helplessness. In fact, the events of cutting trees stir their hearts within. The wood reminds them how its help caused them to live in the forest safely without any cost. The tribal man Ketu succeeds in his plan of declaring the tree as sacred one, a village God. He defeats Bishal Babu, a landlord and Ram Haldar a politician. The writer unravels the age-old relationship of tribal people with wood and Nature. They are living in the company of nature and wood since the time immemorial. The realization of this relationship between wood and the tribal communities is the focal point in the story. The connecting link between nature and the tribal people is the tree, Arjun. In Indian society almost all are well aware about tribal culture, its connectivity with woods and religious importance of trees. That is why the principal objective of the paper is to study the reflections of tribal issues in the story, Arjun