ABSTRACT
New norms of literature were introduced, privileging the written over the oral and bringing in the idea that literary text needs be essentially monolingual. These ideas, power relation created by the colonial context, started affecting the stock of languages in India. After arriving in India, Elwin did not return to England for any long spells, and all these other sides of his life increasingly kept becoming far less significant for him in comparison to his profound attraction for the tribal communities and his deep emotional ties with them. In the 1870s, communities singled out by the colonial British were enumerated and list of Indian tribes was created. In the pre-colonial epistemologies of language, hierarchy in terms of a 'standard' and 'dialect' was not common. However, if the situation persists, the languages of the marginalized stand the risk of extinction. Therefore, creating spaces for the cultural presentation of marginalized through art, literature and human rights awareness becomes all the more necessary.
