Archive · 28 Sep 2025
Uprooted: Graphic Novel Highlights Van Gujjar Struggles
Imagine a comic book that tells the story of a group of people called the Van Gujjars who live in the forest.
This book, called Uprooted, shows how they've been fighting for their rights for many years.
The author, Ita Mehrotra, draws the book in black and white to show the realness of their lives.
It's about how these people's lives have changed because of rules and projects that impact the land they live on.
The comic book isn't trying to provide a simple answer, it shows a complicated situation, much like the tough situation the people are dealing with.
Uprooted is a graphic novel by Ita Mehrotra about the Van Gujjar community.
The book documents the Van Gujjars' struggles over two centuries.
It highlights the impact of colonial laws and modern conservation projects.
The art style is monochrome and deliberately unpolished.
The novel aims to give voice to those often unheard in official narratives.
- Who
- Ita Mehrotra and the Van Gujjar community.
- What
- A graphic novel documenting the generational struggle of the Van Gujjar people for forest rights.
- When
- Spanning two centuries, from colonial forest laws to present-day conservation projects.
- Where
- India, focusing on the Van Gujjars' relationship with forests.
- Why
- To recenter voices and document the struggles of the Van Gujjar community.
- Book Title
- Uprooted: A Graphic Account of the Struggle for Forest Rights
- Author
- Ita Mehrotra
- Subject
- Struggles of India's forest-dwelling communities
- Focus
- Van Gujjar community
- Publisher
- Context/Westland
- Art Style
- Monochrome, expressive, and unpolished