Hailing
from the West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand, Jacinta Kerketta belongs to the
Oraon Adivasi community. A celebrated poet, journalist and writer in Hindi; her
advocacy of Adivasi identity issues lends voice to the voiceless. Internalizing
anger, hopelessness and dejection; her poetry resounds the struggles of a
community facing extinction due to unabated exploitation of their lands and
resources. Not only that, through her creative pieces she recounts hurtful
childhood memories that scarred her impressionable mind.
Translated
from the Hindi by Bhumika Chawla D’ Souza, her poem 'Bawander and Dishaayein' outlines the paradoxical nature of development in the name of progress. Scores
of houses are uprooted. Villagers watch in disbelief but the government is apathetic.
'A Power Game
at Play', translated
from Hindi by Iqbal Abhimanyu underscores the power game at play within the
Adivasi community. When Jacinta’s mother was branded as dayan by another
Adivasi Oraon like them, she was befuddled. The slur hit closer to home as it
came from her people. Her book ‘Angor’ in Sadri is a witness to her mother’s
abuse. Meghnath, a documentary filmmaker of Jharkhand has observed that a lack
of education and inaccessible healthcare has increased brutalities against
women. Often branded as a witch, the label dayan- bisahi speaks of an impenetrable
power structure where women are dispossessed of land, property and power.
In 2022, Jacinta was named among 22 self-made women by Forbes. Besides receiving several national and international nominations, she was set to receive Aaj Tak Sahitya Jagriti Udyman Pratibha Samman for her book titled Ishwar aur Bazar. She turned down the honour by India today to stand in solidarity with Manipur tribals.