Chotti Munda and His Arrow

Chotti Munda and His Arrow is a novel written in 1980 by prize-winning Indian writer Mahasweta Devi, translated and introduced by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak. It is remarkable for the way it touches on vital issues that, in subsequent decades, have grown into matters of urgent social concern.

Written by one of India's foremost novelists and translated by an eminent cultural and critical theorist, the novel ranges over decades in the life of Chotti, the central character. In this timeframe, India transitions from colonial rule to independence and then to the unrest of the 1970s.

The story traces the changes, some forced and some welcome, in the daily lives of a marginalised rural community. It raises questions about the place of the tribal on the map of national identity, land rights, and human rights. It delves into the 'museumization' of 'ethnic' cultures and explores the justifications of violent resistance as the last resort of a desperate people.

Chotti Munda and His Arrow represents enlightening reading for students and scholars of postcolonial literature and postcolonial studies.