Uprooted

       A graphic account of the struggle for forest rights

Ita Mehrotra

Reviewed by Usha Mukunda & Anandita Rao

Through expressive art which unfolds intimate conversations, Uprooted opens perspectives on forest communities whose lives, histories, and identities are being steadily erased in the name of development.

Publishing Date: 2025 ISBN : 9789360455545 Pages: 132 Publisher: Westlands Books QBR Reviews Issue: Q1 2026 Categories: Graphic non-fiction

This is a book in graphic format in which the vivid language draws the reader into the story of two communities who have lived  in the forests of Uttarakhand for centuries, the Van Gujjars and the Taungyas. Through the illustrations the author portrays, we slowly begin to understand the background history, the care given to the forests, the houses that were imaginatively built , the joys experienced and the difficult challenges faced and met with courage.

Ita Mehrotra is known for her earlier graphic work, Shaheen Bagh: A Graphic Recollection, which offers a vivid account of the anti-CAA protests. In that book, she documents how a group of women sat in protest amidst repeated attempts to uproot them, capturing a specific political moment while offering a distinct perspective shaped by time and place. In this book she is going back in time, history and culture to depict with brilliant art work the lives of an indigenous group of people.  

Through this graphic account, the author recounts numerous conversations she had with the older members of the community as well as the younger. Speaking of  buffaloes which are reared for milk and are left to graze in the forest, an old woman says, “ In the summers we even leave them out at night, deep in the forest. The tigers know them. They have their own understanding of each other.” At another point the author asks a child, “Do you miss going to school ?” The child replies, “If we lived in Dehra Dun we would be studying. But then how would I walk in the forest?” 

The foreword by Ameer Hamza, a leading member of the Van Gujjars, gives us a clearer insight of the situation. “ Today we find ourselves caught between development projects that don’t benefit forest-dwelling communities and the growing communal tensions that are increasingly threatening us.” 

The book is sectioned into five parts. In  the “Prologue,” bold and startling pictures spread across two pages capture our attention and make us want to see more!  The next section, “In the time of the trees,” goes back in time to show us how the Van Gujjars lived, the livelihoods that sustained the community – all  through moving and inspiring conversations with older women. A pride and  sense of dignity shines through. The next section, “Resettlement” demonstrates to  us the intervention by the Government  and  their ways of reparation. Here we see how conflicts arose between the members of the community. The lines of a long suffering people are etched on  faces and along with the  few words expressed,  bring alive to   the reader  the  authenticity  of this account. The next section is titled “We are not your museum” and as we look  through this section, the pictures  are a mirror to ourselves. In the section called “Taungya,” Anita who is a resident in the Taungya villages explains that Taungya means  ‘ubad-khaabad zameen’ land which can’t be cultivated but with sustained effort her great grand parents and others  dug it up, gave it food, cultivated it  and created  forests. A spirited comment from her must touch the reader deeply. “ If people are oppressed for centuries, I think they will always find a way to fight back.”

The last section called “The watchtower” conveys the feel  of an overview of all that we have seen and heard so far.

 

Ita tells this story in a way that carries the reader on a journey through the lives of this community, weaving together dialogue, shared memories, and quiet details revealed through the black-and-white illustrations. The illustrations often communicate more than the text alone, inviting the reader to engage with the narrative through both word and image, and to experience the story in an immersive way. There is also an honesty and an affirmative positive power, in the way Ita has represented different persons in the book. The narrative is told in panels, with a few panels highlighting a close up of moving sharings. 

Several illustrations depict Ita herself in conversation with members of the community, making her presence within the narrative both visible and reflective. Through the acknowledgements, we learn that she spent considerable time living among and interacting with the two communities, seeking not only to understand but also, in some small way, to experience this lived reality firsthand. 

Towards the end of the book,  the author seems to be in a rush to introduce more aspects and challenges without giving the space for the reader to take it in. Some examples are the hurried introduction of trans individuals in the group which needed a deeper look. The art and craft work done by the community  also  deserved a more leisurely treatment. The brief entry of a make up artist for a wedding  seemed out of context. But overall, what comes across strongly is the voice of the community. Ita’s voice is present too – in the strong lines of the pictures and in the way she has chosen to structure the narrative.

A young reader of 16 read the book at our request and in a chat we had, many more insights emerged from her. One point she made was that going through the content in graphic form with pictures and conversations shared by the author made the people and their plight come alive and close. That would not have been so, she said, if she had just read a newspaper account. She also felt the narration was a mix of introspection and a record which made for a more in-depth look at the Van Gujjars and the Taungyas. Many of the scenes depicted, evoked feelings of solidarity in her with the strong women portrayed in the account. She ended by saying she would strongly suggest it for her library and she would love to present a Book Talk on it!

 

The title ‘Uprooted’ echoes the emotion at the heart of the book – both of being removed from one’s belonging and rights, but also the reckless uprooting of one’s homeland itself. This book is an essential addition to the collection of  every school and community library. For younger children, a brief introduction to begin with might bring about more readiness to engage with the content. For older children, individual reading followed by an open dialogue in a group setting would add value.

Further Recommendations from the Library Collection

1. Walking is a Way of Knowing – in a Kadar forest by Madhuri Ramesh, Manish Chandi and Matthew Frame, published by Tara Books (2018) 
2. Etoa Munda won the battle by Mahashwetha Devi, published by Nehru Bal Pustakalaya (1989)
3. River of Stories by Orijit Sen, published by Blaft Publications (2022) 
4. Disaibon Hul by Ruby Hembron. Illustrated by Saheb Ram Tudu. Published by Adivaani (2014)
5. The Gujjars by Lisa Gammel, published by CBT Books (2012)
6. Boom Boom by Prema Revathi  and Anthoni Guruz,  published by Tulika (2022)