Abstract

This research engages with the problematic notion of Santhal’s identity by analyzing Rejina Marandi’s novel Becoming Me (2014). It dwells on the Indigenous identity (Adivasi), which has become a pivotal subject in academia, debates, and discussions at public forums. According to the 2011 census of India, Santhal is the third largest tribe in India, residing in the eastern states like Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal. Drawing critical insights from Martin Nakata, Ramnika Gupta, and G. N. Devy, this study explores the resurgence of Santhal’s identity from the perspective of natives. It also engages with the idea of power to realize their existence in India. Marandi’s narrative divulges the protagonist Liya’s struggle, aspiration, and experience as a young Santhal girl in the public sphere, namely, school, college, market, etc. It reveals the community’s struggle to achieve social and political rights to understand their actual Indigenous identity. Alternate historical narratives reinforce the core of diverse narratives of the peripheral society, which have their stories, myths, and lives to share with others. The study introspects the condition of the tribe through the lens of marginal aspects and their cultural position taken for granted by the mainstream. In doing so, the Santhal tribe’s vantage point questions the idea of mainstream. The article examines the social and cultural identity of the Indigenous community (Santhal tribe) concerning Marandi’s Becoming Me.