Sujoy Ghosh

One of the early pioneers of English language Indian Writing, Mulk Raj Anand was termed as India’s Charles Dickens for his sympathetic portrayal of a Dalit’s life in his book Untouchable. Like Dickens, Anand exposed the weakest of the Indian society and juxtaposed their misery against the privilege of the upper castes. He brought forth the dehumanization of a whole section of the community with incisive commentary on the lack of empathy among the ones with power.

In his book Untouchable, Anand casts a spotlight on a day in Bakha’s life. Bakha is a sweeper, among the lowest echelons of Indian society. He is aspirational about becoming an officer because of the perks associated. His day-to-day life is peppered with abuse, insults, and discrimination. His trauma is accentuated by the abuse faced by his family. Anand’s Bakha is a stand-in for the marginalized. Society needs him but just enough to tolerate his presence. Without the service he provides, they would not even want his breath to be in their air.

Bakha is not a passive character. He thinks about himself, his family, his society, and his country. He has a vision for progress even though he doesn’t have enough knowledge. Next to his peers, he comes out as a person with a character who could have been someone who had not been handicapped by his circumstances. With great clarity, by presenting the immorality of thoughts of the advantaged, Anand brings out the need for social reforms in the country. Gandhi had a Jesus in Ben Hur-like moment which added a great social context and an impressionable timestamp. With his brilliant writing, Anand makes us touch the life experience of an untouchable.

Untouchable is just one example. Coolie, Two Leaves And A Bud, The Village, Across The Black Waters, etc. are some of the examples from his body of works that explored the social and political discourse, navigating through themes of inequality, biases, and poverty with strong historical and socio-economic contexts. Exposure to intellectual strata and the influence of Communism and Socialism was evident in the politics of his works. 

Anand’s writing brought forth social realism and provided a fertile ground for conversations about social justice for the downtrodden and socialized. His books presented a realistic picture of poverty in the West. Like Tagore, Anand was introspective about problems within Indian society rather than blaming it on oppressors only. He saw the beauty in some aspects of Indian society just as he saw the ugliness in some others. This nuanced understanding elevated the characters he wrote and built his enduring legacy. 

~S