LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 20:3 March 2020
ISSN 1930-2940

Editors:
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         T. Deivasigamani, Ph.D.
         Pammi Pavan Kumar, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.

Managing Editor & Publisher: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.

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Impact of Gandhian Ideology on Indian English Novelists

Md Abullais

Abstract

This paper is an initiative to study the impact of Gandhian ideology on Indian English writers in twentieth century colonial India. The pioneer of Indian Independence struggles Mahatma Gandhi not only fought for India’s freedom but also Indians’ freedom from poverty, injustice, inequality, untouchability and other evil practices. Gandhi had a lasting influence on Indian English writers such as Mulk Raj Anand, Raja Rao, R. K. Narayan. These writers were influenced by Gandhian philosophy of truth and Non-Violence and translated his philosophy into their classic novels such as Mulk Raj Anand's The Sword and the Sickle and Untouchable, R. K. Narayan’s Waiting for the Mahatma and Raja Rao's Kanthapura. In R K Narayan's Waiting for the Mahatma, Gandhi has been portrayed as the dominant motif. Mulk Raj Anand's Novels reveal the deep influence of Gandhian ideology. His first novel Untouchable depicts a reality of distinction between the people of India on the basis of caste inequality. Gandhi came as savior for millions of oppressed and downtrodden Indians.

Keywords: Gandhian ideology, Indian Writing in English, Mulk Raj Anand, R. K. Narayan, Raja Rao, inequality, ideology, principles, oppressed.

Indian English writers of twentieth century colonial India are supposed to be the ambassadors of Mahatma Gandhi, his ideology and of course his struggle to get India free. Writers such as Raja Rao, R. K. Narayan and Mulk Raj Anand through their novels and short stories spread the message of Mahatma Gandhi. These writers were instrumental in infusing the sense of ‘nationalism’ through their writings. They vehemently followed the Gandhian philosophy of life best on Non-Violence, Satyagraha, Love, Simplicity, social evils etc. They got their inspiration from Gandhi and compared his philosophy to Marxism and Freudian philosophy of life. All these writers adopted Gandhian ideology and they sought motivating moral force in Gandhi.

R. K. Narayan’s novel Waiting for the Mahatma published in 1955 is all about the entry of Mahatma Gandhi in Indian freedom struggle. Although the novel came up in 1955, the events narratives and characters make us acknowledge as a Gandhian novel. Narayan presents Gandhi as one of the characters in this novel. The struggles, political characters, and philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi have been elaborately presented in the novel. Undoubtedly the novel is based on the love affair of Bharti and Sriram but with the development of the novel we find Gandhian philosophy throughout. The novel establishes a correlation between the common Indians and the champions of Indian struggle movement Gandhi and his contemporaries.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.


Md Abullais
Assistant Professor
Dept. of English, D.C. College, Hajipur
B. R. A. Bihar University, Muzaffarpur, Bihar
abullais2010@gmail.com
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