One seldom observes writers emulate the life and ideas of their characters or protagonists, especially if these happen to be rebellious by nature or at least involve taking a position of dissidence on crucial matters. Doing so could increase the chance of being branded an‘activist’, which in recent times has become a provocative and charged tag, and that in turn might stifle one’s literary career. Since authoring is a moonlighting profession rather than a financially viable one for most, dissidence might also put the primary source of livelihood in jeopardy, especially if the writer happens to hold down a government job. Let’s add another cog in this wheel: imagine a writer, with a government job, who is also relatively marginalized and belongs to a community that has been a victim of historical injustices.

That, in a nutshell, is Hansda Sowvendra Sekhar, a young Adivasi writer from the small town of Pakur, in the Santhal Pargana region of Jharkhand. A medical doctor by training and practice, he works as a medical officer with the government of Jharkhand. Sowvendra (for that’s how he loves to be called) rose to prominence two years ago when his debut novel, The Mysterious Ailment of Rupi Baskey was shortlisted for The Hindu Prize and the Crossword Book Award.In 2015, he won the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar and published a collection of short stories, titled The Adivasi Will Not Dance. He is currently working on his second novel, which is due next year.

On May 14, 2016,Sowvendra wrote an edit page article for The Indian Express, criticising the government of Jharkhand for its new domicile policy. Last week, the Jharkhand government issued him a show cause notice, along the lines of Public Servant Conduct Rules.Now the officials are waiting for a response from the writer before further action can be taken. However, Sowvendra says he is yet to receive any such notice.

The new domicile policy was introduced on April 7, 2016, and states that those who have been living in the state and have acquired immovable assets in the last 30 years would be considered local residents of the state. Sowvendra sees it as an anti-Adivasi move because he believes it will further sideline Adivasis while outsiders (non-Adivasi) will take over the state. He pointed this out in his article:

“The major influx of non-Adivasi outsiders into Jharkhand happened quite recently. In the 1970s and 1980s when industries prospered, non-Adivasis from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, and elsewhere came to Jharkhand to work in the factories, bought property, and settled down”.

To further illustrate this situation, he gave examples:

“Today, the situation is such that an Adivasi student, despite having his family land registered in the 1932 khatiyan, wouldn’t be considered a resident of Jharkhand if he hasn’t passed his matriculation from a school in the state. On the other hand, any non-Adivasi student who has no roots in Jharkhand would be considered a resident if he has passed matriculation from a local school in Jharkhand.”

As someone who has worked in Jharkhand and continues to engage with the issues and problems of the state, I couldn’t agree anymore with him. He is completely right in his analysis and his concerns are real. The fact is that Adivasis in central India are subject to intense marginalization every day. They are displaced in the name of development and deprived of their Jal-Jangal-Zameen (Water, Forest and Land) – their primary source of livelihood. This alienation forces them to migrate and live lives of destitution in big towns and cities.Further, they have been criminalised in the name of countering Maoism and Naxalism.

Sowvendra’s writings, narrating stories that only he can tell, reflect all of this. His stories are effortless and real, with a tinge of fictional touch attached to them. There is a sense of belonging in them. His is a critical engagement with what he sees around him. His latest short story Joga, published in the Caravan magazine’s website last week, strikingly presents the status of Adivasi under trials in central India. It might have been a work of fiction, but it’s a clear reflection of all the important details and findings of a recent report on the state of criminalisation of Adivasis in Jharkhand.

Reading what’s happening to Sowvendra, I was reminded of Mangal Murmu, the protagonist in Sowvendra’s short story, “The Adivasi Will Not Dance”. Mangal is an old Santhali farmer and a famous traditional musician in Pakur. When he refuses to perform for the President of India, he is beaten black and blue. There is a scene in the story, which deserves to be quoted here:

‘Johar, Rashtrapati-babu, we are very proud and happy that you have come to our Santhal Pargana and we are also very proud that we have been asked to sing and dance before you and welcome you to our place. We will sing and dance before you but tell us, do we have a reason to sing and dance? Do we have a reason to be happy? You will now start building the power plant, but this plant will be the end of us all, the end of all the Adivasis. These men sitting beside you have told you that this power plant will change our fortunes, but these same men have forced us out of our homes and villages. We have nowhere to go, nowhere to grow our corps. How can this power plant be good for us? And how can we Adivasis dance and be happy? Unless we are given back our homes and land, we will not sing and dance. We Adivasis will not dance. The Adivasi will not—‘

In my view, like old Mangal, young Sowvendratries to engage with the state government on one of its most contentious issues through the article for which he is being targeted. Let’s not forget that the state of Jharkhand was formed after decades of struggle to undo the historical injustices that were done against the Adivasis of the region. Hence, instead of shooting the messenger,the government should focus on valid issues and concerns that are being raised by the writer. By failing to do so, it will be failing on its own promises. Moreover, it will further prove Sowvendra’s point of the state government adopting an anti-Adivasi bent.

Last week, the names of the winners of Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar (2016) were announced, and one hopes that some of them will speak in Sowvendra’s support, even if they don’t agree with his politics. At the least, it will emphasize that he has the freedom to express, just like any other citizen of the country irrespective of whether he is a government employee.