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Through the poetry of Anuj Lugun, an Adivasi poet from Jharkhand, this paper delves into his unique historiographical approach. Traditionally, poetry in both Western and South Asian literature has been associated with imagination, romanticism, and artistic fancy. However, Lugun subverts these conventions by employing poetry as a medium to present the stark, grim realities faced by the Adivasi community and to testify to their lived reality. His poetry can be seen as a continuation and expansion of this effort, offering a deeply personal and community-centred perspective to history that challenges dominant narratives. Through selected poems of Anuj Lugun, this paper highlights the lived experiences, struggles, and resilience of the Adivasi people. His verses serve as a powerful medium of historical documentation, preserving oral traditions, cultural heritage, and social injustices that are often overlooked in mainstream historiography. Lugun not only preserves the Adivasi narrative but also reclaims their place in the historical discourse. His poems are an invaluable contribution to both literature and history. The present study aims to underscore the importance of integrating diverse voices and forms of expression in our understanding of the past. In this paper, Lugun’s selected poems are examined within the broader framework of subaltern historiography, Hayden White’s Metahistory, Gayatri Spivak’s epistemic violence, and Miranda Fricker’s concept of Epistemic Injustice.
Preeti Maurya, Prof. Deepak Kumar Singh. “Reclaiming Adivasi History Through Verse: A Study of Select Poems of Anuj Lugun.” The Criterion: An International Journal in English, vol. 17, no. 3, June 2026, pp. 709-726. DOI, https://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n3.43.
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