The thesis presents the socio-political realities of India through Khushwant Singh’s novels Delhi and Train to Pakistan, Manohar Malgonkar’s A Bend in the Ganges and The Garland Keepers and Rohinton Mistry’s A Fine Balance and Family Matters. Muslim conquest of India, 1857 Sepoy Mutiny, impact of Gandhiji’s ideology of non-violence, holocaust that took place at the time of the Partition of Indian sub-continent in 1947, State of Internal Emergency declared in 1975 and Post-Babri India are discussed in this book as depicted by the three writers in their novels.
Literature is considered to represent one of the highest forms of development of human sensibility. It is a deliberate act of social communication which is written by someone, for someone to read and is meant to convey something. A serious work of literature is a living document of contemporary happenings and also of the historical process underlying them. The great epics and tragedies of ancient Greece are rich in variety, lofty in thought and universal in comprehension. Hence we learn from them about the Greek society of the times as they reflect the ancient Greek civilization. The great renaissance that swept through Europe in fourteenth and fifteenth centuries produced Dante and Shakespeare. Blake, Wordsworth, Byron and Shelley owe much to the French Revolution.
Table of Contents
PREFACE
INTRODUCTION – A BRIEF SURVEY OF SOCIO-POLITICAL NOVELS
PRE-INDEPENDENT INDIA – FROM THE MOGHULS TO MAHATMA
PARTITIONED INDIA – A SOCIO-POLITICAL TRAUMA
EMERGENCY INDIA – POLITICS OF POWER
POST-BABRI INDIA – SEARCH FOR SECULARISM
SUMMING UP – SURVIVAL OF HUMANISM
Research Objectives and Key Themes
The primary objective of this dissertation is to examine the socio-political realities of India as depicted in selected novels by Khushwant Singh, Manohar Malgonkar, and Rohinton Mistry. The study explores how these authors portray the historical upheavals, from the pre-independent era through the Partition and the period of internal Emergency, to the post-Babri Masjid landscape, focusing on themes of humanism, political corruption, and social struggle.
- The impact of political events and historical traumas on the general mass of Indian society.
- The representation of freedom struggles and the evolution of the Indian English novel.
- The portrayal of the State of Internal Emergency and its influence on democratic institutions.
- The role of minority communities, particularly the Parsis, within the shifting Indian socio-political fabric.
- The search for secularism and survival of humanism amidst communal aggression and corruption.
Excerpt from the Book
INTRODUCTION – A BRIEF SURVEY OF SOCIO-POLITICAL NOVELS
Literature is considered to represent one of the highest forms of development of human sensibility. It is a deliberate act of social communication which is written by someone, for someone to read and is meant to convey something. A serious work of literature is a living document of contemporary happenings and also of the historical process underlying them. The great epics and tragedies of ancient Greece are rich in variety, lofty in thought and universal in comprehension. Hence we learn from them about the Greek society of the times as they reflect the ancient Greek civilization. The great renaissance that swept through Europe in fourteenth and fifteenth centuries produced Dante and Shakespeare. Blake, Wordsworth, Byron and Shelley owe much to the French Revolution. Balzac won the highest praise from Engels who said that one could learn more about the French society from him “than all the professional historians, economists and statisticians of the period together”. (Engels 91)
“The relationship between art and society cannot be ignored, for art itself is a social phenomenon. First, because the artist however unique his primary experience might be, is a social being; second, because his work, however deeply marked by his primary experience and however unique and unrepeatable its objectification or form might be, is always a bridge, a connecting link between the artist and other members of the society; third, because a work of art affects people – it contributes to the reaffirmation or devaluation of their ideas, goals or values – and is a social force which has its emotional or ideological weight, shakes or moves people. Nobody remains the same after having been deeply moved by a true work of art.” (Vazquez 112-13)
Similarly literature and politics may appear to be two irreconcilable aspects of human experience. Politics is generally considered to be something mundane and gross. Thomas Mann in his Kultur und Politik recognizes the fact that ‘being apolitical is nothing less than being simply antidemocratic’ (56). He admits: “…that what is political and social is an indivisible part of what is human and enters into the one problem of humanism, into which our intellect must include it, and that in this problem a dangerous hiatus destructive of culture may manifest itself if we ignore the political, social elements inherent to it.” (Barabash Qtd. 16)
Summary of Chapters
PREFACE: Outlines the scope of the study, covering selected works by Khushwant Singh, Manohar Malgonkar, and Rohinton Mistry to investigate India's socio-political realities.
INTRODUCTION – A BRIEF SURVEY OF SOCIO-POLITICAL NOVELS: Traces the historical development of the Indian English novel and its focus on social and political issues through the lens of realism.
PRE-INDEPENDENT INDIA – FROM THE MOGHULS TO MAHATMA: Discusses the socio-political situation of pre-independent India as depicted in Khushwant Singh’s Delhi and Manohar Malgonkar’s A Bend in the Ganges.
PARTITIONED INDIA – A SOCIO-POLITICAL TRAUMA: Analyzes the human cost of the 1947 Partition, focusing on the chaos and communal violence reflected in specific literary works.
EMERGENCY INDIA – POLITICS OF POWER: Examines the impact of the 1975 Internal Emergency on democratic institutions and the lives of common people as portrayed in the selected novels.
POST-BABRI INDIA – SEARCH FOR SECULARISM: Investigates the predicament of Indian families and the political landscape in the mid-1990s as seen in Mistry's Family Matters.
SUMMING UP – SURVIVAL OF HUMANISM: Evaluates the observations made throughout the study, emphasizing the persistent survival of humanistic values in the face of political turmoil.
Keywords
Socio-political realities, Indian English novel, Partition of India, Internal Emergency, secularism, humanism, Khushwant Singh, Manohar Malgonkar, Rohinton Mistry, communalism, Parsi identity, realism, post-colonial literature, democracy, political corruption.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this study?
The dissertation focuses on how selected novels by three prominent authors analyze the socio-political realities of India across different historical phases.
Which specific time periods are covered in the analysis?
The work covers the pre-independent era, the 1947 Partition, the period of the internal Emergency in the 1970s, and the post-Babri Masjid political landscape.
What is the primary research question?
The study aims to investigate how literature reflects the complexities of Indian society, specifically addressing issues of political power, communal violence, and the struggle for humanism.
Which methodology is employed in this research?
The work utilizes a literary analysis approach, tracing historical developments through the thematic interpretation of specific novels to understand their reflection of real-world socio-political events.
What themes are central to the main body of the work?
Central themes include the impact of colonialism, the trauma of Partition, the degradation of democratic values during the Emergency, and the search for identity among religious minorities.
What defines the work's primary keywords?
The keywords highlight the intersections between historical realism, identity politics, and the enduring human element within the broader Indian socio-political context.
How is the Parsi community's dilemma represented?
The work highlights the Parsi dilemma through Rohinton Mistry’s novels, specifically addressing their minority status and the challenges they face in the face of regional chauvinism.
Does the study address the role of women during these crises?
Yes, the study examines the vulnerability of women as targets of violence and political aggression during the Partition and the Emergency periods, as well as their role in family survival.
What conclusion does the author reach regarding the survival of humanism?
The conclusion suggests that humanism survives through communal solidarity and individual resilience, even when the broader political systems succumb to corruption and fanaticism.
- Citation du texte
- Shanmuga Priya Selva (Auteur), 2012, Socio-political Realities of India in select Novels of Manohar Malgonkar, Khushwant Singh and Rohinton Mistry, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/950070
