Gandhi In Indian Fiction

Gandhi in Indian Fictio

Gandhi is introduced into the Indian English fiction in various ways. He appears as a character in Mulk Raj Anand's Untouchable (1935), The Sword and the Sickle (1942) and Little Plays of Mahatma Gandhi (1991), KA. Abbas's Inqilab (1955), R.K. Narayan's Waiting for the Mahatma (1955) and Nagarajan's Chronicles of Kedaram (1961). Though he does not appear as a character in KS. Venkataramani's Murugan, the Tiller (1927) and Kandan, the Patriot (1932) or Raja Rao's Kanthapura (1938), Gandhi is the driving force and is represented by idealized characters. Gandhi's followers appear in Bhabani Bhattacharya's So Many Hungers! (1947), Mrs. Sahgal's A Time to be Happy (1957) and R.K. Narayan's The Vendor of Sweets (1967).

In The twenties and early thirties, Gandhi was not the undisputed leader of the masses. There were many who did not have faith in his non-violent non-cooperation movement. But his social reforms like eradication of untouchability, and picketing toddy shops and sarvodaya ideals received the attention of one and all. The humiliated and long neglected section of the society at last found one who championed their cause. Many Indian English novelists like K.S. Venkataramani and Mulk Raj Anand felt that Gandhi was more effective as a social reformer. This is clearly revealed in their Murugan, the Tiller, Kandan, the Patriot, and Untouchable respectively.

. By the late thirties and forties, Gandhi with his successful Salt Satyagrahha proved to the world the effectiveness of nonviolent struggle for independence. Apart from his ahimsa, his love of truth and spirit of sacrifice made him the guiding spirit of the Indian freedom struggle. Influenced by him, many sacrificed what little they had for the sake of making India a free country. This is best illustrated by characters like Devesh Basu in Bhabani Bhattacharya's So Many Hungers! And the young Raja Raman in Manjeri Isvaran's "Between Two Flags." K.S. Venkataramani believes that economic reforms must be based on the revival of village life. Murugan, Ramachandran and Kethari are the three important characters in the novel. All of them belong to the village of Alavandi. Kethari becomes a lawyer, Ramachandran with all his love for village life is forced to work in a provincial town. Before leaving Alavandi, he has to sell the lands he inherited from his ancestors. Murugan the h onest tiller, under the influence of one Thoppai, opens a toddy shop. By the time they come together again after a long time, realize that one can lead a contented life by tilling one's three acres of land. Sarvodaya ideals are always in the background but in the climax "they actually become the hero." As Ramaswami dcribes, Murugan, the Tiller is "a novel of Gandhian ideals.

K.S.Venkatarmani dedicates Kandan, the Patriot to "the unknown volunteers in India's fight for freedom." Kandan is an Oxford graduate and gains entry into the I.C.S. But he gives up his glittering post and decides to do some public work" which includes working for political freedom, social emancipation and progress. Though Gandhi himself does not figure in the novel, he dominates by proxy. It is his ideals and aspirations that the heroes of the novel are implementing. Kandan is a patriot as well as a social reformer. Kandan joins the nationalists who are offering satyagraha at Tarangambadi. He dies "when the police open fire to disperse the satyagrahis.

While Venkataramani is attracted by Gandhi's Sarvodaya ideal, Gandhi's love for the outcastes and his efforts to eradicate untouchability draw Anand to Gandhi. Anand visited Sabarmati to show the script of his novel Bakha' to Gandhi and draw inspiration and strength from him. Anand was impressed by Gandhi's sincerity, love of truth and love for the downtrodden. Anand admits: "the warmth towards Bakha. which has made this character lovable to many people. may, to some extent, have emerged from my warmth towards the person of Gandhi."
Anand introduces Gandhi as a character in Untouchable. Anand is objective in his portrayal of Gandhi. He makes the innocent victim, Bakha, listen to every word of Gandhi in rapt attention, with the hope that his misery and humiliation would come to an end. But Gandhi offers no immediate solution. Instead. it is the machine-flush system, that raises some hope of relief in Bakha, the untouchable. In The Sword and the Sickle, Anand shows how Lalu, the protagonist, though impressed b Gandhi's peasant-like appearance and sincerity, refuses to be convinced of the effectiveness of Gandhi's non-violent struggle. Both in Untouchable and The Sword and the Sickle, Anand questions the effectiveness of Gandhian solution to the problems of untouchables and the peasants.

Unlike Mulk Raj Anand,Raja Rao does not present Gandhi as a character in Kanthapur'a. Nevertheless, he gives a vivid and faithful account of the impact of Gandhi on rural India. The image of Gandhi as presented by Raja Rao is an exemplary image because to him Gandhi is an avatar of Vishnu. Too many people in Kantlhapra, Gandhi is the invisible God and Moorthy is the visit avatar. Moorthy's efforts to eradicate untouchability and make the villagers spin, weave and wear hand-spun cloth meet with some resistance. As C.D. Narasimhaiah points out: "For throughout the novel idealization is accompanied by constant disapprovals of this Gandhi business' and Gandhi vagabond- age.' the cynicism of friends, and hostilitiesveiled and open from neighbours." But Moorthy slowly succeeds in making the freedom struggle take roots in Kanthapura, the oppressive government uses brute force against the villagers, some of them die and others leave Kanthapura and settle in a new village. Moorthy is drawn towards the Congress activities led by Jawaharlal Nehru. Though Kanthapura is destroyed in the physical sense of the word by the imperialist government, the spirit of the villagers remains undaunted. They believe, "He will bring us Swaraj, the Mahatma. And we shall be happy."

As in Kanthapura, in The Cow of the Barricades (1947) also, Raja Rao deals with the fight for India's freedom and Gandhi's impact on people. Gandhi, as in Kanthapura, is in the background. On the advice of the Master, the apostle of peace, people stop buying foreign cloth, stop serving the red-men's government and refuse to pay taxes. The workmen build barricades to prevent the army from entering the city. But the Master says: "No barricades in the name of the Mahatma, for much blood will be spilt. No, there shall be no battle, brothers."

The tense situation appears to make Gauri the cow, the central figure of the short story, sad. Somebody even sees "a tear, clear as a drop of Ganges" running down her cheeks. When the city is about to be assaulted by the red-men's army, Gauri climbs the top of the barricades. The crowd, the workmen begin to chant Vande Mataram. Soon, the red-men's army joins the crowd and all of them begin to shout "Victory to the Mahatma, Mahatma Gandhi ki jai!" Angered at this, the chief of the army fires a shot and kills Gauri. Then, peace comes back to the people. Gauri symbolizes Mother India. Gandhi always wanted India to be a land of peace with unwavering faith in ahimsa and love every one like a mother with infinite compassion. Raja Rao makes Gauri Verily, the Mother, herself, Bharat Mata, Mother India.

Like Raja Rao, Bhabani Bhattacharya in his novel So Many hungers! presents the impact of Gandhi on people through the
idealized character, Devesh Basu: A truly Gandhian characterin precept as well as practiceDevesh Basu stands for love, truth, and non-violence. He is called Devata by the villagers. Though more than seventy. he is energetic and always inspired by Gandhian ideology. He runs a school for the villagers. He says: "Mass literacy is a danger for the rulers. It would. They know, make the trampled ones conscious of their birthrightthe right to live as human beings. Devata is non-violent both in thought and action. As with Gandhi, his love embraces all. He dislikes the British rule in India but not the British.

Devata is not only inspired but inspiring. Consequently, Rahoul, a budding professor and Kajoli, a peasant-girl, join the liberation movement. After her village is destroyed by the police, Kajoli seeks shelter in Calcutta. As a result of the famine and man-made scarcity, she finds none coming forward to help her and her mother. Finally, she makes her grim decision. "She would sell the last thing she ownedherself." At this juncture, she hears the news that Devata is fasting unto death in the prison. Devata's advice asking the villagers not to betray the flag and themselves rings in her ears. Though "hunger-trapped," she decides to be "strong" and becomes a newspaper vendor. She is really "a living tricolor."

While the young Rahoul in Bhabani Bhattacharya's So Many Hungers! Sacrifices his job for the sake of the country. sixteenyear-old Raja Raman in Manjeri lsvaran's short story "Between Two Flags," sacrifices his future in response to Gandhi's call. Though Raja Raman is only sixteen. He loves India so much that he does not like the presence of the British in India He refuses to salute the Union Jack at school, He is not deterred by the threatening words of the Headmaster. He has so much faith in Gandhi that he visualizes free India and tells his father: "I salute the flag of my country and the empire for which it stands, with many nations but all one and indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. But his father, a loyal pillar of the alien government, thinks that what Gandhi and the Congress have been propagating is nothing but nonsense. He decides that his son must be put out of mischief's way. So he slaps his son. As a result Raja Raman experiences a conflict of loyalt iesloyalty to the Union Jack and royalty to Gandhi. He thinks: It was an insult to our Motherland, an insult to our respect, to go on saluting the Union Jack when our patriots were being gagged and muzzled, beaten and thrown into goals by the white men.

So he decides to leave his father, mother and sister and join the freedom struggle. But before he leaves his home, he breaks into pieces the portrait of King George V. He does not return home even after India gains independence. No one knows what the alien government did to him. Nobody knows whether he is alive or not: "But he remains as the deathless symbol of an independent spirit that has won, waving the banner of Free India, singing the song of ecstasy."

The image of Gandhi as presented by Manjeri S. Isvaran is that of one who turns ordinary younger men into a new type of warrior'the soldiers of the non-violent army, who sacrifice their future for making India independent.
Thus, a study of the pre-Independence Indian English fiction dealing with Gandhi reveals certain facets of his image. K.S. Venkataramani presents Gandhi as an agrarian reformer with his s.arvodaya ideal and as a nationalist with patriotic fervour. Mulk Raj Anand shows Gandhi as an ineffective social reformer with his programme of removal of untouchability and with his movement of non-violence. Raja Rao reveals the impact of Gandhi on Indian scene, showing how he produced thousands of little Gandhis and how he spread the message of peace throughout the country. Bhabani Bhattacharya and Manjeri S. Isvaran depict the tremendous influence that Gandhi exercised on a few individuals in India who translate into action what he stood for.

A critical reader cannot but observe that R.K. Narayan, K.A. Abbas and Nagarajan in a way, anticipate the course of events in post-Independence India. Gandhi had no illusions regarding his followers with the exception of a few like Jawaharlal Nehru and Patel. Most of the others have their own interests at heart. This is clearly brought out by the portrayal of Seth Manekla! Shah ii Inqilab of Abbas, (he Chairman and the timber-contractor in R.K. Narayan's Waiting for the Mahatma, Jagan in The Vendor of Sweets and Vanchi in Nagarajan's Chronicles of Kedaram. They are always ready to use Gandhism as a stepping stone for their upward climb to power and popularity. However, the majority of the characters, the average men and women, who form the silent, patient majority of society, are sincere in their loyalty to Gandhi and ideals. These are best illustrated by such clracters as Anwar in Inqilab and Nirmala in Chronicles of Kedaram. Their faith never wavers and their loyalty is never shaken.

In Inqilab, K.A. Abbas presents Gandhi as a votary of Hindu-Muslim unity with his unflinching faith in the oneness of
religion and as an apostle of non-violence. The protagonist, the young Anwar Au's baptism into Gandhism takes place at the highly impressionable age of eight. Every day, Anwar sits besides his father and listens to the elders talking about Rowlatt Bills. Martial Law, Hartal. Congress, Muslim League, Gandhi's satyagraha and ahimsa. Of them: "two things instinctively appealed to himnot to obey the unjust laws of the Government and not to kill any one." He learns from his father the meaning of Swaraj. Thus, Anwar is influenced by Gandhi even before he meets him. He remembers what Gandhi repeatedly tells people about religion. Gandhi declares: "My Hindu instinct tells rue that all religions are more or less true. All proceed from the same God, but all are imperfect because they have come down to us through imperfect' human instrumentality." Anwar is happy because people appear to have understood the importance of Gandhi's words: "These were exciting and memorable days' Seldom before had Hindus and Muslims fraternized so openly, so enthusiastically." Anwar proudly tells his father: "I also like Mahatina Gandhi."
Unlike Bakha in Untouchable, Lalu Singh in The Sword and the Sickle and Sriram in Waiting for the Mahatma, the young Anwar in inqilab appears to have understood Gandhi well. So in the midst of the people who have forgotten camaraderie and bonhomie that have existed till yesterday. and who have now started killing each other in the name of religion. Gandhi remains the only peace-maker to Anwar. He decides to meet Gandhi in spite of his father's newly developed hatred of Hindus.

Gandhi greets Anwar with a smile and asks him to sit down. Anwar does not know how to convey his anguish to the Mahatma. He bursts into tears. Then The Charkha stopped creaking and the Mahatma without saying a word, moved towards the boy and put a. hand over his head, taking off the fez cap and gently stroking Anwar's short hair. There is such tenderness in his touch that Anwar felt even more helpless and sobbed, violently. Oh Mahatmaji,' he cried out between the sobs, please do something about these Hindu-Muslim riots. Please! Please! only you can save us all."

After saying these words, he looks at Gandhi's face and feels relieved: "Now he knew why they called him Mahatma, a Great Soul. On his face was look of such suffering, kindness and pity, as if he personally felt the misery of every single human being." Instead of "mocking" a whimpering boy, Gandhi gives him an understanding smile. The voice of God or the Inner Voice shows Gandhi the way and he undertakes fast for twenty-one days. The riots immediately stop.

The image of Gandhi as presented by Abbas is objective. He presents an estimate of Gandhi both by his admirers and by people who differ from him. Nehru disagrees with Gandhian theory of trusteeship. Some are angry with Gandhi for supporting the Railway labourers and they call Gandhi bania'seller of flour and pulses. Even Anwar does not approve of certain actions of Gandhi. He wonders why Gandhi does not dissuade people from touching his feet or carries away the dust "sanctified by his bare feet": "Anwar found his earlier feeling of exultation
considerably chilled by the religious aspect of the Mahatma's Satyagraha. (286) Perhaps, this is the view of Abbas also.

While Gandhi appears only in a few scenes in Inqilab, he appears more prominently in R.K, Naravan's waiting the .Mahatma. Naravan's Gandhi loves truth and children, enforces discipline. Lives with the untouchables, preaches non-violence, stays where people are suffering and inspires people to take part in the freedom movement. He sees an untouchable boy on the premises of the Municipal Chairman's spruced up bungalow.' He immediately goes to stay in the colony of untouchables. As S.C. Harrex observes: Although many critics have found Narayan's portrait of Gandhi unconvincing, Gandhi does come alive in the above sceneparticularly as a reformer interested in untouchables as individual persons, as a teacher who influences others by example"

Gandhi once again comes alive when he refuses to attend the independence day celebrations. Instead, he goes to Calcutta where fresh riots break out because his "place was where people were suffering and not where they were celebrating." Followed by Bharati and others, Gandhi visits villages affected by communal riots. He consoles the victims of riots. He forbids everyone to refer to anyone in terms of religion as Muslims, Hindus or Sikhs. He pities the perpetrators of the crimes. He asks Bharati to take care of the children who have lost their parents in the riots. The children are given the names of flowers and birds and no one knows whether they are Muslim children or Hindu. Thus Narayan presents an exemplary image of Gandhi.

But Narayan's intention is to show Gandhi's impact on the average Indian and to present an ironic portrayal of the response of some persons to Gandhi's teachings. Sriram, the protagonist, does not know the difference between Subhas Bose and Gandhi. He becomes a follower of Gandhi so that he can be near Bharati, the foster daughter of Gandhi, whom he loves, He weaves, wears hand-spun cloth, reads the Gita and takes part in the Quit India movement in his own way. When India becomes a free country, he feels proud of himself because he has contributed his mite to the freedom struggle. The timber-contractor has Gandhi's portrait in his house, donates five thousand rupees to the Harijan Fund. But he does not apply Gandhian ideology to daily life. As he is .fraid of the authorities, he attends the loyalist meetings. The Municipal Chairman spends a lot of money in welcoming Gandhi. But he belongs to the group of people who want to raise their stock by staying close to the Mahatma.

If Sriram in Waiting for the Mahatma' becomes a follower of Gandhi for the sake of the woman he loves, Jagan in The Vendor of Sweets becomes a follower of Gandhi because he ardently desires to be revered as a follower of Gandhi. Gandhi's speech at Malgudi explaining the real significance of human action and service inspires Jagan. As a result Jagan
joined the movement for freeing India from foreign rule and gave up his studies, home and normal life and violated the British laws of the time. Neither the beatings from the police nor the successive periods of prison life ever touched him when he remembered that he was performing service.

He goes on chanting the name of Bapu day in and day out and always tells others that every action Of his is influenced by Gandhian principles. He spins every day for an hour and wears hand-spun cloth. He wears only "ahimsak chappals"sandals made from the hide of animals that died a natural death.

However, Narayan soon reveals the true colours of Jagan:
"His reminiscential mood slurring over the fact that he had failed several times in the B.A., ceased to attend the college and had begun to take his examination as a private candidate long before the cause of Gandhi.' He pulps the left-over sweets back and fries them afresh in a new shape. When he sees a hungry vagrant begging for a handful of rice, he thinks that vagrant is a disgrace to the nation because the latter is not begging for public cause. He hoodwinks the tax officials because "Gandhi had made no reference to the sales tax anywhere." Like Gandhi, he renounces everything, but not his cheque-book. Thus, Narayan, the comic novelist, presents the response of certain people to Gandhian ideology in his own characteristic ironical way.

Like R.K. Naravan, Nagarajan also presents an exemplary image of Gandhi in his Chronickls of Kedara,n. Like Jagan in The Vendor of Sweets, Vanchi in Chronicle's of Kedararn subverts Gandhian ideals to feather his own nest. But Nagarajan presents characters like Nirmala who adore Gandhi and adopt his teachings in their daily life to the last dot.

In Chronicles of Kedaram, Gandhi appears in just two scenes. He accepts the invitation of Vanchinatha Sastri, the president of the local Congress Committee and visits Kedaram. Then, he addresses the people and resolves the long-standing dispute between the two Iyengar sects. Nirmala, under the impact of Gandhi, begins to work for harijan welfare. Later, she gives away all her assets to be used for the uplift of Harjans and joins Gandhi in Sabarmati. Koni's father has a high regard for Gandhi: "Gandhi was a saintly man, that he was working for the people and, in doing so, even went to the length of opposing the Government."

While Nagarajan presents Gandhi in his Chronicles of Kedarani as one who offers a healing touch to the feuding factions and at the same time like R.K.Naravan shows how pseudo followers like Vanchi exploit him for their selfish ends. Mulk Raj Anand strives to present the multifaceted personality of Gandhi in his Little Plays of Mahatnia Gandhi. Gandhi appears as a character in Untouchable. He offers only a few words of solace to Bakha, the protagonist, who belongs to the suffering class. Anand once again introduces Gandhi as a character in The Sword and the Sickle. Neither Lal Singh, the protagonist, nor the revolutionary group which teaches him political lessons has much respect for Gandhian principles. Thus in both Untouchable and The Sword and the Sickle, no immediate Gandhian solution is offered to the raging issues.

Thus, a study of the pre-Independence and the post-Independence Indian English fiction reveals that the principal Indian English novelists who were profoundly affected by Gandhi are K.S. Venkataramani, Mulk Raj Anand, Raja Rao, R.K. Narayan, Bhabani Bhattacharya, K.A. Abbas, Nagarajan and Charnan Nahal. Each of these novelists seeks to present Gandhi in his own characteristic way. If some novelists like Venkatararnani. Raja Rao and Bhabani Bhattacharya prefer to delineate the impact of Gandhi's impassioned idealism, hope and optimism on certain individuals and on Indian social life at large, others like Mulk Raj Anand, R.K. Narayan, K.A. Abbas, Nagarajan and Chaman Nahal present Gandhi as a character in their fiction.

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