Overview
Mahashweta Devi’s story “Draupadi” discusses gender discrimination and political resistance in 20th-century India. The author has used the Mahabharata’s Draupadi character to compare the women’s real brutal situations in contemporary India. Let’s know more about this story in detail in the article ahead.
Summary of Mahashweta Devi’s Story Draupadi
This story focuses on a tribal woman, Dopdi Mehen, and her husband Dulna. Both husband and wife are fighting against the brutalities of the landowners present in the rural areas. In this story, Dopdi and Dulna are engaged in a Naxalite movement against corrupt landowners and government officials.
During this movement, they killed Surja Sahu and his sons. And, to escape themselves from the attacks they pretend that they are dead already. During this hiding, Dulna gets killed by the soldiers and they use his body as bait to lure more rebels but fail as no one comes for him. After her husband’s death, Dopdi was pursued by Captain Arjan Singh and Senanayak, a specialist in extreme Left politics.
Even after her husband’s death, Dopdi continues to fight for the cause. She moved from one place to another by changing her identity so that she could not get caught by the soldiers. One day, she realizes that she is being followed so she misled them so that her comrade’s hideout cannot be revealed to them. But she ended up getting sexually assaulted by the Senanayak’s men. During this situation, also she did not accept the clothes offered by them to cover themselves. She says to them that they can assault her but they cannot take away her dignity with them. Her act of resistance terrifies Senanayak, who is afraid to face this unarmed yet powerful woman.
The character of Dopdi is quite similar to the epic character Draupadi from the Mahabharata. This is because the character also faces humiliation but is saved by Lord Krishna. On the other hand, Dopdi also faced such a situation but she without any help and support fights it with her strength and defiance.
References
https://www.gradesaver.com/mahasweta-devi-short-stories/study-guide/summary-draupadi
