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MOTHER
FOREST: The
Unfinished Story of C.K. Janu
Bhaskaran &
C.K. Janu
Translated by N. Ravi Shanker
Rs 75 Pb 2004
81-88965-01-4
(All rights available.) |
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In
January 2003, tribals ‘illegally’ occupied
a part of the wildlife sanctuary in Mathunga, Kerala.
Forcible eviction by the police resulted in the
death of one tribal and injuries to others. Leading
the tribal resistance was Janu, a young woman who
had mobilised their protest at the government’s
failure to honour their commitment to the tribals:
the restoration of land alienated from them for
‘development’. Dispossessed of their
lands, the adivasis feared they would lose their
identity and their livelihood.
In this passionate account of her struggle, Janu
speaks of her childhood and her life with Mother
Forest, her political awakening as a party worker
in the CPM, her growing disillusionment with it,
and her break from it after she felt it had betrayed
the tribals.
Frank, guileless and deeply moving, Janu’s
unfinished autobiography is an eloquent testimony
to her courage and her convictions.
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BHASKARAN
has worked
as an illustrator with several prominent Malayalam
and national dailies. A series of paintings
by him inspired by Vaikkom Mohammad Basheer’s
Childhood Friend
were exhibited across the country, to critical
acclaim. Bhaskaran is a Senior Artist with
The Week. |
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N.
RAVI SHANKER
lives
and works in Palakkad, and regularly translates
from Malayalam and Tamil into English. |
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