Deep Analysis of Draupadi by Mahasweta Devi: Introduction, Summary, Theme, and Conclusion -- englit.in
One of Mahasweta Devi’s short stories ‘Draupadi’ was first published in 1978 in her collection, “Agnigarbha”. It was translated into English by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, she came out in the Critical Inquiry journal in 1981 and later in her collection Breast Stories in 1997. And in the story, we know about a woman, Dopdi Mehjen, the protagonist of the story, who belongs to the Santhal tribe of West Bengal. She was a character like English folklore “Robin hood”. We see Draupadi and her husband, Dulna murder a wealthy landlords, surja sahu.
At the beginning of the story, we see Draupadi or Dopdi as her name appears in dialect, is a “Santhal tribe girl”, who is “vulnerable to injustice but resist the burnt of social oppression and violence with strong will and courage and, even try to deconstruct the age old structures of racial and gender discrimination”. The most interesting part of the story is that Dopdi Mejhen is portrayed as an illiterate, uneducated tribal woman. Yet she leads the politicized life amongst all because she is engaged in an armed struggle for the rights and freedom of the tribal people.
In the course of the story, Draupadi and her husband Dulna are on the ‘most wanted’ list in West Bengal. They murder wealthy landlords “to claim wells and tube-wells, which are their main sources of water in the village”. They fight for their rights to basic means of nourishment; however, Draupadi manages to escape and begins to operate helping fugitives who have murdered corrupt property owners and landlords. She tactfully misleads the cops who are on her trail, so that the fugitives’ campsite remains a secret. After escaping from Bakuli, Dopdi and Dulna worked at the houses of landowners to inform the killers of everything about the targets. After some time, we know Dulna was killed when the soldiers infiltrated in the forest and shot him.
Over the course of a few days, when Draupadi caught by the policemen, we find she is repeatedly raped and tortured by multiple officers and deprived of food and water. Bade Sahib, officer Senanayak, in charge of her case, who states to “make her” for investigating. The Senanayak, an officer was appointed by the Government to capture and stop Draupadi’s activity. The Senanayak the military official, is “a senseless, cruel officer for whom murders, assaults, counter-assaults and sadistic tortures on the tribal activists reaches a point.”
After days, the policemen take her back to the tent and tell her to clothe herself, because it is time for her to meet with, Senanayak. Senanayak is taken aback and quickly turns away his eyes from her body. She walks right up to him, her hands on her hips. When Senanayak asks where her clothes are, she angrily replies that “the object of your search, Dopdi Mehjen. You asked them to make me. Don’t you want to see how they made me?”.
She pushes Senanayak with her exposed breasts and for the first time, he is afraid to counter an “unarmed woman.” In that moment, though Draupadi has no weapons, she uses her body as her greatest weapon. The body which was abused and tortured, Draupadi realizes that raping woman does not make the male species ‘masculine’.
"Draupadi" by Mahasweta Devi is a most powerful short story which is exploring the themes of, "resistance, oppression, and dehumanization." It centers on Draupadi Mejhen, a tribal woman and a Naxalite rebel, who is arrested and subjected to brutal torture by the authorities. The story delves into the systemic violence and exploitation faced by marginalized communities in India in the contemporary time. It highlights the resilience and defiance of Draupadi, who, despite the horrific abuse, refuses to be subdued. The narrative challenges patriarchal and state power, portraying Draupadi's body as a site of both suffering and resistance. Ultimately, this is embodying a powerful act of defiance against her oppressors.
To conclude, Mahasweta Devi's ‘Draupadi’ as a strong female character, “transgressing sexual orientation and social standards.” Draupadi becomes a metaphor of resistance. She is representative of millions of tribal women who are “fighting against the oppression and who can dare to challenge imperialism and patriarchy.” The tribal woman is marginalized in more than one way as she lives in a constant fear of victimization. As a south Asian writer and activist Mahasweta Devi has successfully portrayed the problems of ethnic groups in her fiction.
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