The rise of the Indian novel in English

 The rise of the Indian novel in English

The Rise Of The Indian Novel In English, The novel appeared as a popular form of literature during the eighteenth century England. It was the result of the gradual democratization in Great Britain. The Rise Of The Indian Novel In English, But the novel, as a form of literature, is new to India. K. R. Srinivas Iyengar says, “For the novel, properly so called, we have to wait till the latter half of the nineteenth century." Still it is said the genre of novel existed in India as a crude form of literature. It is noticeable that the western influence on Indian English novel was quite obvious.

The Rise Of The Indian Novel In English, It is said, "The early Indian English novel is derivative and imitative of English models. Early fiction writers copied their language from the works of English Romantics and Victorians." Indian novelists successfully employed European techniques of novel for expressing their ethos and sensibility. What naturally distinguishes Indian English novel from its beginning is its social concern, realism and its unfailing interest in man.

The Rise Of The Indian Novel In English, It represents the cultural perspectives of people. So Indian English novelists have given an expression to their hopes and aspirations. An ardent love for novel in India began with the arrival of the English. It increased with the spread of English education in the second half of the nineteenth century. However, the early writers who began writing English novel were the writers whose mother tongue was not English.

The Rise Of The Indian Novel In English, Still they wrote novels in English for giving an expression to their spirit of nationalism and to expose their social realities to the international community. According to C. Paul Vergheese, "A novelist, it may be said, is in search of a unity in diversity of life and civilization. The Rise Of The Indian Novel In English, He, therefore, cannot turn his back on the social realities of his time, but should crave man's image in his art with his social awareness and insight into life." The novelists of the period dealt with social problems for bringing in rapid social awareness. So here an effort is made to examine the birth and growth of Indian English fiction.

The birth of English novel in India is, to some extent, the result of historical, political, social and cultural incidents. Especially, Indian struggle for independence, Gandhian movement and partition are the three important incidents, which encouraged the birth and growth of English novel. The Rise Of The Indian Novel In English, Dr. Gajendra Kumar says, "The first half of the twentieth century has been rich and fruitful period for the Indo-Anglian novels which show the profound influence of the epoch making political, socialand ideological changes because of the Gandhian Movement."

Mahatma Gandhi was an iconic figure in the movement. The Rise Of The Indian Novel In English, He was a symbol of many things for many people. He was seen variously as a great opponent of European imperialism and as a champion of civil rights for racial, religious and other minorities. He was an important critic of industrial system of production. The Rise Of The Indian Novel In English, His great quality lay in his ability to reach out to the poor and oppressed.

A great Indian political leader and social reformer, Rammanohar Lohia says, "Tens of millions through the world saw in him their spokesman, The Rise Of The Indian Novel In English, the solace and the remedy for their suffering and distress."The independence movement in India, "was not merely a political struggle, but a pervasive emotional experience for all Indians in the nineteen-twenties and thirties..." So the pre-independence movement was a political struggle for independence combining and confronting varied forces. The Rise Of The Indian Novel In English, The movement strove for ushering India as a sovereign secular independent nation purged of political, economic and social evils, which had spoiled the very vitals of national life.

Thus the novels of the period are more national in nature The Islamic separatists became politically more important in India from the mid 1920s. The Rise Of The Indian Novel In English, Muslims made up about a quarter of the entire population of the sub-continent and they were in a majority in the northwest and in East Bengal. The Rise Of The Indian Novel In English, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, an old political rival of Mahatma Gandhi became the leader of this movement.

He took the issue to streets in 1946, which led to terrible riots in Calcutta and other parts of India. The Congress leaders began to view Muslim majority areas as a possible liability for the fledging nation state and decided reluctantly to agree to the division of the subcontinent into two nations - India and Pakistan. Indeed, the process of partition began on 15th August 1947. As a result conflicts between Hindus and Muslims involving Sikhs began rapidly. The Rise Of The Indian Novel In English, Thousands of people died and millions of them became refugees. Many leaders worked vigorously to alleviate the suffering of the affected.

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