Mulk Raj Anand: A Study of Social, Domestic, Economic and Human Values

Abstract

DOI: https://doi.org/10.82471/cnrtt-dsa03

Mulk Raj Anand, a prominent Indian English writer renowned for his novels that depict social justice and human dignity, was born in 1905 in India. The socio-political situation of India which includes caste oppression, economic exploitation, colonial domination, industrial conflict, domestic suffering, and gender oppression is dealt with in his fiction. The selected novels of Anand. Untouchable, Coolie, Two leaves and bud, big heart, and Gauri (old woman and cow) are studied for social, domestic, economic and human values in this paper. The paper investigates Anand’s use of social realism to depict the plight of marginalized individuals and highlight institutional oppression. Through characters such as Bakha, Munoo, Gangu, Ananta and Gauri, Anand shows us the problems of untouchability, labour exploitation, violence of colonizers, industrial change and patriarchal oppression. The paper further explores Anand’s humanistic vision invoking compassion, equality, dignity, and social reform. Anand’s fiction relies on the harmony of realism and moral concern and transforms fiction into social awareness and ethical responsibility. According to the findings, Anand’s novels have a relevant application with regard to the socio-economic inequality and human values of modern Indian society.

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