LIBERATION MOTIF IN SELECT NOVELS OF MULK RAJ ANAND ...

LIBERATION MOTIF IN SELECT NOVELS OFMULK RAJ ANAND AND CHlNUA ACHEBE :A SEARCH FOR A NEW PARADIGM IN TERMS OFRELEVANT THIRD WORLD FICTIONAL STRATEGIESThesis submitted to the PondicherryUniversity for the Degree ofDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHYinENGLISHBYFR. A. LEO ANTONY TAGORE, S.J.PONDICHERRY UNIVERSITYPONDICHERRY 605 014APRIL 1993

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTIt is with a tremendous sense of gratitude and appreciation that I recallthe services rendered to me by numerous friends, well-wishers, colleagues,scholars and professoein the process of my completing successfully my Ph.D.thesis. The journey has been at once challenging and hlfilling, exhausting andenriching. However the role that these persons played all through the processhas been nourishing and sustaining me.I owe my debt of gratitude first and foremost and in an abundantmeasure to Dr. P. Marudanayagarn, Ph.D. Professor and Head of theDepartment of English, Pondicherry University, who guided my research withcritical interest, scholarly insight, friendly concern and above all, with aperfectionist's eye for the correctness of language, aptness andappropriateness of style and format of the thesis, and the overall evolution ofthought and the impact of theme. I remember with a deep sense of gratitudethe long hours he has spent with me, discussing the different aspects of thethesis, clarifying, criticising, elucidating and eliciting. It has been an extremelyenriching experience relating to him as my mentor teacher and fiend. He hasintroduced me, by his example and teaching, to fascinating and hithertomchartered areas of research and investigation, specially to the infiniteresearch potential that is there in the domain of Commonwealth Literatureand that of Comparative Literature.My sincere thanks are also due to my Professors in the faculty ofEnglish of Pondicherry University. Their positive approach to me and theirtimely suggestions and ideas have sustained my research fervour.

I express my deep sense of thankfulness to a host of my Jesuit friendswho were a constant source of encouragement and support : Fr. XavierAlphonse, S.J. who was instrumental in my conceiving and relentlesslypursuing the topic that lent itself for fruitful research; Fr.G.Packiaraj, S.J.who has all through rendered help by way of offering suggestions, comparingnotes and above all, by providing a stimulating companionship; and myreligious Superiors and fellow Jesuits who have given me the necessarysupport and encouragement.I place on record my sense of gratitude to Dr. C.D. Narasirnhaiah, forhis rare insights and views, and his monumental collection of works onCommonwealth Literature in his Dhvanya Loka Library at Mysore. TheAmerican Studies Research Centre, Hyderabad, the Central Institute ofEnglish, Hyderabad, the Central Library, Pondicherry University, the libraryof the Department of English, American College, Madurai, the library of theRegional Institute of English, Bangalore and the libraries of St. Joseph'sCollege (Autonomous), Tiruchirappalli and Loyola College, Madras have beenthe resource centres I have visited and benefited from.I remain grateful to the Pondicherry University and particularly to theEnglish Department for kindly allowing me to do research. My special thanksare due to Rev. Sax, S.J. who &om Nigeria generously supplied me withprimary and secondary source materials on Chinua Achebe-Finally let me thank Mr. Charles and Mr. Esther for the excellenttyping of the thesis and Profhirthan, M.Phi1. of the Department of Englishof St.Joseph's College, Tintchirappalli for his meticulous reading of the roughdraft of the thesis and his suggested corrections and alterations.

April, 1993Dr. P. Marudanayagam, P~.D.Professor and HeadDepartment of Engl~shPondicherry UniversityPondicherry 605 01 4CERTIFICATEThis is to certify that the thesis entitled LIBERATION MOTIF INSELECT NOVELS OF MULK RAJ ANAND AND CHINUA ACHEBE : ASOllURCH FOR A NEW PARADIGM IN TERMS OF RELEVANT THIRDWORLD FICTIONAL STRATEGIES submitted by Fr. A. Leo AntonyTagore, S.J., is a research work done during 1990-93 under my supervisionand that the thesis has not previously formed the basis for the award to thecandidate of any Degree, Diploma, Associateship, Fellowship or other similartitle.I also certzy that this thesis represents complete independent work onthe part of the candidate.

Fr. A. LEO ANTONY TAGBRE, MADepartment of EnglishPondicherry UniversityPondicherry 605 014.DECLARATIONThis is to certify that the thesis entitled, LIBERATION MOTIF INSELECT NOVELS OF MULK RAJ ANAND AND CHINUA ACHEBE : ASEARCH FOR A NEW PAILADIGM IN TERMS OF RELEVANT THIRDWORLD FICTIONAL STRATEGIES submitted by me is a research workdone during 1990-93 under the supervision of Dr.P.MARUDANAYAGAM,Ph.D., Professor and Head of the Department of English, PondicherryUniversity , Pondicherry - 605 014 and that the thesis has not previouslyformed the basis for award to me of any Degree, Diploma, Associateship,Fellowship or other similar title.my part.I also certify that this thesis represents complete independent work on

PREFACEIt was during my fairly long stint with a College students' movement asits national adviser that I began to dabble in liberation theology and liberationmovements and struggles in various third world countries. As it became anabsorbing interest I felt urged to make a study of some third world Englishnovelists who have sought to capture the liberationist aspirations of theirpeople and their struggles in their novels.It was at this juncture, that a friend of mine who had already examinedthe cultural assumptions of a group of South Indian novelists, proposed thatI could consider the possibility of a comparative study of two third worldnovelists from the perspective of liberation. As Mulk Raj Anand of India andChinua Achebe of Nigeria came across to me as novelists with a basicliberative thrust, I decided to work on theh keeping in mind the liberationparameters and the literary aspects of a study like this. I discussed this topicwith colleagues and professors of English. I found their responses quitepositive and challenging.The topic, however, assumed its present form only after I held a seriesof discussions with my guide. It was he who enabled me to understand the fullimport of such a topic and the hurdles I would have to cross in order tocomplete my research successfully. It dawned on me during these sessions thatan investigation of the novels of Anand and Achebe from the perspective ofliberation could not only yield some invaluable insights into the perceptions

and performance of these two wrikrs as committed novelists but throw lighton some hitherto unexplored areas in the realm of third world English fiction.This was how I commenced my research odyssey realizing that, whileinvestigating the comparative merits of hand and Achebe as committedartists, it would not be an iduence study but an analogical one. In point offact, the whole exercise turned out to be a fascinating and liberating one, asit helped me to rethink my own traditional and stereo-typed approaches .toliterature in general and fiction in particular and to be open to culture -specific literary categories, outputs and approaches.

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONSIn the present study, citations from Mulk Raj hand and ChinuaAchebe are from the following editions. Abbreviations here indicated are usedthroughout.hand, Mulk RajUntouchable (London : Wishart, 1935)Coolie (London : Lawrence and Wishart, 1936)Tulo Leaves and a Bud (London : Hutchinson, 1945)The Big Heart (London: Hutchinson, 1945)Gauri (New Delhi : Orient, 1976)The Rod (Bombay : Kutub, 1961)Achebe, ChinuaTFA Things FUZZ Apart (London : Heinemam, 1958)NLAE No Longer At Ease (London : Heinemann, 1960)AOG Arrozu of God (London : Heinemann, 1964)AMP A man of the People (London : Heinemarm, and New York :John Day 1966)JTWE:TBPKJESWLWEBWLHYAnthills of the Savannah (Kenya : Heinemann 1987)Journal of Indian Writing in EnglishThe Banasthali PatrikaThe Kakatiya Journal of English StudiesWorld Literature Written in EnglishBlack WorldThe Literary Half Yearly

513sCWQJCT;;;IVL,LCALTMFSTLEJLCIJESRELCI3Research in African LiteratureJournal of Black StudiesCommonwealth QuarterlyJournal of Commonwealth LiteratureLiterary CriterionAfrican Literature TodayModern Fiction StudiesThe Literary EndeavourJournal of Literary CriticismThe Indian Journal of English StudiesReview of English LiteratureChandrabhaga

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTCERTIFICATEPREFACELIST OF ABBREVIATIONSPAGEINTRODUCTIONTHE HISTORICAL EVOLUTION ANDRELEVANCE OF "LIBERATION"IN THE THIRD WORLD CONTESTMULK RAJ ANAND AND CHINUAACHEBE AMONG THEIRCONTEMPORARIESLIBERATION MOTIF IN THEDELINEATION OF PROTAGONISTSTRADITION VERSUS MODERNITYCLASS WAR AND CASTE POLITICSLIBERATION FROM THE FEMINISTPERSPECTIVEART AND COTUIMITMl3NTSUMMING UPBIBLIOGRAPHY

-----------------------I N T R O D U C T I O N-----------------------This study aims at investigating the fictional writings ofMulk Raj Anand and Chinua Achebe from the perspective of socialjustice and liberation. While Anand's oeuvre is marked by adeep-seated desire to portray and probe the hitherto unsungplight and predicament of India's poor and marginalised people,AchebeJs relentless logic and artistic fervour succeed inreconstructing the glorious past of the Igbo tribe and inindicting the havoc, psychological, social and cultural, wroughtby the colonial confrontation. The characters that people thenovels of Anand are the underdogs, the untouchables, theunlettered and the unwanted categories, who would never havefound an entry into the world of literature, but for Anand8spioneering and bold initiative. Achebe has filled his fictivecanvas with men and women, drawn from the Igbo heartlandenacting the unheroic but warm, homely, intense and moving dramaof life, in its pristine purity and raw innocence,Both these writers are wedded to their respective nationalhistory, culture and people as it emerges from their novels.They not only love and respect their people and their traditions,but are irrevocably committed to the task of educating andconscientizing them and the Europeans, about the rich andcolourful cultural heritage and achievements that their respectivecountry can boast of.

In other words, Anand and Achebe are both committedwriters. Their novels are classified either as the politicalnovel or as the novel of dissent or protest. Achebe has, time andagain, confessed that ,he is a political writer and that hebelieves in the politics of universal human communication andmutual respect. Anand is a humanist and his humanism manifestsitself in a realistic representation of the inhumanity of thesituation of the oppressed masses, suffering various types ofdisability, discrimination and alienation.Anandfs humanism was the natural outcome of the impact ofhis childhood experiences and observations, chastened andpurified in the crucible of his systematic and intense study ofthe different systems of Western thought and philosophy. It is asynthesis of a sort, which, in due course, becomes a unifiedperception of the Protagorean dictum, ItMan is the measure of allthingsM. The simmering anger and impatience that one often sensesin his works, are the product or offshoot of his passion forsocial justice and human dignity.It should nonetheless be added that Anandrs commitment as awriter has been a target of scathing attack from severalliterary quarters. Critics have been haggling over the questionof Anand's writings being pure agitprop or propaganda. Anand hasbeen charged with being propagandist in his writings. Moreoverhe has been branded as a Marxist, leftist and a socialist because

of the predominance of social themes, stories and plotsof his novels.While Anand admits that he has studied Marxismsystematically, he never professes himself to be a Marxist. Hemay have been influenced by Marxian thinking and approaches tosocial reality. His rejection of, and disaffection withreligion, creed and cult and his scant respect for superstitionsand irrational beliefs and fears are certainly expressive of hisMarxian sympathies. Nevertheless it may be unfair to labelhim as a Marxist. His philosophy of life and approach to artare still 'sui generisf. The societal analysis that undergirdshis fictional portrayals nay have been inspired or dictated byMarxism. His anti-capitalistic sensibility as expressed in novelafter novel is a sure sign af his socialistic persuasion.It is interesting to note that influences of Gandhi, Tagoreand Nehru are discernible in Anandts writings, Thus his concernfor the poor and the untouchables is not imported from the West,but the byproduct of his association with Gandhi and learning inthe school of Gandhisrn. His socialist and modernist conceptionof a new India is without doubt an echo of Nehru's politicalphilosophy. However, Anand reminds one of Rabindranath Tagorewhen he touches the depths of the human spirit and pathos in someof his novels and engages in probing motives and deepersensibilities of characters.

Achebe resembles Anand in some of his characteristics as awriter. He too is a committed artist with a missionary zeal forthe restoration of dignity to his people. Achebe is a consummateartist. His craftsmanship is nowhere in jeopardy. Withoutsacrificing his overall aim of evoking the splendid past and theharmonious but simple life-style of his ancestors, he hassucceeded in creating credible characters, substantive storiesand enthralling and absorbing plots.While Anand doesn't conceal his sensibilities and politicalposturing on occasions, Achebe merely shows up thecontradiction and chaos thrown up by the colonial regime andleaves it to the reader to make his own judgement or inference.Where Achebe wants to indict the arrogance and imperialism of theBritish, he takes recourse to the ironic or satiric mode,Thus we notice that there are similarities and variancesbetween Anand and Achebe as writers and artists. Neverthelesswhat interests one here is the possibility of an in-depth analysisof the novels of Anand and Achebe with a view of establishingtheir liberationist angle and scope for libterationistinterpretation and illustration.A host of critics and scholars both Indian and foreign havestudied the works of Anand and written elaborate criticalcommentaries on individual novels and on Anandfs merits as anovelist, Similarly Achebe has attracted a number of African and

foreign scholars and students of English literature. There is afairly sizable corpus of critical scholarship on Achebe and hisworks. Considering the short span in which he engaged in activeliterary output, the quantum of writing on him is quite amazing.While a plethora of criticism of Indian Scholars isavailable, only critics such as K.R. Srinivasa Iyengar, S .C.Harrex, C.D. Narasimhaiah, Saros Cowasjee, G.S. Balarama Guptaand some others who have shown extraordinary interestin Anand1s literary career and produced significant criticalscholarship are taken up for review. Among the Western criticsit is, Margaret Berry, Marlene Fisher, Alastair Niven, D.Riemenschneider and Jack Lindsay who have written extensively onAnand and ofcourse a score of others who have published welldocumented,research articles in leading journals.K.R. Srinivasa Iyengar, in his Indo-Anslian Literature(1943) renamed as Indian Writins in Enslish (1962), has devoted achapter to Mulk Raj Anand. Iyengar starts with a brieflife-sketch of Anand where he traces the carftsman's industry andmeticulous attention of Anand to his father, who was acopper-smith turned solidier, and his common sense andcompassionate understanding to Anand's mother. He takes up allthe published novels till date and assesses objectively themerits terms craftsmanship, art, characterizationand style. The writer pays a rich tribute to Anand for havingchosen to paint, in his works, the predicament and plight of the

ottom dogs in 1ndian society andfor having done itspontaneously without any self-conscious display of*proletarianism. In other words, the uniqueness of Anand consistsin his portrayals being the outcome of his personal knowledge andexperience of such outcastes and underdogs in his life, andidentification with their lot.He declares that Untouchable is perhaps the most compactand artistically satisfying, coolie is the most extensive inspace and time and Two Leaves and a Bud is the most effective asa piece of sarcasm and satire. For him Bakha is both a prototypeand an individual. The Lalu trilogy is an impressive work thatcomprises local and national politics.Iyengar commends theterrific intensity and concentration of The Bis Heart and Anand'sfamiliarity with the theme that he is treating.He is rathernegative about Private Life of an Indian Prince from the point ofview of style and treatment,Later in a postscript he hasrevised his opinion and expressed appreciation of the novel'sautobiographical strand, sense of history and narrative power.He further adds that Anand's remarkable qualities are vitalityand sense of actuality.His characters are real and full offlesh and blood. They are allowed to act, react and interact ontheir own.particular.He, moreover, emphasises the universal against the

Iyengar's criticism is quite perceptive and unbiased. Whileassessing the individual merits of a novel, he is able to pointout the finer artistic aspects of the work. He has probablybelaboured the point that Anandfs commitment is not artificial orobtrusive but natural and spontaneous.Jack Lindsay has contributed a very stimulating andinsightful study of Anand's works in his book, The Elephant-andthe Lotus: A Studv of the Novels - of - Mulk Rai Anand (1965).Lindsay's minute sketches on the individual novels are immenselyelucidating and scholarly. He brings his erudition to bear uponhis critical judgement. One of his objectives seems to be tobring out Anandrs capacity to define the general in theparticular. Starting from an analysis of Untouchable. Lindsayruns through the whole canon of Anand's major novels publishedtill then and shows how his protagonists are both individuals andtypes. Moreover, Lindsay points out the technical superiority ofAnand as compared with Premchand whose fictional canvas bearsclose resemblance to Anandfs. While asserting Anand's varietyand fecundity in terms of his style and theme, he is able torecognise the influences in Anand of both Tagore and Prem Chand.However, Lindsay is of the opinion that Anand displays abeautiful blend ot Tagore's full humanistic focus symbolisinguniversalism, and the compassion or solidarity with thesuffering mankind that Prem Chand so spontaneously exuded.Lindsay compliments Anand on his ability to command a philosophic

detachment from his subject and characters. In his attempt toharmonize the Eastern and Western traditions, he is an heir toTagore and scores a creditable victory in novles such as The BiqHeart, Untouchable and The Road. Lindsay makes Anand out to bea citizen of the world, who strives through his writings, tocreate a new India, a new society and new harmony.D. Riemenschneider has a monograph that must have, when itappeared in 1967, been a breath of fresh air in Anand criticism,as the author maintains that Anandfs conceptual framework isquite limited and therefore it is his artistic and creativeacumen that must have enabled him to create a whole gamut ofpeople in his novels. The article entitled "An ideal of Man inMulk Raj Anandrs Novelsw (1967) sets out to show how from Munooof Coolie to Maqbool in Death of Hero there is one line ofstereotyped heroes but how there is a constant development, anever deeper insight into man's nature and the different stages inthe process of self-realization. From one protagonist to theother, there is a higher level of maturity, a spiral process ofgrowth in self-awareness, According to the author, Gauri andAnanta are two characters in whom Anand has expressed his idea ofman clearly and convincingly. Anand seems to advocate the idealthat the most a man can do, is to sacrifice his awn self for thesake of his ideas or his fellow human beings.

C.D. Narasimhaiah in his book, The Swan and The Easle(1969), has devoted a whole chapter to Mulk Raj Anandwith a subtitle "The Novel of Human centrality" and makes animpassioned appeal for a revival of interest in ~nand~s writingsboth in India and\abroad. While asserting that Anand is guiltyof a propagandist streak in his short stories like "The BarberstTrade Unionu and "The Tractor and the Corn Goddessnt, the authorgoes on to make a detailed critical analysis of three of Anand'snovels, namely, Untouchable, Coolie & Heart. C.D.Narasimhaiahfs attempt is praiseworthy as he exculpates Anand ofthe allegation of beingpropagandist, leftist or Marxist inconviction, by pointing out the artistic merits of each of thenovels, in terms of the story, theme, characterization, plot andstructure. For the author, Anand is a humanist and thereforehis novels are concrete artistic expressions in human terms ofthe predicament of vast majority of Indians. He pays tribute toAnand's rich repertoire of novelistic tecniques and his fecundimagination.In fictional techniques and topics, Anand isdeclared a pioneer, a trail-blazer, not withstanding hisoccasional failure as a craftsman or his passionate socialphilosophy getting the better of his artisitic judgement. His.nove1can be called the novel of human centrality according to C.D,Narasimhaiah.S.C. Harrex has a fine study, in his book, TheFire and the Offerinq: The Enalish Lanauaae NaveI ef Xndia

1935-70, Vol.1 (1969), of Anandfs literary career and hisachievements as a novelist, He severely criticises Anand forhis lapses or shortcomings in style and language, pointing outsamples of such "slipshod writingaa to illustrate his criticism.He comments on the realism of Anand as portrayed in his novelsand appreciates the manner in which Anand identifies himself withhis protagonists and looks at the sordid reality and therevolting situation, through the soul and the eyes of the victimsof exploitation. While Harrex is inclined to accept the term'aProletarian arta1 as applied to a novel like Coolie he is opposedto the neat schematization of values and people according to theMarxist dialectic allegedly operative in Coolie.Margaret Berry has published a full length study of Anandand his works in her book, Mulk Rat Anand: The Man and theNovelist (1970). Her approach to Anandfs novles seems to bedictated by her conviction that Anand is a die-hard socialistwith a humanist depth and a Marxist bias. She focuses herattention on the novels as a product of Anand's socialist andhumanist persuasions and therefore as reflective of theoppressive mechanism underlying the unjust social reality and theiniquitous relationships. Understandably she examines thevarious novels from the parameter of forces that impede socialchange and social and economic transformation, thus proceeding todetermine Anand's solution to the impasse. Having 'abjured his

faith in God and as a consequence having renounced religion andall forms of worship except the worship of man, Anand becomes asocial iconoclast. He demolishes most of the accepted traditionsand practices, that, in his opinion, militate against socialequality, freedom and brotherhood.Thus social institutions like religion, caste, certaintraditional aspects of marriage and sex and s s e m of educationwere construed by him as detrimental to the natural growth of theindividual and society. He attacks these social and the othereconomic and political evils with vehemence and the passionatezeal of a crusader.According to Berry Margaret, Anand offers a plausiblesolution to this deadlock by advocating bhakti-yoga understooodas the relation of personal, efficacious love as the integratingfactor. She believes there is a credible attempt on Anand's partto blend humanism, socialism and bhakti in his The Heart.his new religion, for Anand, will combat not only the externalsymptoms but also the root of all this in the socio-politicoeconomicstructures.Balarama Gupta has to his credit a voluminous workentitled Mulk Rai Anand: A Studv of JIis ~iction HumanistPers~ective (1974). The central interest of the author isriveted on the humanism of Anand. Therefore, Gupta strives inall the chapters to marshal all his critical matter to establishhis premise that Anand is first and foremost a humanist. He has

listed the characteristics or tenets of Anandfs humanism inchapter 2 titled "The Humanism of Mulk Raj Anandn. He undertakesthereafter to make a close reading of all his fictional works andshorter fiction from the perspective of Anand's humanism.Balarama Gupta winds up his study by stating that Anand as ahumanist has surpassed Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, the firstBengali novelist and even Tagore, his mentor and model, inrespect of the psychological approach in fiction, as Tagorefsinterest was confined to the genteel upper middle class andaffluent society. Anand has scored a point over Prem Chand,Gupta concludes, in this, that the former's fictional men andwomen are by far more reflective, speculative, articulate andeven assertive than Prem Chandfs ensemble of docile, submissive,static, helpless characters. Gupta has also underlined some ofAnandfs defects as a writer, specially his preoccupation with anideology at the expense of his style.Alastair Niven's The Yoke of Pity: A Studv in theFictional writinss of Nulk Raj Anand (1978) offers a wholespectrum of insights into the techniques and fictive approachesof Anand as exemplified in his novels. He has tried toinvestigate the message of Anand in each of his novels. bysituating the story and action of the novel in the overallperspective of his social philosophy and aesthetic principles.Niven's perceptive study of Gauri and The Biu Heart have yielded

some refreshing and exhilarating insights that make the message ofAnand come home to the reader with great force. He affords somerare modes of critical appreciation of characters and Anand'stechniques. Moreover he is not blind to some of Anand's flawsand pitfalls, where it concerns language. Niven upholds the viewthat Anandfs intellectual formation and systematic training inWestern philosophy and literature provided the soil in which hiscompassionate humanism is founded and without it, his fictionmight have plunged into "ranting hysteriat1. According to him,both the intellectual desire for objectivity and emotional urgefor commitment qualify and stimulate each other in Anand andaccount for his central energy and tension.Marlene Fisherfs The Wisdom of the Heart: Study of theWorks of Mulk Rat Anand (1985) is a laudable work, that, as thetitle signifies, reduces all the impulses and sensibilitiesportrayed in Anand's novezs to the basic, primal experiences andimpulses stored in Anand's heart. In other words, Anand looksinto his intimate personal storehouse of impulses, good and bad,right and wrong, sad and happy. However, Fisher has discovered adeep quest in and through all Anandys chain of sufferings,sorrows, struggles and failures. Love, in the end, seems toprovide the answer to all the problems of Indian society, asprojected in his novels U J Coolie, pro Leaves and a Budand The & Heart.Technically, Marlene Fisher admiresthe first novel and The Bia Heart as both these have a compact

structure and plot. In Two Leaves and a Anand is sooverpowered by his sentiments and social and politicalprinciples, that the ulitimate impact the novel suffers theprocess. All said and done, Marlene Fisherrs analysis is moredescriptive and confined the perspective the wisdom theheart that should rule all areas of human life, communicationsand relationships.R. Shepherd, in his essay "Alienated Being: A ~eappraisal ofAnand8s Alienated HeroH, maintains that Anand's perception ofrevolution as stated in his novels, springs from his consistenttheme of the individual's struggle against social injustice. Ina very scintillating essay entitled ttQuest for strucutres: Form,Fable and Technique in the Fiction of Mulk Raj Anand",has through systematic approach, arrived theconclusion that Anand's art form or genre is Western in originand form; yet he has used it so intelligently and creatively asto make it an apt medium to convey Indian ideas, ideals, values,symbols and facets of reality. Thus he appreciates the uniquecontribution of Anand to the sphere of Indian fiction in Enligsh.In the book of the title Perspectives on MulkAnand,there are some interesting essays by different scholars.Gillian Packham, in his essay entitled "Mulk Raj Anand and .thethirties movementt1, has tried to trace the roots of his humanismto the different political happenings in Europe and India,S.C.

particularly to the Marxist protest movement in literature ofwhich' Anand became an ardent member. Anand's concern with thedevelopment of individual consciousness and individual valuesseems to have sprung from his ~arxist roots, by now radicallyaltered or transmuted into humanism. Dieter ~iemenschneider, inhis article IIAlienation in the novels of Mulk Raj Anand," dealswith the concept of alienation as represented by Anand in hisnovels. The concept stems from a Marxist understanding oflabour, which is at the root of alienation in capitalist form ofproduction process. He points up the paradox in this that theworking classes or the labourers are alienated precisely becausethe objects of their labour in effect rule over them. Thisconcept is being creatively used by Anand in nolvels like Coolie.Two Leaves and a Bud, The Biq Heart and The Old Woman and theCow, where the whole action and plot seem to hinge on the fact ofalienation at different levels, and in different forms. Theauthor makes an analysis of two characters: Panchi in The OldWoman and the Cow and Lalu in The Village, who are considered tobe the owners of their means of production.H.M. Williams, in his book ~ndo-~nalian Siterature1800-1970: A Survev (1976), is merciless in criticising.theartistic lapses of Anand specially in Two Leaves and a Bud an&hapropagandist vein in the same novel. He is unwilling toaccept the Marxist interpretation or economic colouring given toF

the different situations in coolie where Munoo is involved.Williams makes out the story of Munoo, to be part of a long lineof innocents in literature, thus becoming archetypal in nature.In his book The Literature of Labour:-200years ofwritinq (1985), Gustav Clans has included a brief examination ofAnand's novels Coolie and Untouchable. He praises the taut plotand the psychological growth of Bakha so meticulously observedand depicted by Anand.He, however, faults Anand with havingprecluded any wider vista of Indian society, by choosing aprotagonist from the lowest saatum of society.Munoo typifiesthe millions of Indian peasants who have per force to adapt tothe capitalist mode of production as they are pulled to thecities in search of employment/livelihood. Anand has creativelyappropriated the picaresque tradition in order to project theinevitability of the advent of modernity. The author, moreover,appreciates Anand's deliberate and conscious avoidance of thepitfall of naturalism in such a situation and his boldpresentation of antifatalistic and defiant attitudes incharacters like Ratan and Sauda who strive to form a trade union,despite initial opposition and failures.There is a fleeting but incisive reference to Anand's ~auriin Shantha Kirshnaswamyrs thought-provoking work titled, The--- Woman in Indian ~iction in Enslish (1974). Anand is hailed as apioneer in championing the cause of the woman in the

post-independence era. He takes up the cudgel in literature onbehalf of the silent half of India, the women, who are thepoorest of the poor for Anand. His novel is a historic land-mark in terms of authorial shift in sensibility in Indian fictiontowards the woman.AssessmentSaros Cowasjeefs fairly lengthy article titled, Coolie:(1976) has a brief life sketch of Anand and a lucidexpos6 on Anandls literary creedof the artistic highpoints of Coolie,in addition to a fine analysisWhile assessing Anandf sliterary creed or his avowed humanism, Cowasjee cautions that wemust go by what is expressed in Anandfs concrete creations, thatis, his novels and not get played out by his numerousprotestations, generalisations or definitions.Anand has sethimself, according to his own protestations high standards, of awriter being the fiery voice of the people or the great godBrahma.Notwitstanding the flaws in his style and technique,Anand is, in his own right a good artist as, despite hisemotional involvement in his subject and characters he is able tocommand a detachment from his work.embracing compa~sion~~ as Arnold Bennett termed it.He has a ItChrist-like, allCoolie is abig departure from Untouchable, as it ushers the readers into amore complicated and devious world built on profit-seeking andcash-nexus. Anand, through Munoo's predicament, raises thequestion of freedom in a capitalist society-

From among a whole mass of articles and papers dealing withAnandfs literary creed and achievements, published in leadingnational and international journals, it may be worthwhilereviewing a few notable and recent ones.M.K. Naikls article under the title, "The Achievement ofMulk Raj Anandn published in Journal of Indian writinq in English(JIWE) (Jan. 1973) probes the question of how far Anand succeedsin reconciling his humanistic ideal with artistic integrity.Based on the premise that a writer has a right to be judged bywhat he attempts to do and can do rather than by what he cannotdo, Anand emerges as a committed writer by conscious intention.Further Naik lists Anandf s own views on commitment and art andcomments that there are a few questions unanswered in Anand'Isself-defence. There are a few defects in Anand that flaw his artand constantly interfere with the progress of the action and plotand the organic growth and interaction of the characters. TheBanasthali partrika (BPI 1969, carried G.S. Balarama Guptagsarticle, I1Anandfs The Bis Heart: A study1B. The author calls thisnovel an effective dramatisation of the consequences ofindustrialisation on the conservative and closed-up community ofthe thathiars. It is a compact novel with Anand cutting outunnecessary details of early life of Ananta and making him readyfor action when the novel opens. The author praises Anand forhaving successfully avoided the danger of praducing a

propagandist work, given the theme of conflict between thelabourers and the capitalists.The (12, 1969) includes Saros Cowasjee's essay, "MulkRaj Anand and his criticsfl, wherein the author summarises somestatements of select critics and assesses the same. Afterquoting extracts from some of the outstanding Western critics,he singles out Mrs. Meenakshi Mukherjeefs criticism of Anand.Mrs. Meenakshi Mukherjeefs criticism appeared under the title"Beyond the Village" in critical Essavs on Indian writinqEnslish (1968). He takes exception to her statement that Anandhas been subjected to the least amount of critical scrutiny. Heblames her for making some unwarranted and generalisedallegations on Anandfs writing. She attacks his '!habitualoverstatement and translation of Hindi and Punjabi idioms intoEnglish and disapproves of Anand interpolating ~indi words inEnglish sentences and changing the spelling to imitate the speechof the uneducated.The main section of hex criticism pertains to Anand'scharacterisation. According to her, Anandfs characters fallneatly into three types: the sufferers, the oppressors and thegood men. Cowasjee challenges her to place characters likeLakha in Untouchable, Babu Nathoo Ram, Mr.W.P. England and Mrs.Mainwaring in coolie in their proper niches.

Mrs. ~ukherjee points to the lack of a "sustaining mythu asthe major cause for Anandf s failure as an artist. As a result,she adds, Anandrs characters are tlrootless and rnythless andappear somewhat unnaturaltg. Mrs. Mukherjee should recognise thatAnand has tried to create a new myth, and that is, his projectionof social outcastes and eccentrics as heroes, thus explodingthe myth that only aristocrats could be heroes.Saros Cowasjee has an essay entitled "The Biq Heart: A NewPerspectiven in ACLALS Bulletin (4th Series, No.2, 1991) where hetraces the different conflicts in the novel to the one basic orfundamental economic problem. Hence he concludes that allfreedom is reducible in Marxist categories to economic freedom.He moreover, commends Anand for making a significant deviationfrom his earlier narrow frame of interest in order to recognisethe good even in an otherwise evil system like, for instance,the cornpossionate factory owners and machines in the context ofindividualistic profit-seeking industrial capitalism. Thearticle throws light on the humane and positive side of Anandfspersonality.The spring 77 issue of the Pakativa Journal of EnalishStudies (KJES) has articles by Jack Lindsay and G.S. BalaramaGupta. In "Three views on Cooliew, Jack Lindsay sets out to provethat Anand was a trail-blazer as one, who in his novel, presentedthe manifold and variegated glories and aspects of India and its

people. In this way he has made it possible for Indian novel toenter the realm of world literature and for a whole newliterature of the oppressed and colonised people to make itsdebut in the world arena. Anand as a pioneer drew on the worksof the Spanish writers, Latin American poets and' novelists andjoined hands with African, West Indian and other Asian writer*oconstitute a new brand of internationalism.G.S.Balarama Gupta in his essay "Anand in Lettersmm,provides a brief and illumnating summary of Anand's letters tohim on the model of Saros Cowasjee's Author &Q critic. Accordingto Edge11 Richwood, Coolie is a rich panoramic spectacle ofIndia's life in the villages and the cities. Anand has taken apoetic view of life and given it a fictive representation.this, his Western mastersf quintessential ideas have been ofgreat help, The second view expressed by Edward Burra is thatMunoo is a universal figure. Hilla Vakeel observes that Cooliepresents the moving tragic drama of the life of Munoo, a harassedunderdog, a victim of fate and circumstances.InThe human depththat offsets all the unmerited sufferings and buffetings of Munoois the central strand of the whole novel.ROT. Robertson has written an article under the title"Untouchable as an Archetypal Novelu in World &iterature Written- in Enalish (WLWE).He has explored the possibility ofcategorising the novel Untouchable as an archetypal novel, as it

displays characteristics of an individual, typologicallyrepresenting a group and of the conflict reaching epicproportions at the end. The novel leaves the unmistakableimpression of the central paradox of Bakha being both isolatedand entangled in a society, torn and fragmented by the colonialconfrontation. The archetypal figure is Bakha and the concept isthat of untouchability. As the context is the colonialsituation, it becomes a pattern for all commonwealth literature.Robertson's approach is original and hence may be an impetus tofurther investigations along this line-There is an enormous amount of scholarship and criticism on.Chinua Achebe. More than books, we have a lot of articles,papers, essays and monographs published on Achebe and hisfictional achievements. Arthur Ravenscroftrs Chinua Achebe (1969)is one of the early commentaries on Achebe's first four novels.Ravenscroft displays good grasp of the history and pasttraditions of the Igbo clan in his critique of Thinqs Fall A~art(TFA) and Arrow of God (AOG), Moreover he is quite nuanced inhis comparative analysis of and AOG, the two novels dealingwith the Igbo past and A man of the Pe0~I.e (AMP) and No Lonaer AtEase (NLE), the ones repsresenting the modern, urbanised ethos ofthe Igbos. Ravenscroft compliments Achebe on his range of theEnglish language and his adaptation to suit a given character orsituation. Even Achebefs use of pidgin, although presenting a1

difficulty to non-West ~frican readers, makes for authenticity,according to the author. The author admires Achebe's ability tovary and change the style and tone in accordance with the themeof the novel. The satiric mode and the sardonic and cynical toneof Achebe intheir themes and characters.Achebe.and NLE are preeminently suited to the novels,G.D. Killam is one of the more popular ~ornmentators ofHe wrote his first book on Achebets novels in 1969 underthe title, The Novels of Chinua Achebe.He has a lucid andinformative introduction wherein he presents Achebe as acommitted and supremely endowed artist.Achebe is said to beconvinced that a writer" task in Africa today is to recreate itsglorious past and achievements in all departments of human--.c-.-dpz.pIc.--affairs and to restore dignity and pride to the African race.Killam'sdetailed analysis of the action, characterization andstructure of each of Achebe'sfirst four novels is quiteilluminating and elucidating. He has a good grasp of the matterhe is criticising and therefore his commentaries are a usefulguide to understand the spirit and texture of Achebe'snovels.Although Achebe's basic vision is tragic, there are reasons toaffirm that he believes in the ultimate triumph of the Africanspirit, as Killam avers.

Charles Larson, in his book titled The mersence ofAfrican Fiction (1971), commented on Achebets unique contributionto the novel in Africa and attempted to elucidate the differentscenes and actions in the novels. According to Larson, TFA is nota novel about an individual, but about a community: it is not anovel of character, but a novel of situation.Larson moreoverpraises Achebe for his creative, artistic and effective use ofIgbo figures of speech and proverbs.In M.G. Cookef s book, Modern Black ~ovelists: collection- of Critical Essays (1971), Anne Tibble has a brief article onChinua Achebe.According to her, in all his novels Achebe ispreoccupied with the moral conflict of values and is trying tosift them and show them as the perennial challenge to the race.ViewDavid Cook's book entiled African ~teraturg: Critical(1977) has an essay on Chinua Achebe under the title "TheCentre Holdsu. This essay in effect turns out to be an in-depthexaminaion of the character of Okonkwo.The ultimate questionis: "1s Okonkwo dishonoured in his death or the people who did nothave the courage to defy the whitemen's messenger^?^^ The answeris evident. Okonkwo even in his abomination of death by suiciderises over the others in eminence and dignity.quite poignant.The irony' is

Jonathan A Peters has in his book, pance of Masks(19781, lengthy critical sketches on the first four novels ofAchebe. What is novel about his critical writing, is hisapproach from the assumption, that it is the cultural heritageand its traditions and symbols, like the mask, that constitutethe substance of Achebefs stories. Peters perceives awell-conceived plan behind all the four novels commencing fromthe glorious pinnacle that was Igbo past as protrayed in TFA anddeteriorating gradually with the advent of the white menfsreligion and administration, as represented in the other threenovels in subtle situations and actions shot through with anironic and satiric vein.Critical Pers~ectives ~hinua Achebe (1978) edited byInnes and Bernth ~indfors contains some useful, informativeessays. The pieces included here are not all that new, even asthe purpose of the editors was only to offer a good collection ofcritical writings on Achebe to readers. The articles on TFA arecertainly qualitatively superior to others.Bernth Lindfors has an essay titled "The Palm Oil withwhich Achebefs Words are E8atenI1, in African Literature Todavedited by Eldred D.Jones. The author's main argument is based onAchebe1s successful and effective use of the English language andspecially his inimitable employment of Igbo proverbs, similesand tales to evoke the cultural milieu where the action takes

prace. The way Achebe varies his similes in the rural and urbannovels is striking.Eldred Jones in his article, "The ~ecolonization ofAfrican Literature"in The Writer in Modern ~frica edited byPer Wastberg, contends that in the postcolonial era colonialismor decolonization has become a common and predominant theme ofmost African writers and rightly so.approaches to the problem,He points out the twoone of pure invective against theforeign rulers and the other of extolling the past civilization-and traditions of Africa in a bid to restore her to former gloryand dignity. Writers like Achebe and Soyinka have struck abalance by not glossing over the imperfections of modern Africa-Robert M Wren's study entitled Achebe1s World: Historicaland Cultural Context of Chinua Achebe (1979) provides arefreshing peep into the assumptions, allusions and the novel'scontext in general. He goes on to unravel some of the mysteriousand unexplained symbols, practices, rituals and terms socommonly used by Achebe in his novels.His illuminatingcommentaries and explications are a great help in appreciatingthe beauty of Achebe1s art.Ulli Beier has edited a collection of essays on Africanwriters, entitled Introduction 9 African Literature: An Anthology:-of Critical Writinq (1980).Ezekiel Mphahlelels article underthe title, "Writers and Commitmentv is a lucid presentation of

the concept of commitment and its relationship to literature asdefined by Marxist critics and writers of the left and as appliedin practice to African literature by leading paets, dramatistsand novelists of Africa. While admitting that commitment impliesthe propagandist vein in practice, he asserts that it depends onthe handling of propaganda. He cites tlnegritude" as one eloquentexample of this type of writing. The novelists who document evenas they dramatise are committed, with the abler kind of novelistallowing for a free use of irony.Achebefs themes of theconflict between new ways of life and new beliefs and the old andof the consequent frustration and disillusionment are expressiveof his commitment to the African ~etting~origins, history andpast. The writer expects thatany African art should giveexpression to a new spiritual point of view that explores thehuman situations in general and concedes our weaknesses.Abiola IreZe in the same anthology has an essay entitled"The Tragic conflict in Achebef s Nove1sl1. It is a perceptiveanalysis of Achebefs art which is at home with the tragic medium.The tragic vision permeates not only the situations but also theindividual characters.The author examines the first fournovels of Achebe from this perspective. The strength of Achebefstragic presentation depends largely on the central characterwhose tragic destiny is symbolic of the social drama.same token, the writer points out,By theLonser & Ease is a

disappointment because the central representative character isinadequately drawn. He doesn't possess the tragic substance orthe stuff of which a tragic character is made. Abiola 1rel.echaracterises his style as sober, disciplined and economic, andhis prose as utilitarian. He is not only a keen observer andrecorder but a committed African novelist who is involved in theprocess of "African Becoming1l.In Twelve African writers (1980) by Gerald Moore, there isan article on ~hinua Achebe. He perceptively points out thecircularity quite evident in the principal characters ofAchebe1s novels. The fate that is met by Obi in NLE is in no waydifferent from that encountered by his grandfather Okonkwo inTFA. By striving to do better than their progenitors or fellows,they do worse and end up most pathetically. According toMoore, there is a certain sirnialrity, cyclical fate that houndsthe Okonkwos. The author, further, refers to AchebeJs styleand range of language and his capacity to enrich and embellishhis language with a judicious intermingling of Igbo proverbs,myths and anecdotes. He discovers subtle manifestations of racialsuperiority on the part of the British officials created byAchebe. For him A Man of the Peo~le is a disappointment ascompared with the tragic grandeur of Arrow of God.Nkosi Lewis has published a book entitled Tasks and Masks:Themes and Stvles of African Literature (1981), wherein he has

commented on Acheber s style and fictional strategies in severalplaces. In chapter three with the title ItHistory as the Hero ofthe African Novelt1, Lewis holds up Achebe as a superb model ofhow the African past can be put to good use by an imaginativewriter.Achebe has proved that he is both an inventor oft'fictionsn and a recorder of "social historyu. He is devoted tothe past not merely as an auditor of his peoplers past traditonsbut also a creator of tffictionsll. While exploring the innerdynamics of an Igbo society steadily reeling under the impact ofa& outside power Achebe highlights the inner movements andconflicts of the protagonists.There is no dearth of journal articles and essays onAchebe. We are forced to make a good selection and confine it tothe recent ones. In Black World (June !73), Omalara Leslie hasanalysed the first four novels of Achebe from the point of view ofalienation in her article entitled "Nigeria, Alienation and theNovels of Chinua Achebe". Basing herself on Rousseaufsdefinition of alienation as representation of a community by asmaller group, the writer concludes that it is the colonialadministrative and political set up that caused the upheaval inthe Igbo society and even politics.Ihechukwu Madubuike in Black World (Dec, 1974) has anarticle entitled IlAchebers Ideas on LiteratureN wherein he sets

out three areas of concern for Achebe: the interpretation of theAfrican past from within ; the problem of interpreting this pastin a foreign language; and the responsibilities and obligation ofthe writer to his own people. The writer goes on to show howthese concerns blend in all Achebefs novels. In th+ame issueMavreen Warner Lewis in his essay *tEzeulu and his God" probesthe novelfs central and dominant charactersf internal conflictas mirroring and to a large extent triggering the strife in analready disunited clan.The Literary Half Yearlv XXI, I, Janf80 issue has thefollowing articles on Achebe and his art. Robert Wren titles hisarticle "Achebe's Odili: Hero and clown". ~ccording to Wren, itis the natural wisdom of the past, preseved in traditons,proverbs, tales and songs that finally infuses hope into Odiliwho is otherwise a natural opportunist and holds out hope andpromise to the nation. IfChinua Achebe and the structure ofcolonial tragedyw by Bruce F.Macdonald is an attempt atprojecting Okonkwo as a tragic hero, not cast exactly in themould of an Aristotelian tragic hero, but in his own rightfitting Achebers vision and parameters of a tragedy. Here thesocial disintegration wrought by the colonial forces and .theinner chaos caused by Okonkwofs excessive fear of annihilationare presented. Thirdly, Hugh Webb has tried to discover areasonable-the People.theory underneath the fictional matrix of A Man of

- His article, "Drawing the Lines of Battle: A Man of the Peo~le."argues that Achebetsapproach in this navel is realistic andtherefore the actual military coup in ~igeria in January 1966 wasnot a mere coincidence. ~t was a vindication of Achebe1s"realistupresentation, he asserts.Andrew Peekfs interesting article, ltBetrayal and the Questionof Affirmation in Chinua Achebe1s No Lonqer At Eases1 throws lighton a dimension probably little probed earlier.concludes that it is the so called betrayal of obi,The authorby hiselitist Western education, symbol of the overall situation ofchaos and ambiguity in the colonial. period,large find it difficult and challenging to cope with.that people atLastly there is the essay by Rosemary Colmer, ##The start ofWeeping is always hard:The ironic structure of No Lonser &Ease," where the author's main contention is that Achebe deniesthe novel and robs Obi of the only chance of a tragic moment byplacing his public humiliation at the beginning. There is no timefor a tragic understanding on Obits past or for catharticexperience on the reader's side.Kalu Ogbaa writing in World Literature Written in Enalish(WLWE) (Aut. '81) puts forth a new interpretaion of the causeof Ezeulurs death in his art'icle, ''Death in African Literature :The Example of Chinua Achebe**, It is interesting to read hisarguments to show that Ulu, the God of security of Umuaro is

society. Thus it becomes the confrontation between the socialorder of the African society and non-African within thesesocieties and within the tribal society, between the insiders andoutsiders.Ibe Nwoga has an article in Literarv Half - Yearly (Jan.'86) entitled "The Igbo World of Achebe's Arrow of God" wherethe writer establishes the artistic credibility and mastery ofAchebe. He maintains that Achebe first settles on a particulartheme and chooses events and characters and the social andhistorical material suitable for his specific treatment. Hisfocus is not so much on the individual as on the clan orsociety,Catherine Lynette Innes has produced several useful andilluminating studies on Chinua Achebe. Her expertise isdescernible in every one of her studies. Her book entitled ChinuaAchebe (1990) has an interesting introduction wherein Innes hasattempted a profile of Achebe as a novelist, She has restatedsome of the major tenets and key principles of Achebefs fictionwriting. She spells out his main themes, of rejection of theimage of Africa as a cultural foil to Europe, of offering newalternatives and of challenging the Western view of individualautonomy. The essay on Anthills of the Savannah is rich in.newand original insights. What is most interesting is Innes'perception about Achebets investigation of the concept of power,of its different manifestaions, corruption and distortion in this

novel,Her insights about the multiple narration and itsrelationship to sharing power and decentring administration andthe satiric veinpondering.that runs through the whole work are worthThe final point about the racial and historicalimportance of stories and story-telling is quite illuminating.She throws a lot of light on AchebeJs presentation of the roleand function of women in this novel and of the eschatological orapocalyptic elements contained in the novel particularly afterthe death of Ikem and Chris.In Journal of Black studies (JBS) (June 1990) there is anessay by Joe E.obi, under the title, "Acritical Reading of theDisillusionment Noveltt. The writer devotes quite a lot of spaceto discuss AchebeJs contribution to this type of fiction inAfrica.The fiction that came into vogue in the mid-sixties issignificantly known as the disillusionment novel. The novelistsof disillusion like Achbe and Soyinka,reflect the presentdisaffection of the people, the lack of clarity and politicalwill among politicians and in general, the existential angst andanger of the people and therefore they are very muchcircumscribed, and operate in a limited framework,In Fs~ects of Common Wealth Literature (Vol 1, 1990) we comeacross the essay by Mary Ebun Modupe Kolawole entitled "TheOmnipresent past and the quest for self-retrieval in AfricanNovelu. The author's thesis is to establish that among other

objectives, African novelists desire to reflect the past as wellas reflect on it in order to understand the present better.Writers like Achebe have been consistently focussing on the pastso that identifying the root of the present problems, a search forsolution may be initiated. There is a good analysis of Achebefslatest novel Anthills of the Savannah. The ultimate goal of allthis retrospection is not romanticism but a transformation of thepresent.In the autumn ,91 (Vol 37, Number 3) issue of Modern ~ictionStudies we find three fine studies on Chinua Achebe. RobinIkegami has offered a new interpretation of the role of storytelling as a political and social act, as a demonstration ofknowledge and an exercise of power. The author proceeds toinvestigate the novel Anthills of Savannah from this angle.There are several story-tellers each with his or her own wayof story-telling. Probably the most reliable and informed storytelleris Beatrice who eventually proposes a new role tostroy-telling, that of doing something. She believes in intiatingchanges at all levels. Her performance of the naming ceremony ofElewafs daughter too is symbolic of the convergence of the pastand the present and the emergence of women as a powerful segment.The focus of this novel is on the future. The second essay is byKofi Owinsu under the title, "The politics of Interpretation: TheNovels of Chinua Achebe", The main thesis of this essay is theimportance and inevitability of interpreting stories. The role

of interpreters or critics is important and responsible.author infers from this that rereading and relearning of Achebe,.---'and indeed of all African writers is called for today. *he thirdpiece is "Achebe and Negation of Independence" by ~nyemaechiUdumukwu. The author sets out to clarify the nature of Achebe'sreaction to the negation of expectations of independence from/---'colonial rule. The postcolonial &le can be identified asklneocolonial. He takes two novels of Achebe, A Man of the Peopleand Anthills of the Savannah as the basis for his investigation.Achebe points out the inherent truth or rather the mistakes andlapses of the rulers and exposes the nature of the securityapparatus. Achebe is not pessimistic but offers signs of hope,hope of change and transformation.TheThe above survey is certainly very impressive and the extentand quality of the scholarship extant on both Anand and Achebe,are commendable.While Anand has had a rather biased criticalreview at least from some scholars in India, he has been reviewedobjectively and in fact positively by a good number of Indian andforeign critics.Nevertheless it has to be admitted that Anandas a writer is not altogether free from flaws.His artisticfailures as pointed out by even neutral and scholarly critics bothfareign and Indian, have a basis in his works.While it. isdifficult to agree with Mrs. Mukherjee with regard to some ofher charges,one has to concede that Anand oversteps his limitswhen his humanist impulse gets the better of his artistic temper.

All credit should be given to Anand, as critics have never failedto point out, for his pioneering efforts and fighting qualitiesso evident in his introduction of and persistence with themarginallised and outcast people in his fictional works,notwithstanding an orchestrated propaganda against him.Achebe, on the other hand, has had a fair critical review.There has been hardly any adverse or deliberately maligningpropaganda against his works, barring perhaps the controversyover his alleged denigration of the ~ritish colonial agents.This allegation, however, could not mar the overwhelminglypositive response to him, as his novels on the post-independencerulers and educated elite are a powerful and at timesdevastating critique of their topsy-turvy and anti-peopleattitudes, values, corruption and abuse of power. Achebersartistic excellence, range of his language and style, grasp ofIgbo culture, history and ethos, have all been meticulouslyobserved and praised by critics and comentators. All said anddone Achebe emerges as a consummate artist, always striving tocreate and innovate in terms of style, techniques,characterization and theme.A run-down of the survey of critical scholarship on bothAnand and Achebe amply justifies a comparison between the two-They share a whole gamut of interests, concern and artistictraits. Both the writers are confirmed as committed writers,committed to the cause of the downtrodden each in his country.

Both have stuck to the parameters of creative writing whosefictional matrix is the colonial history, the culture, life,toil, struggle, the aspirations and hope of the masses of theircountries, labelled as third-world countries. They have beenconsistent in addressing people's problems in a bid to createawareness and conscientization not only in the victims but also inthe victimizers.There are, however, areas where both these writers differ asit is clear from the critiques of several scholars. While thereis a near unanimity among critics about Achebefs artisticachievement and virtuosity, the decisive verdict of critics inthe case of Anand's artistic competence is not forthcoming asyet.PURPOSE QF THIS SUTDY:Many of the above-mentioned critics have investigated thethemes of Anand and Achebe by making critical analysis ofindividual novels, The interpretation of Anandfs ultimate goalor thrust is understood as the representation of the starkreality of poverty and exploitation on the one hand, or theexposure of the culprits who are the British colonizers, or therulingclasses. Individual emancipation is said to be Anand'sultimate vision of society, but an overpowering pessimism andfatalism, an integral part of hereditary or cultural inheritanceof every individual, come in the way. Personal conversion ortransformation or amelioration through self-realization and

self-awareness is held out as one mode of changing society.Compassion or bhakti or Yoga is projected as an efficacious Wayof combatting social evils such as casteism, class conflict,exploitation, alienation and social inequalities. There is,however, a hint, according to a few critics, to collective actionor bold individual decision geared to making a dent in thecitadel of outmoded thought patterns and actions.Achebers fictional aim or purpose has been interpreted by anumber of critics, from an analysis of both his fictional andnon-fictional output, to be, to teach his fellow-~igerians,Africans and Europeans about the past glories of Africantradition, culture, religion and literature and to restoredignity and pride to his people who lost it in their encounterwith the white race, Achebe's nostalgic and grandiose evocationof the Igbo tribe's harmony and its unparalleled religiouspractices and convictions is cited as irrefutable proof of hisespousal of the cause of his people's freedom. Achebe is open tochange and to any democratic system of government that iswilling to accord top priority to the needs of the masses.According to some critics, Achebe engages in a systematicanalysis of power equations, use and abuse of power at differentlevels in precolonial tribal society, in the colonialadministration and in the post-independence days. Power is saidto be at the centre of all the activities of the tribe, andtherefore Achebe probes the different approaches to it in thedifferent novels. He seemingly advocates shared power and group

leadership in preference to centralised, autocratic powerstructures.The specific purpose of this study is to prove thepossibility of a liberationist interpretation of the themes andstories of the novels of both Anand and Achebe. As committedwriters both have identified themselves with their people,specially the oppressed and exploited masses. The ratherstrident voice of anger and protest heard in Anandrs writings andthe subtle notes of protest sounded by Achebe in his novels aresufficient ... dication that they are committed to a cause.Reading the novels of Anand and Achebe and making a deeperanalysis of the same, one cannot fail to perceive theunderpinning ideology. In other words they are both politicalwriters. They have a basic perception of their respectivesocieties vis-a-vis the larger society, the differentI.organisms nd structures that go to make up their worlds and theirpeople's lives. Anandrs ideology may be prompted or illumined byMarxian tools or method of societal analysis. Achebe' sperception has to do with the havoc wrought to a harmonioustribal society by the colonial masters and rulers who introducedforms of religions,administration, trade and education which hadunsettling and destabilising effects on the African society. Thecontradictions caused by capitalism are discernible in everythird-world reality. Anand and Achebe are aware of thesecontradictions and the subtle and intangible causes underlyingthese.

Liberation as a process and an end, is claimed to be theuniversal clamour and experience of all oppressed peoples of theworld. while this process may have the special cultural hues andhistorical trappings of a particular nation, the generalingredients and basic impulse and thrust are comaon. Theideology component is very important and therefore, it may beprescribed that a liberationist writer has a corresponding creedor philosophy or vision a.$ Anand 3Eikud.I:~aga in his non-f ictionalwriting as well as in his fictional works. Achebe has timeand again voiced his concern for the liberation of his fellowAfricans and has articulated his motives and goals in writing*What follows in the thesis purports to elucidate thehypothesis that such a liberationist framework is not absent fromthe novels of Anand and Achebe. Their protestations andconfession relating to their literary creed and personal beliefand vision, though very convincing and credible, do not deter usfrom delving deep into their respective oeuvre. What followswill demonstrate how a critical search into the works of art ofthese two novelists, will bear ample evidence to the fact that aliberationist interpretation is very much in order. Thisinvestigation will therefore not only take us inta the labyrinthof the artistsf wealth of material, content, story line or theme,but also bring us face to face with the techniques, linguisticand artistic variations, adaptations and innovation and stylisticpatterns.

A B S T R A C TChapter one, Introduction, introduces the topic and furnishesa critical review of the extant critical scholarship on bothAnand and Achebe. It further provides an abstract of the matterdealt with in the chapters that follow and states the specificpurpose or aim of the study.Chapter Two, "The Historical ~volution and Relevance ofLiberation in the Third-World Contextu, provides the historicaland conceptual background of the term llliberationla. It tracesthe etymological evolution of the term and the historical contextin which it developed. A fairly comprehensive understanding ofthe connotation of the term is attempted, Anand and Achebe asthird-world fictionists do fit into this liberation pattern atleast germinally.Chapter Three, "Mulk Raj Anand and Chinua Achebe amongContemporaries~, situates Anand and Achebe among theircontemporaries and proceeds to underscore their unique perceptionand singular contribution in the area of political and propheticliterature geared to liberation of the oppressed masses.Chapter Four, takes up the study of the I1Liberation Motif inthe Delineation of protagonist^^^ by Anand and Achebe- Anand'sprotagonists like Bakha of Untouchable, Munoo of coolie andAnanta of The Biq Heart are not traditional or conventionalheroes. However, they are representative individuals. They are

models of liberated induviduals drawn from the class ofoutcastes, the marginalised and the labourers. Achebe's heroesare either tribal chieftains like Okonkwo and Ezeulu or theeducated, elitist Africans like Obi and Odili. They arepresented as types of their respective groups and thereforesignify in their own persons, lives and manner of their end, thepredicament of the Igbo tribe after the descent of the Europeans*Anthills of the Savannah is Achebe's critique of centrialisedpower in the person of Sam, and his proposed alternative of apluralistic leadership or shared power.Chapter ~ive, "~radition Versus Modernity", dwells at lengthon the manner in which Anand and Achebe have dealt with theburning issue of traditon as opposed to modernity. Althoughthis topic is a pet theme with both Anand and Achebe, it is givenan in-depth treatment in The Biq Heart by Anand and in NoLonaer & Ease, by Achebe, Anand is a stout advocate ofmodernity and all that goes with it. His hero Ananta becomes hismouthpiece and is, in a sense, a symbol and prototype of allIndians, specially the rural segments, caught between the tworealities. Anandfs brand of modernity or modernism is marked bymoderation, unwilling to jettison humanistic values and idealswhile retaining a pragmatic approach to scientific andtechnological changes that are rapidly transforming the face ofthe earth in India.

Achebe's protrayal of this historic conflict boils down toObi, the principal characterts struggle to balance his idealismagainst the insuperable temptation of the consumer world andculture. He succumbs to the pressure of demands for leading alife in consonance with his high position and elitist education.Achebe projects the evils that can be spawned by an unrestrictedor unregulated pursuit of comforts and luxuries without a basicmoral consciousness. Obi has moral awareness and idealism butlacks the strength of character that alone can withstand theweight of materialistic and consumeristic demands.Achebe'scontext is the Nigerian scene in a state of turmoil and disquiet,as a consequence of the inroads made by Western ideologies, modesof production and ownership and the value-systems centred onmoney and acquistiveness.Chapter Six, "Class War qnd Caste ~olitics" takes a criticallook at the treatment of exploitation by Anand and Achebe.Marxian analysis of social systems, class plays a crucial role inv.-maintaining the exploitive character of a capitalist society.1Class conflict or class war eventually yields to proletarian ruleand the stateless and classless society accprding to Marx -Anand probes the class character of exploitation in severalnovels, the chief among them being, coolie,. Two Leaves and a-Bud and The Bis Heart. Anand seemingly subscribes to the Marxistview of class struggle preceding final liberation in the form ofIn

classless society and stateless socialism. Munoo and Gangu,although they are kshatriyas, are discriminated against andexploited simply because they are poor and downtrodden. Z k @&lHeart is a moving and heart-rending tragedy of ~nanta who dies amartyr for the cause of educating and conscientizing his peopleto accept the inevitability of modernity. Anand portrays theheinousness and dissects the per se evil of casteism anduntouchability in Untouchable and The Road. c his twin sin andshame of ~ndia is projected by Anand as equally responsible forthe social and economic inequalities that persist so many yearsafter Independence.Achebe has not addressed class or caste problem explicitlyin his novels. However, his approach to the theme of colonialconfrontation includes a critique of the class distinctions thatemerged from the prevalence of market-economy and liberal use ofmoney. He deplores the fall in moral standards in the wake ofthe advent of capitalism and points to the monumental corruptionin high places as an eloquent example of moral decadence. Theonly instance of Itcaste" that can be identified in Achebe'snovels is the ostracism of a slave caste known as "Osu" aspresented in No Lonqer Ease. Achebe does not hesitate. topinpoint the irrational beliefs or practices that are divisive.discriminatory or reactionary.

Chapter Seven, ItLiberation from the FeministPerspe~tive~~~attempts a feminist interpretation of Anandfs andAchebe's study of exploitation. Women's Liberation as apolitical or social movement and feminism as a literary orartistic theory had its origin in the West and therefore theIndian brand of feminism is not without its Western trappings,biases, slants or excesses. However, the Indian equivalent hashad its measure of success, specially, thanks to the numerouswriters, particularly novelists, who have espoused its cause orthe cause of the exploited and maltreated women of India, intheir works of art.Anand without doubt, finds a place amongIndian writers who have aided the cause of the Indian woman bydrawing portraits of liberated or enlightened women who rebelagainst time-worn or outmoded traditions. Anandrs Gauri is ahistoric landmark in the evolution of the feminist novel inIndia. Achebe may not be a hardcore Eeminist. Nevertheless hispresentation of women likd~eatrice and Elewa in Anthills ofSavannah can be studied from the feminist angle fruitfully. Forboth Anand and Achebe, the woman is an integral and indispensablepart of any process of liberation.Chapter ~ight, ItArt and ~onunitrnent~~, tries to resolve theapparent dualism between art and commitment. It has been at thecentre of literary debate over the years.It is contended inthis chapter that-art and commitment are not mutually exclusive4

In fact they are complementary and mutually enriching. Even theMarxist critics and theorists concede the autonomy of art andtherefore a committed writer need not neglect art or make itsubservient to content or subject matter. Anand1s subject matterreveals his profound involvement in the lives and fortunes of thepeople, specially the oppressed masses, Anand1s language, styleand fictional techniques reveal certain flaws thus invitingunfavourable critical review. Achebe however comes across as amaster craftsman whose identification with his people, the Igbotribe, is near total. Literary commitment should not be equatedwith propagandism. While Anand has been searching for the rightstyle and technique to suit his fictional matrix, he is notaltogether free from propagandist pitfall. Achebe, on the otherhand, has achieved the fine tuning between his art andideological conviction, matter and form. He has a richrepertoire of fictional strategies, and a range of techniqueswhich are fascinating.Chapter Nine, ltSumming UpM, is a summation of all that hasbeen said in the preceding chapters, We have gained a fairlycomprehensive grasp of the liberation motif in Anand and Achebethrough a systematic investigation of their stories, themes .andartistic features, such as language, style, techniques of writingand characterization. The ultimate success of the two novelistsis judged by the measure of success achieved by them in striking

the right balance or rhythm between their ideologicalsensibilites and the demands of the literary genre. Moreoverthis chapter goes on to maintain that the pioneering work ofthese two writers provides the framework for future research inthe sphere of literature on liberation. The bold experimentsdone by both Anand and Achebe, in making heroes of thedisinherited and the wretched of the earth, provide a freshimpetus to more such experiments in future. More innovative andcreative work in fictional themes, forms, approaches and aimmodelled on Anand's and Achebefs paradigm are in order. Novelswith political and prophetic slant have a crucial role to playin the liberation dynamics of any third-world country.

------------------------------------------------------THE H l STOR l CAL EVOLUT l ON AND RELEVANCE OF 'L I BERAT I ON'--------------------------............................-------------- 1-1---------IN THE TW IRD WORLD CONTEXT--------------------------The third world context which forms the backdrop of thenovels of Mulk Raj Anand and Chinua Achebe has certaincharacteristic socio-economic features. And it is against thissocio-economic scenario that problems like alienationneo-colonialism, exploitation, starvation, growing gap betweenthe rich and the poor, poverty, illiteracy, corruption anderosion of values in public life have to be examined. Thestrange irony of it all is that this situation prevails despitenumerous policies and programmes of individual governments topromote economic growth and to accumulate national wealth as faras possible so as to increase the per capita income and the grossnational product. It is moreover assumed by the policy-makersthat the benefit of development will accrue to the entirepopulation including the poor and the rnarginalised in course oftime.The flaw underlying this assumption is that itignores the existing socio-economic structures that favour theaccumulation of wealth in the hands of a few and keep the vast

majority of the population in want and misery. The lacunabecomes glaring as it dawns on us that poverty need not be thereal problem of the third world countries. We are obliged as aconsequence to examine the dynamics of society and the mechanismsthat operate within the socio-economic structures in order tounravel the problem. Julius K Nyerere has stated this issueforcefully and clearly thus:Poverty is not the real problem of the modernworld, for we have knowledge and theresources which will enable us to overcomepoverty. The real problem of the modernworld - the thing which creates misery, warsand hatred among men - is the division ofmankind into rich and poor. We can see thisdivision at two levels. within nation statesthere are a few individuals who have great .wealth and whose wealth givesthem greatpower. But the vast majority of the people . .suffer from varying degrees of poverty anddeprivation. And looking at the world as a

collection of nation states, we see the samepattern repeated: there are a few wealthynations which dominate the world economicallyand therefore politically; and a mass ofsmaller and poor nations whose destiny, itappears, is to be dominated.(Nyerere: 8).It is in this context of shocking disparities and imbalancebetween individuals and between nations that social thinkers,religious and spiritual leaders down the decades have addressedthemselves to the question of social justice. Social justice hasbeen variously defined. Time there was when social justice wasmade out to be a harmonious balance of the three traditionaltypes of justice, namely, the commutative justice (the relationshipsbetween individuals among themselves), the distributivejustice (the relationship of society with regard to the members)and the legal justice (relationship of individuals to the commongood). It should be conceded that a purely political and secularnotion of justice as propounded by Aristotle was later modifiedradically by the introduction of man's relationship to God asprovident Father as the basis of all justice. It was thescholastic philosophers and in particular St. Thomas Aquinas who

maintained an intrinsic and almost inseparable relationshipbetween love and justice. The definitions of the three kinds ofjustice have been derived from ~quinas' Summa Theoloqica.While the notion of social justice comprehends all theseabove ideas and values, it cannot be restricted to the economicorder only. Popes Leo XI11 (in his epoch-making encyclical RerumNovarum 1891) and Pius XI (in his encyclical Quadrauesimo Anno.1931) have attempted to further refine and clarify the term"social justice" by applying it to the specific and new economicsituations arising out of new developments in industry.Boththese Pontiffs were concerned about the reformation of theeconomic order by advocating the reign of social justice. Socialjustice was propounded as the directing principle of all economiclife, activities and relationships. Although both the Pontiffswere explicit in making the common good the purpose of socialjustice, "this common goood is the economic common good,"(Drummond: 1955 : 27) .It was Pope Paul VI who in his outstanding encyclicalPo~ulorum Proclressio (1967) defined social justice in its mostcomprehensive scope as "the integral development of everyman andof all menq1 (Pope Paul VI 1967 - article 5).Probably theinspiration for this global vision of social justice was provided

y the teachings of the Vatican council 11, Its document titledthe "Constitution on the Church in the Modern Worldf1 a majorhighlight of the council affirmed that the Church in todaylsworld must be committed to the creation of a better world, to thepromotion of justice, to the development of peoples and to thedefence of human rights.Pope Paul VI in his encyclical sounded a note of urgency byrecommending bold transformations, innovations that go deep andurgent reforms without delay if the human race, the peace of theworld and the future of civilization should have a chance tosurvive.It is in the context of all these history-making events,declarations, pronouncements and socio-economic developments,that the meaning and import of the word 'liberation1 is to besought. Probably a practical way of elucidating the term"liberationf1 is by studying its origin in the Latin AmericanContinent. Ssgundo Galilea, a leading exponent of LiberationTheology in Latin America, sums up the process by which the term"liberationf1 came to be used popularly by the groups of peopleengaged in the struggle for freedom as well as the Theologianswho began to reflect on the praxis of these people, in thefollowing manner:

Its immdediate antecedentis to be foundin Paul VI's Populorum Proqressio (1967).Before this Encyclical was issued (that is tosay during the 50's and a good part of the6brs), we spoke of 'developmentf as a projectaiming to rescue the Latin American peoplesfrom their poverty. Paul VI transcends thisconcept and speaks of 'integral development'.For it was felt that unspecified notion ofdevelopment was inadequate; it was too closelyrelated to the material and economic aspectsof life and overlooked other dimensions ofthe human person.@'Integral developmentw, onthe other hand, means man's advancement in allhis dimensions, both moral and religious; itis every process that leads from Itless humanto more human conditionsa1, (PopulorumProgressio, art.20). This conception which goesbeyond the pure and simple, 'desarrollismo' ofthe industrialised world, greatly influencedthe second Latin American Episcopal

Conference, held at Medellin in 1968. Evenbefore this event it exercised its influence,though a more limited one, on many Christianswho in the early 60s were speaking ofllliberationu. It was in fact at Medellinthat the word was used officially for thefirst time.Since then it has remained akey-word in the reflection and tasks ofLatin American Christians.(Segundo, 1978 : 336)llLiberationu, according to the same writer has richershades of meaning as compared with the term"integraldevelopmentu and it posits man as the subject of his own destinyand history."Liberationu thus achieved legitimacy not onlyamong the people but amidst theologians of the Church in LatinAmerica.Pope Paual VI indirectly gave his seal of approval to usethe term "liberationf1 by himself using the term in his apostolicletter Evanqelii Nuntiandi (1975). For him liberation signifies"the effort and struggle to overcome everything which c~ndemnsthose peoples to remain on the margin of life: famine, chronicdisease, illiteracy, poverty, injustices in international

elations and specially in commercial exchanges, situations ofeconomic and cultural neo-colonialism, sometimes as cruel as theold political c~lonialisrn~~. (Pope Paul VI 1975: art.30)While we are not directly interested in a detailed analysisof the theology of ~iberation, we can't altogether ignore certainof the premises, methodological sources and tendencies of thisbrand of theology.his position can be justified by the factthat the theology of liberation is localised or situated in theliberative praxis of the masses.Hence liberative praxis oractions for justice or the socio-economic reality of the peoplebecomes the locus of theological reflection and elaboration. Andthis is precisely the arena where changes, be they slow orrevolutionary, take place as a result of the liberative praxis ofthe people, aware of their dehumanizing situation and oftheir collective power to overthrow such oppressive structures.Liberation theologystarts off from human, social andhistorical reality, ponders the existing relationships based oninjustice in a global frame and analyses the mechanism by whichthe poor are oppressed. This theological reflection is obviauslydone in the light of the Christian faith in the context of LatinAmerica but the assistance of human science, specially of thescientific tools of societal analysis available in Marxism issought.

What interests us here is the liberation dialectics that isnot the preserve of Latin ~merica, but can be, and in fact, is areality in other third world countries such as India andcontinents such as Africa. Liberation is the universal clamourand experience of all oppressed people in one form or the other.It may have its cultural and historical nuances and specificity.For instance the socio-economic reality in 1ndi.a has beencertainly affected by the historical event of colonialism and hermulti-religious, multi-lingual and multi-racial cultural milieu.Similarly we could suppose that the socio-economic situation ofAfrica, apart from the common factors of domination andoppression of the majority by a dominant minority is marked by"its colonial past, racism or apartheid, non-literate culture,multiplicity of tribes and languages and neo colonialism.In this connection it may be fruitful to state whatAloysius Pieris,S.J., one of the front-line Asian Theologiansfrom Sri Lanka has to say. Speaking about the indigenization oftheology of liberation in the context of Asia's ~ocio-politicaland cultural reality, he observed that lithe religiousness of thepoor and the poverty of the religious masses together constitutethe complex structure of Asian reality which is the matrix of anAsian Theologytf.

The same writer concludes to a new paradigm of liberationemerging in Asia as a consequence of an inversion of valueseffected by ~arxism, a widespread and popular ideology in manyAsian countries today. The two old models of liberation found inIndia were the elitist exercise of retiring to a sequestered andcomfortable nookfor pursuing philosophical or religiousspeculations and the other of renunciation of or flight from theworld in order to have a 'desertf or forestf experience.Thenew paradigm of liberation emerging today has none of thefeatures or elements of the former model which was elitist buthas apparent links with the latter model."In the eyes of manyenlightened "pr~letariate~~ it is the elite of the leisure classincluding religious leaders that need to be liberated andthis liberation can be achieved only in and through theself-redemptive action of the masses, the commoners, thehoi-~olloi, the poor, the oppressed who are thought to beinvested with a messianic mission for the humankind's totalliberation."(Pieris, 1986: 275)And it is significant as Pieris points out that this modelis akin to the twofold biblical doctrine of the renunciation ofManunon within one's inner self and indirect and silent

denunciation of a world order built on ~ammonic values. Thus thetwo principal axioms of the new paradigm of liberation are:a) The irreconcilable antagonism between God and Mammon (auniversal spiritual dogma found in some form or other in allreligions of Asia particularly in Hinduism and Buddhism).b) The irrevocable covenant between God and the Poor (aspefifically Biblical axiom that may prove explosively true iftransposed to the context of a marxist analysis),The messianic or the liberative role of the poor in thirdworld countries particularly in India could be meaningfullyviewed .in the light of what the Bible says about the poor.George Soares-Prabhu,S.J., an Indian Biblical Scholar delineatesthe biblical portrayal in his paper "The Kingdom of God: Jesus'Vision of a New SocietyH, by qualifying the poor of the Bible as(a) a sociological group, (b) a dialectical group, and (c) adynamic group. These three biblical tenets do bear resemblanceto Marxist theory which see$ the poor (proletariat) as a socialclass at once victim and creator of human history.At this stage it may be useful to examine another importantmodel of liberation dialectics, Karl Marx's elaboration of thetools for a scientifc analysis of socio-economic reality merits aclose study as it attempts to critique the existent older models

of liberation. The oft-used 'liberative praxisf as one term givesus clue to the importance or shall we say, primacy of praxis inthe process of liberation in any milieu, as propounded by Marx.Let us investigate the original meaning of praxis before tryingto understand Marx's theory.The word 'praxisf is Greek and has invariably found favourwith many commentators in preference to the English word'practicef which does not adequately capture the nuances ofmeaning implied in the Greek usage.practice existing by itself.meanings and nuances of both in a unique fashion.It is neither theory norIn one sense if, combines theIt was Aristotle who first posited three kinds of knowledgedesignated by the terms theoria, praxis and poiesiscorresponding more or less to three kinds of living that we maycall the contemplative life (philosophical), the practical life(political), and the productive life (survival activity)'lThe~ria~~ is directed to the life of contemplation.....tPraxis', on the other hand, is concerned with thepersonal participation of the individual in the life of the 1Ipolisf.More specifically praxis is directed to the rightordering of human behaviour in the socio-political world..,.'Poiesisf, the third form of human activity,is a process of making

those things which are necessary for the survival of human being.Poiesis is about production: it is the exercise of technicalskills by different people; it is creation of artifacts; it is aprocess of human making."(Cited in Lane 1983: 34).To summarise Aristotlefs ideas on theoria, praxis andpoiesis, it should be pointed out that he never envisaged aseparation or dichotomy between the three, although, "theoriaWwas for him an end in itself, to be supported by "poiesis" and"praxisu. He advocated a unity and interplay of all three and%further wanted to keep politics and philosophy, the practicallife and contemplative life together.We now proceed to an understanding of the ideas of Marxconcerning praxis. By and large primacy of theory dominated thephilosophical and theological thinking of the period precedingthe Enlightenment.During the Enlightenment however,the shiftfrom the individual as knower to the individual as Agent tookplace. Thediscoveries of science in the eighteenth centuryopened up hitherto unknown possibilities of humancreativity. Kant reflected this new found enthusiasm andconfidence in his critique of pure reason and his avowedpreference for practical reason. "The human person is no longer

determined simply by a given cosmic order. Instead theindividual as subject constructs his or her own world. Howeverthe problem with Kant was his failure to grapple with the socialand historical conditions of human existence and to apply theimportance of the turning towards the subject to thesocio-political world. This failure of Kant undoubtedlyinfluenced the works of Hegel and Marx significantly," (Lane, 1983: 36).Hegel postulated the Absolute Spirit at the centre ofhistory and all reality. Praxis for him is the praxis of spiritreaching itself in history, Theory for him was the rationalarticulation by the individual of that praxis. A1 t houghHegel posited unity between praxis and theory, this unity isbetween the praxis of the spirit and theory proposed by theindividual. Hence he was not concerned with the praxis of theindividual person in the world. This lacuna provoked Marx intodeveloping his own particular view of theory-praxis relationship."Marx criticised Hegel's understanding of praxis as tooidealistic and ultimately ideological. That praxis did nothingto change the course of history or to bring about freedom in theworld. Marx replaced the praxis of the spirit with the praxis ofhuman beings. The subject of world history is not Spirit guidedby Providence but the praxis of individual human beings," (Lane,1983: 38).

Marx'sunderstanding of praxis belongs to the largecomplexus within his works which consists of the existence of twostreams referred to as ~ciensific Marxism and Critical Marxism.The 'scientific stream is that part of Marx'sthought thatexplains the structures of the capitalist society as governed byblind and necessary laws that maintain presently the capitalistmode of production but will eventually bring about a classlesssociety.into Marx's thought.This introduces forms of materialism and determinismOn the other hand the critical stream isconcerned with changing the structures of the social andpolitical reality of day to day living.And this changeaccording to Marx can be effected by adopting a creative praxis.The two streams yield two perceptions of praxis, namely theblind praxis of unreflective labour of the scientific stream andthe creative praxis of the critical stream. While the former .isthe source of alienation within society, the latter is directed@towards changing the social conditions of the working masseswhose basic aim is liberation. Taking the clue from Hegel, Marxaffirms that the individal is what he or she does and the humanperson is shaped by praxis, At the same time the products ofpraxis embody some aspects of the individual as the individualputs something of himself or herself into his or her world of

product.These 'objectifications' of praxis become sources ofalienation only when the products of one's praxis are taken overby others and turned into instruments for dominating, controllingand dehumanizing the person leading ta alienation.According to Marx it is life that determines consciousnessand not the other way about as Hegel maintained.It is thisprinciple that is at the basis of Marx's scientific materialism.And Ifhistorical materialism in Marx implied that theconditions of life, specially the historical mode of producingthe material means of existence determines the shape of human?consciousness.Theory is the expression and articulation ofconsciousness based on the material conditions resulting fro@ipraxis, vg (Lane, 1983: 41) .Marx'sprimary concern in his study is directed to adiagnosis of present social conditions. Therefore Marx is quiteresolute that praxis mu&societal dynamics.be informed by a critical analysis ofThe only way to change the world is todiagnose the present circumstances via a nrelentless criticism ofall existing conditions. .. not afraid of its findings and justas little afraid of the conflict," (Cited in Lane, 1983: 42).

Marx advocates relentless criticism and the purpose of suchcriticism is the transformation of social reality. Thiscriticism is expected to bring to self-consciousness the reasonswhy people are suffering and alienated and what they can do toalter the causes of such suffering. In his eleventh thesis onFeuerbach he states: nThe philosophers have only interpreted theworld; the point is to change it." Thus at the bottom of hisconcept of revolutionary praxis (practical critical activity) weperceive the combination of critical understanding and humanactivity. Dermot A.Lane concludes his brief but perceptiveanalysis of Marx's concept of praxis by saying "praxis is amulti-layered concept embracing in varying degrees relentlesscriticism, human activity, historical change, labour, productionand alienation," (Lane, 1983: 43).And it is this conceptual richness and importance thatcompelled us to study at length its manifold aspects andmeanings. Liberation theologians and thinkers have alwaysinsisted on ''praxisw being clubbed with liberationtf . Thusliberative praxis becomes the central concept and a very dynamicand rich instrument of theory and practice in the whole corpus ofliberationist literature.

But what is common in all these different liberativeexperiences and models is the fact that men and women have begunto perceive or discover the world of the poor and theunderprivileged as never before, It is a new awareness of anexistent reality. A realization that people, individuals andgroups of persons who have hitherto been on the fringe ofsociety have begun to take their destinies into their own handsand to articulate fearlessly their frustrations, hopes andaspirations. Gustavo Gutierrez, one of the foremost andpioneering liberation theologians of Latin America, has capturedthe emergence of this new world and new awareness among thispeople in the following manner:Recent years in Latin America have been markedby a real and demanding discovery of the worldof the other-the poor, the oppressed and theexploited. In a social order that has been setup financially, politically and ideologicallyby a few for their own benefit, the 'other' ofthis society are beginning to make theirvoices heard. They are beginning to havetheir direct say. They are starting torediscover less and less through

intermediaries now and are beginning to havetheir direct say. They are starting torediscover themselves and to make the systemaware of their unsettling presence. They arebeginning to be less and less the objects ofdemagogical manipulation or thinly disguisedsocial services and are gradually becoming theagents of their own history, forgers of aradically different society.(Gutierrez 1983: 37)It is a powerful depiction of the radically new situationthat is emerging in the third world as a whole. The ideologicalunderpinnings are not difficult to perceive. However, what iscentral to this action for liberation is the involvement orcommitment. This commitment implies an active solidarity withthe struggles of the masses in one form or the other. Gutierrezfrom his own and his people's christian vantage point explainscommitment thus:The ixruption of the 'otherr onto one's ownscene, the perception of the world of thepoor, leads one to an active solidarity withthat other's interest and struggles. It leads

toan involvement, a commitment, whichtranslates into a pledge to transform asocial order that generates marginalised andoppressed persons. participation in the 1praxis of liberation places us at the very 'I -heart of a concrete conflictual history inwhich wemeet Christ who reveals God tous as Father and reveals our neighbours to usas our sisters and brothers.'!(Gutierrez, 1983: 38)While liberative action calls for involvement andcmmmitment marked by active solidarity with the struggling andoppressed masses, the degree of intensity of this commitment andmode or manner of involvement may vary from person to person. itis in this process that we situate the role of theintellectuals, writers and artists, as one of being at the serviceof the struggling groups and movements. Their role is primarilyone of reflecting the level of consciousness of both theparticipants and others. It will be their task to capture themood of the people, the ferment, the anger, the protest that isgenerated in the process. Moreover they aid the onward thrust ofthe process by projecting not merely the plight of the exploited

groups, but also by playing a prophetic role in terms of thefuture course of their praxis and the goal of all theirendeavours. We have a very fine expose of this type of function 'of an intellecutal in Paulo Freiref s 'Pedaqoqy of the Qp~ressed'wherein he dwells on 'conscientizationf as a concept thatsignifies the process of the oppressed masses becoming aware oftheir ignoble and inhuman situtation and power for changing it,by means of an educational programme rooted in theirsocio-economic and cultural milieus aided by the inspirational,animational and prophetic role of committed intellectuals.In this brief examination of the evolution of the conceptof liberation and the different models of liberation, we haveconsistently noticed that it has been interpreted variouslydepending on the dominant ideology or culture of a particularsociety or individuals at a given time. As in Latin America, inIndia and in African countries too the pendulum has swung from anelitist, personal, spiritualistic perception of fsalvation' to amore societal, grass-roots, change-oriented, poor-centred optionfor integral liberation. Several religious streamsand philosophical strands have contributed to this evolution.Nevertheless the part played by Marxism in this process has beenremarkable and unprecedented. The rapid spread of Marxist1

ideology sweeping through most Asian and African countries hasbeen in a large measure responsible for the radical rethinking ofpolitical and economic policies, programmes and goals in many ofthese countries. It should however be conceded that the almostone sided economic bias of Marxism in its analysis of societaldynamics has ben criticised by Asian and ~frican liberationistthinkers.The dimension of culture so very deep-seated in theliberationist approaches, has been stressed as an indispensableconstitutent of the liberative processes of their countries. Ithas been pointed out that 'even the Latin American approach toliberation is one-sidedly economico-political and that it doesnot pay sufficient attention to cultural, historical andreligious aspects of its reality.In this context, what we have already said about thereligiousness of the poor in India, assumes greater significanceand relevance. If integral liberation must include culturalliberation, it means in terms of India, the role of religionwhich is the heart of their culture :While culture sets up the symbolic worldsthat structure the life and relationships ofa community, relgion deals with the meaning of

it all, some would say, the ultimate meaning.Because of this it provides deepergoals andmotivations. Religion, specially in its culturalexpression, may be conditioned and limited inhistory. It- can be abused and can becomealienating. But it has also shown a propheticpower to challenge existing situations.It(Amaladoss, 268)A concrete instance of religion's alienating and ambivalentrole is the establishment and perpetuation of caste hierarchy andthe division of people into high and low castes and ritually pureand impure. While certain individuals and groups or movementsihave attempted to concretise the prophetic dimension of religionby denouncing the caste-based inequality and untouchability asanti-God and anti-human, the fact is, casteism and untouchabilityhave not been eradicated. Castebased discrimination is reflectedin all areas of the nation's social, economic and political life.The reason for this is perhaps that we have not attacked thissocial evil from a religio-cultural angle, systematically.The prophetic role of religion lies also in its duty todenounce the values of consumerism and acquisitiveness which arean integral part of today's social fabric. The values of

voluntarypoverty and the spirit of non-attachment of anyreligion, as we have pointed out earlier, may be one way to fighteffectively oppressive poverty. In short, it should be affirmedthat no project for the liberation of people in India can ignore'8the liberation potential contained in great religions such asBuddhism and Hinduism.It is in this context that andh hi's ideal of nonpossession,trusteeship etc., acquire great significance in terms ofliberative praxis in India. Gandhian vision is in sharp contrastto the concept of class war advanced by the Marxian thought- Thesystem of Gandhi is rooted in the basic goodness of individualsand built on an optimistic view of human nature.He was firstand foremost a spiritual leader of the masses seized with arelentless quest for a more humane and just social order.Gandhi recognising the fact of all being imprisoned in asituation of bondage and alienation, posited that individualpersons should be liberated, so that the rest may attainliberation.Gandhism "making an analysis of the behavioural struture,which is at work in an alienated social context, recognises theactive and passive roles respectively of the oppressed and theoppressor in the process,lt (Statement of Indian TheologicalAssociation, 1985: 18).

Gandhi evolved strategies of non-violent non-cooperationand civil disobedience. In a bidto invest the whole exerciseCwith a spiritual dimension, andh hi imposed voluntary suffering orself-suffering not only as a sanction for the breaking of bondageJand oppression but also as a source of strength to theparticipants and of emancipation to the oppressor, thusreconciling both in a new human fellowship.Gandhism envisages a just and fraternal communion, a societyCifunctioning within the framework of a self-governing and self-supporting village or town without the paraphernalia of a hugecentralised governing machinery :"In this way Gandhi brings theIreligio-spiritual heritage of India to theliberative task and at once merges it with theChristianmodel of Christ's suffering lovewhich breaks the oppression of the sin ofthe world. Therebychallengesto a rediscovery of the liberative potential ofits own paradigm. ItThe(St at ementIndianGandhian approach suffers fromAssociation,lacksystematicsocio-structural and political analysis as evidenced by his

implicit faith in the basic goodness of individuals and in thepossibility of social transformation to emerge from a moral orspiritual conversion or mere change of behaviour."His vision of equality within Varnadharma again seemsunrealizable in practice. Trusteeship likewise depends too muchon the goodness of the individualst1.Despite all these deficiencies ~andhism has certain veryvaluable insights that can enrich the cultural components of thenew paradigm of liberation.The liberation movements and traditions of Africa have amarked cultural bias. The people of Africa have beenparticularly wary and resentful of the destruction of theircultural identity by the colonial powers. The impact of foreigncultures on theirs has been far too difficult to withstand.Hence the universal phenomenon of the people, the intellectualsand writers in particular, seeking above everything to restoredignity and respect to their native cutlure. Politically tbeymay be free; but culturally and even economically they aredependent, and are objects of manipulation and exploitation bythe foreign powers and their agents. Hence they are inclined tostress cultural liberation, more than economic or politcalliberation. This concern is perceived palpably in the works ofwriters from different African countries.

The above &study reaffirms the idea that liberation canbecome an actuality only if the projects of liberation or theliberative praxis takes into accoMt the peculiar cultural andreligious traditions, perceptions and streams of the milieu inwhich it is immersed. It iq all the more important as liberationis being worked out by the oppressed people themselves who, as wehave asserted earlier, are not only poor but religious. Thus thereligiousness of the poor and the poverty of the religious poorof the third world countries constitute the indispensable twofoldbase on which the liberative praxis can become efficacious,subversive, historymaking and enduringly people-centred.

MULK RAJ ANAND AND CHINUA ACHEBE AMONG THE l R CONTEMPORAR l ESMulk ~ a j Anand (1905 - ) has carved out forhimself a niche among the all-time celebrities in the domain ofthe English novel in India.Hailed as one of the ill~strioustrinity, R.K. Narayan and Raja Rao being the other two, Anandhas dominated the scene for the past five decades and more. Heis a prolific writer who has authored sixteen novels to date andhas to his credit over half a dozen volumes of short stories.Being a versatile scholar, his interests encompassed a vast rangeof subjects. While his principal passion was tied up with thefortunes and vicissitudes of India's teeming millions, he wroteon sophisticated subjects like Indian art, poets, painting,architecture and even Indian cuisine. His Apoloqv for Heorism isan autobiography of ideas, a remarkable literary venture at oncefascinating and informative.Anand was born at Peshawar in 1905. His father came of atraditional coppersmith stock, while his mother belonged to asturdy Punjab peasant family. His father joined the army anddistinguised himself as a disciplined soldier owing loyalty tothe British. Anand must have inherited his insatiable thirst foradventure and novelty, his keen power of observation andattention to details, from his father whom he admired and

espected.It must be from his mother that he derived his robustcommon sense and his compassion for the poor and the downtrodden.Anand had his education at Lahore, London and cambridge andtook a doctorate in Philosophy:'Vmm 1930 to 1945 he divided his time betweenliterary London and Gandhifs Indiawhileundertaking his long editorship of the Bombayarts magazine Marq. Sophisticated andcosmopolitan, impatient of transcendentalism,sceptical of religion, Anand looks Indian lifefully in the face.His realistic novels, angryat injustice, satirical yet warm, revealgenerosity of heart and great sympathy with theunfortunate .... His fiction consistentlyupholds the value of living and awarenessn,(The Cambridge Guide to L it in Eng: 1988, 27)Indian writing in English or creative writing in theEnglish language by Indians is, in its own right, an acceptedgenre with a history of nearly a hundred and fifty years.term "Indo-Anglian" was given popular currency by Dr.K.R.Srinivasa Iyengar. He wrote a book with the title Indo-AnslianLiterature in 1943.TheThis term is unacceptable to many scholarsand students of English literature, although it had been in vogue

many years before Dr.K.R. ~rinivasa Iyengar popularised it.Today the corpus of English works by Indians is called Indianwriting in English, All said and done, I11ndian ~nglish writingB8as Dr. Anand has declared, has come to stay as part of worldliterature. Although it is a class by itself, this gardenvariety of English literature is deemed to be part of the largerphenomenon known as Commonwealth Literature. his variety ofliterature includes all the literatures in English, of thecountries, once ruled and colonised by the British. The Africanwritings in English fall under this category thus affording somecommon parameters for abcomparative analysis between the literaryworks of different countries. Chinua Achebe, being a frontlinenovelist and short story writer from Nigeria, stakes his claim asone of the foremost African and commonwealth writers.Indian writing in English has gone through a turbulent butchequered history. It had its origin in the first half of thenineteenth century. However most of the early experiments werein verse. Prose of a non-fictional variety existed. But thenovel as a literary genre did not see the light of day untilafter many years. For a very long time the 1ndian novelists wereconfining their interests to history and romance. R.C.Dutt,Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and ~abindranath Tagore were theillustrious fore-runners of fiction in India and in Bengal in

particular. Many of their Bengali novels were translated intoEnglish by them, thus providing the timely fillip to thecontemporary Indian novelists in English. It is only with theemergence of this magnificent trio that the Indian English novelcame to be recognised within and outside India. The approach ofthese writers was both philosophical and social. Of courseTagore brought the psychological dimension to the novel making acocerted effort to probe the innermost recesses of the humanmind. Mulk Raj Anand who began writing fiction much later showedunmistakable signs of Rabindranath Tagore's influence.It is with the advent of the "Big Three" on the horizon ofEnglish novel in, India that we notice remarkable change for thebetter. Anand, R.K. Narayan and Raja Rao with their matureapproach to the techniques and content of fictian and anextraordinary command over the English language and idiom aidedby an unparallelled zest for Indian history, culture and reality,guaranteed for Indian-English fiction a permanent position ofeminence and importance in the midst of world literatures inEnglish.All the three novelists are more or less contemporaries andhave occupied the Indian literary scene for the past five or sixdecades. Probably Mulk Raj Anand was the first to write andpublish novels and his first novel Untouchable (1935) was an

instant hit. He followed it up with Coolie (1936) and Two Leaves- and a Bud (1937). It must be remembered that Anand had to fightgamely before he could prevail upon the ~ritish publishers toaccept the manuscript of Untouchable. The role that E.M. Forstexplayed in getting his Untouchable published is common knowledgenow.The quality that distinguishesfrom ~aja Rao, R.K. Narayan and from a hostof his younger contemporaries, is his humanist angle. As aconsequence of his social themes, realistic treatment andconcealed option for the underdog in Indian society, hisfictional approach has been called realism, social or socialistrealism and his novel, protest novel, political fiction, humansticor realistic novel or novel of human centrality. He has beenaccused of being Marxist in his convictions and sensibility onaccount of the consistently pro-poor or pro-worker stance that hehas adopted.A comparison of M.R. Anand with his comteporaries,particularly Raja Rao and R.K. Narayan, may not be altogetherfruitful or warranted. In point of fact, Anand himselfdisapproves of assessing or judging a writer on the basis ofsome pre-conceived ideas or theories or criteria, Anand assertsin his "Reflections of a ~ovelist: Some Notes on the NovelH:

No critic can then, reproduce the essence of anovel, through neat little theories of realism,subjectivism, naturalism, social realism oranti-novel-novel metaphysics. Because, the novelis generally a whirlpool, in which we getinvolved, and go round and round, being unable toextricate ourselves until some startling eventrestarts the flow. (in Amrrr (ed); 1985, 10)Given Anand's avowal above, he can't be expected toformulate a theory or code for writing a novel. Right enoughthere are only fragmentary utterances and statements about novelwriting that convey Anand's preoccupations or professed fictionalstrategies. Nevertheless from a study of his novels and shortstories, one can easily derive or arrive at a set of rules thatmight have guided Anand. Although Anand may not advocate acomparison with other novelists, it may not be altogether out ofplace to study the relative merits of a few writers more orless contemporaneous with M.R. Anand.RajRao's novel has been termed as the "metaphysicalnovelr1. His essential fictive matrix is the Indian view ofreality and he looks upon literature as "Sadhana", not aprofession. For him "SadhanaU is the consequence of themetaphysical life. His fictional universe is universe as defined

y the metaphysical. We see a spiritual continuum in his laternovels beginning with The Ser~ent and the Rope and ending in---The Cat and Shakespeare.It is s and hi an strain that permeatesthe story, characterization, theme, and action of Kantha~ura. Hehas fused poetry and politics, the perennial with the present, asDr.K.R.S.Iyengar points out in his chapter on Raja Rao.(Iyengar, 1962: 394)Mulk Raj Anand and Raja Rao differ in their fictionalstrategies and approaches and to a lesser extent in terms of thesubjects they deal with. While commitment to the underprivilegedis the central quality of Anand, the metaphysicalandphilosophical probing and analysis engage the attention of ~ajaRao. Likewise R.K. Narayan has his own approach and subjectsthat mark him out as a humorous writer, highly creative andculturally rooted. He is a master of south Indian middle-classpsychology and manners. He is the father of the regional novelin India, as his prime interest lies in the imaginary townshipcalled "Malgudin inhabited by South Indian middle class gentry.Among his numerous novels, The Guide is a tour-de-force oftechnique. He is a serious artist like Raja Rao and paysmeticulous attention to smallest details of style, language,strucutre, plot and characterization,

Among these three novelists, R.K. Narayan is probably themost popular and enjoys the highest international renown as anovelist. Nevertheless Raja Rao has his select readership as hismanner of writing evokes enthusiasm only in serious- minded andphilosophically or religiously oriented readers, Anand's appealis universal and for all time and categories of people,His novel read like stories and therefore appeal to children andadults alike. While the style of R.K. Narayan and Raja Rao isurbane and elitist, Anand deliberately adopts a rugged andcolloquial style often marred by an excessive use of Punjabiexpressions and swear words transliterated into English. Allsaid and done, Anand outshines the other two by his inimitablefluency of language. The flow and the force of his language isalmost proverbial.Mulk Raj Anand is still engaged in writing. He has yet tocomplete three more novels of his projected seven volumeautobiographical work, As he has been writing continuously forthe last six decades, he has kept company with a whole gamut ofnovelists. Apart from R.K. Narayan and Raja Rao, a host ofothers like Ahmed Ali, K.A. Abbas, K. Nagarajan, G.V. Desani anda few others belonging to the 30's and 40's have been Anand'scomtemporaries.

During the period between 1950 and 1979 some more newnovelists appeared on the scene. Sudhin N. ~osh, BhabaniBhattacharya, Khushwant Singh, Manohar Malgonkar, B. Rajan, ArmJoshi, Chaman Nahal and a group of talented and versatile womennovelists like Kamala Markandaya, Nayantara Sahgal, Ruth Jhabwalaand Anita Desai are quite active even today and are contributingenormously to the growth and reputation of the English novel inIndia. During this phase M.R. Anand came out with some valuablecollections of short stories. And others like Khushwant Singh andBhabani Bhattacharya have also augmented the repertoire of shortstories with their own colIections. Moreover Anand continued hisfictional vein and brought out four novels - The Old Woman and-- the Cow (19601, The Road (1963), The Death of 2 Hero (1964), andhis largest novel porninq Face (1970). R.K. Narayan and Raja Raoalso came up with a few titles during this period.The typical trend of this period was the abiding interestin introspection arnd psychological investigation or probing intothe inner goings on of characters. While this is found to be theprincipal and overriding concern of novelists of this period, itmust be acknowledged that various traits of the successive phaseswere found to be overlapping in any one phase.Anand who isessentially a writer of social themes with an undercurrent of

satire and critique aimed at the colonial masters and the feudaland capitalist system, came out with a psychological novelentitled The Private Life of an Indian Prince.Mulk Raj Anand, like R.K. Narayan and Raja Rao, has madevaluable contributions to the growth of the novel in India. Theyhave experimented with different techniques in writing novel andthus blazed the trail for innovations. Anand perfected theJoycean art of the stream of consciousness in his Untouchable andset an example for other younger novelists to follow. AnandJsCoolie is a triumph of the picaresque genre in Indian writing. Hehas made extensive use of the technique of interior monologue inplaces where he is interested in laying bare the subconscious andinnermost movements of characters. While he owes a lot to hisWestern education and to his readings in Western philosophicalsystems including the Marxist one, it should be conceded that hehas always been committed to and interested in the social,political, cultural and other realities of ~ndia. chief amongthese was the all-pervading phenomenon of ~andhism or andh hi anmovement that beccarne AnandJs passion for many years. This wasthe inspiration behind some of his novels.All said and done, M.R. Anand occupies a unique place inthe history of Indo-Anglian novel, as one who originated thenovel of protest or the political novel centred on the uniqueness

of the human person and on the life and struggles of thedisinherited and the wretched of ~ndia, to rediscover theiridentity as human beings and as Indians.It was a bold andrevolutionary step that met with a lot of opposition and criticalcensure.Anand waged a relentless battle against all suchhostile forces and eventually triumphed and established himselfas a novelist par excellence of the oppressed masses, exploitedin the name of religion, caste, class and ruthlessly kept out ofthe democratic process for ever.Chinua Achebe is without doubt one of the highly regardedof African writers in English. Achebe literally burst on theAfrican literary scene and in a sense putNigeria on the worldmap of English literature with his first novel, a classic in itsown right, entitled Thinqs fall Apart in 1958.He followed thisup with three other novels, No Lonser && Ease (1960), Arrow of- God (1964), and & Man oftwentyPeople (1966). It has taken nearlylong years for Achebe to produce his next novel,Anthills of a Savannah (1987). He has two collections of shortstories namely, The sacrificial Eqg and Other stories (1962) and--- Girls at War (1972). He has besides written some poems collectedunder the titles Beware Soul Brother and other Poems (1971) andChristmas in Biafra and other Poems (1973).

Chinua Achebe was born in Ogidi, E. Nigeria on 16thNovember 1930.After completing his secondary schooling atGovernment College, Umuahia, Achebe graduated from UniversityCollege, Ibadan, in the year 1953.He served in the Nigerian Broadcasting corporation from1954 to 1966 and was in Nigerian government service during thecivil War (1967-70). We taught in American Universities afterwar. Besides a chequered literary career as Founding Editor,Hinemann African Writers Services, Director, HeinemannEducational Books Nigeria Ltd., Editor, ~kike, a Nigerian journalof new writing and Chairman, Society of ~igerian Authors, he hasthe unique distinction of having been the recipient of animpressive array of awards, prizes and fellowships from differentInstitutes and Universities round the globe.His merits and achievements as an African writer in Englishare summed up in the following manner in The Oxford CompanionEnslish Literature:.... Achebe's reputation largely rests on hisfournovels which can be seen as a sequence,re-creating Africa'smodernity.derive from W.B.journey from tradition toThings Fall Apart (1958) seems toYeats, its vision of history aswell as its title; it was followed byLonger

-- At Ease (1960); Arrow of God (1964) a portrayalof traditional society at the time of its firstconfrontation with European society (atraditional society recreated in Achebefs novelsby the use of Igbo legend and proverb): A Man of-the People(1966) which breaks new ground.Bitterness and disillusionment lie just beneaththe sparkling satiric surface and the novelprovides further evidence of Achebe's mastery ofa wide range of language, from EnglishofIgbo-speakers and pidgin, to various levels offormal English.(Drabble (ed): 1989)By his own admission Achebe is a political writer. Hebelieves in the politics of human communication which is based onunderstanding issuing from respect. According to Achebe, thegreatest casuality in the historic encounter between Europe andAfrica was precisely this human understanding and respect forthe human person. Achebe comments:... Africa's meeting with Europe must beaccounted a terrible disaster in this matter of humanunderstanding and respect. The nature of the

meeting precluded any warmth of friendship.First Eilrope was an enslaver, then a colonizer.In either role she had no need and made littleeffort to understand or appreciate Africa. Indeedshe easily convinced herself that there wasnothing there to justify the effort. Today ourworld is still bedevilled by the consequences ofthat cataclysmic encounter.(Cited in Kirkpatrick ed. 1986; 6)Achebe derives his, literary and fictional goal from this premise.In fact his first novel was a backlash against the traditionalEuropean representation of Africa in fiction. He is at pains toevoke the civilized values and recapture the egalitarian lifestyle of the pre-colonial Nigerian or Igbo sdciety in this novel.He proceeds to establish his thesis that it was the colonialregime with its missionary, political, administrative andcommercial imperialism that fractured and fragmented this time -honoured unity and brotherhood.Achebe looks upon the role of the writer as a teacher oreducator. The writer is committed to his society and thereforeit is his duty to tell his people, that their society hadpoetry,philosophy, culture, literature and dignity before the

Europeans came into the picture. Thus it becomes incumbent onthe writer to restore dignity and self-respect to the Africanpeople. It is the predominant duty of an African writer intoday's context as spelt out by Achebe in his essays, lecturesand interviews :In his "The Novelist as Teacher1', Achebe has contended:Perhaps what I write is applied art as distinctfrom pure. But who cares? Art is important, butso is education of the kind I have in mind. AndI don't see that the two need be mutuallyantagonistic,(Achebe, 1965: 161-162)Achebe and probably many others of his contemporaries haveinternalised this conception of a writer and have striven toreflect public concern in their writings. In African tradition,art has always been a public gift or exercise and therefore asense of social commitment has been considered mandatory for theartist. This concept is so entrenched in ~frican culture andpsyche that a non-committal or uncommitted art is a contradictionin terms.Africa, and ~igeria in particular, had oral traditions ororature from time immemorial. But the novel form took a long timeto find a conducive climate for its growth and development.

Although the Africans had an ancient and rich heritage ofstories, legends and myths, nothing was committed to writing.Thus it was the English novel form that was espoused and promotedby writers like, Tutuola, Aluko, Wole Soyinka, Achebe, Ekwensi,Ngugi, Ohot, Beti, Okara and Senghor. Although Amos Tutuola hadpublished his two most popular novels,The Palmwine Drinkard(1952) and Life in the Bush of Ghosts (1954) before everAchebe came into the limelight, it should be conceded that it wasAchebe who not only blazed the trail as an African novelist withhis all-time classic Thinas Fall Awart (1958) but drewinternational acclaim as an English novelist with a rare nativecharm and extraordinary commitment to his people and to his art-Other great artists like Wole Soyinka, Arnadi, Armah, Awoonor,Farah, La Guma and Ngugi commenced their fiction writing only inthe 1960s or after. Each of these writers has made his Own,-contribution to the African belles-lett*s and particularly tothe art of fiction writing in Africa.It was in this decade that the so called novel ofdisillusionment came into being with Achebefs publication of AMan of the Peowleand SoyinkaJs The Interpreters. In otherwords, this moment in ~frica's literary history was a significantturning point, even as African writers were turning their backson a purely inward looking exercise of affirming the black race

and extolling the negritude or the virtue of being black. In thenewly independent African countries, writers and thinkers beganto sense the disillusionment caused to the people, by the failureof the indigenous ruling elite. It was in this atmosphere ofdisillusionment and anger that Achebe wrote his A Man of thePeople which virutally became a prophetic foreshadowing of thecivil war that broke out soon after.Like Achebe, T.M. Aluko has dealt with the subject of theconsequences of the collision of values that marked thecolonization of Nigeria in his One Man, One Wife (1959) and OneMan, One Matchet (1964). Nevertheless it should be added thatAluko does not capture, as Achebe does, the complexity of thishistoric conflict.Armah is another of Achebe's better known comternporarieswhose commitment to the African past in terms of its influenceover the present or its role in the trnasformation of the presentis absolutely unmistakable. He reveals a quest for a new societyor a new alternative through history, myth and ideology. In hisThe Beautiful One's Are Not Yet Born, Fragments, Why are WeBlest and Thousand Years, Armah is not only artisticallyrecreating the past, but is pointing to a resolution of thepresent conflict and crisis through collective action.

Achebe's contribution, however, has been unqiue as he setthe tone for this literary reconstruction and retrieval of thepast in a bid to restore honour and pride and importance toNigeria's and Africa's traditional precolonial past and to exposethe havoc wrought by the colonial regime. Achebe is certainlymore sympathetic to the Western - educated elite who govern thecountry. As an artist Achebe far excels Armah and his othercontemporaries in this that his novels, rich in historical andanthropological details, do nonetheless have compact structuresand characters, who are credible individuals, and illustrate a useof the English language so apt in the mouths of his Nigeriancharacters.Mary Ebun Modupe Kolawole has spelt out this common quest orconcerns of the Nigerian or African writers in the followingwords :Among other objectives, African novelists desireto reflect the past as well as reflect upon it tounderstand present. Existing socio-political andeconomic set-ups in Africa call for concern.Inchoate political systems create social unrestand economic burden. So, writers assume the roleof social ventriloquists, exploring the historicalhindsight to explain the predicaments that existwhile searching for a future direction.

.... Grounding literature on concrete reality,they explore the effect of colonialismexternalized and internalized as well asneo-colonialists, on the contemporary set-up.(Kolawole : 125)Wole Soyinka is more a dramatist than a novelist.Nevertheless he won international acclaim and attention with histour de force The Interpreters. Soyinka is a powerful artist whocommands extraordinary mastery over his language. He createscharacters who are all cynics or reactionaries, albeit good,reflecting the creator's cynicism. Ngugi points out Soyinkafsdefect as a writer, in his essay "Satire in Nigeria":Although Soyinka exposes his society in breadth,the picture he draws lacks depth, it is static,for he fails to see the present in the historicalperspective of conflict and struggle.(Pieterse and Munro (ed.), 1969: 69)Ngugi Wa Thiongfo is counted among Africa's leadingnovelists. With his first novel, Weep Not Child (1964), herevealed his exceptional talent as a novelist. His other twonovels The River Between (1965) and A rain of Wheat (1967)appeared in quick succession, and earned him the singulardistinction of a very young writer endowed with creativity and

linguistic ability. NgugiFs point of departure was, as with theother ~frican writers, the clash of two cultures in the wake ofcolonial confrontation. Neverthelss his third novel revolvesaround the disillusioning developments in the newly independentKenya.The pattern that we perceive in Achebe is discernible alsoin Ngugk. Of course, Achebe has moved away from this bias withthe passage of time. His latest novel Anthills of && Savannahis an eloquent testimony to Achebe's rich repertoire offictional strategies.Among all the novelists of Africa, Achebe stands out as thebetter known writer, with a universal appeal that transcends theboundaries of Nigeria and even Africa, He is the major exponentof the modern African novel imbued not only with the sense of thevalue of writing in authentic English, acceptable to the nativespeakers of the tongue but of the necessity of writing for aglobal readership in the context of Africa's prestige, pride andfuture. It should be asserted that Achebe has today become ahousehold name not only in the anglophone African countries butin the English speaking countries all over the world. True tohis avowed aims, he has earned for himself a permanent place inthe English literary firmament. Perhaps, it is to a considerableextent, thanks to Achebe's example, that no ~frican writer has

sought the raw material for his/her work outside Africa, or hasturned his/her back on his/her own culture. G.D. Killam sums upAchebe's contribution to the African literary world thus:Achebe is in the front rank of these writers andhis prose writing reflects three essential andrelated concerns first with the legacy ofcolonialism at both the individual and sociallevel; secondly with the fact of English as alanguage of national and international exchange;thirdly, with the obligations and responsiblitiesof the writer both to the society in which helives and to his art.(Killam, 1975: 3-4)Both Anand and Achebe broke new grounds in using the novelas a powerful means of educating the masses and specially theintelligentsia concerning their national situations of injustice,inequality and unfreedom, In this sense they are pioneers of anew brand of fiction that is unorthodox and unconventional in itssubject matter and treatment. While Anand's realistic portrayaloften amounted to a commentary or documentary on social reality,Achebe's accounts are a nostalgic and imaginative recreation ofthe past in order to elucidate the present crisis and toextrapolate into the future. Anand's novel is political as much

as Achebets is, as both these writers w rite with an explicit aimor programme. In this sense,both of them serve as models ofcommitted writers who for the first time in their countries tooka serious view of the writer's role as the voice of consciousnessand conscientization or education of the oppressed masses whosepower for societal transformation they recognised and wanted toharness.

CHAPTER FOUR---------------------------------------------------------L l BERAT I ON MOT l F I N THE DEL l NEAT l ON OF PROTAGON t STS------------- --- ----- -- -------- -- ------ ------------------Liberation as we have already established is not just aconcept or merely an attitude that underlines the power of thepoor and the oppressed to emancipate themselves from theirdehumanizing situation, but is a praxis comprising a relentlessscientific analysis of the present socio-political reality gearedto positive action for transformation of unjust, unequal andoppressive social structures. Liberation as collective actionfor empowering the poor has become the hall-mark of all theaspirations of the third world societies. As a collective searchor struggle for freedom from all shackles, economic, palitical,social, religious and cultural, it is more pronounced andarticulated in some third world countries than in others. Whilesocial justice for all, equality of opportunities and freedomfrom all forms of exploitation, constitute the core of theliberative movement all over the wrld, we should carefully definethe vital importance of the cultural and peculiar political andhistorical dimensions of a country.Hence the cultural heritage and political situation of theNigeria of Achebe and of the India that Anand is portraying havea significant place in the liberation drama that is beingenacted. Similarly we should take cognizance of a very

fundamental postulate of the liberation thinkers. According toit, man, particularly the dispossessed and disinherited man, isthe subject of his own destiny and history. In other words, theperspective of liberation is not that of the elite classes, butthat of the proletariate, the poor, the commoners, the oppressedmasses. The belief or assumption underpinning this isthat the poor have been invested with a messianic mission for thetotal liberation of the humankind. Therefore liberation is notthought to be achieved by a handful of leaders or educatedintelligentsia alone, but by the self-redemptive action of themasses.It is from this premise of the liberation dialectics thatwe proceed to evaluate Achebe's and Anand's delineation of theprotagonists of their novels. Both these third world novelistsare professedly committed to transformation of the unjuststructures operating in their respective countries. They haveenunciated very clearly the ideological framework within whichthey function as writers and novelists. Thus it becomesincumbent on them that they justify and legitimise tlfeir standvis-a-vis their social impulse on the one hand and theirfictional strategy on the other. As such we presume that bothAnand and Achebe are genuine searchers not only as social andpolitical thinkers but also as artists. In fact, this is the

acid test of their authenticity as ideologues and artists. Thehero of a novel occupies a central position in the action andstory, thereby determining the overall thrust and impact of thenovel. An examination of some of the protagonists of Anand andAchebe should yield valuable insights into the author'sperception in terms of liberation.It is widely accepted that Anand as a novelist presentspowerfully his view of Indian society and its maladies throughhis skills of characterisation, It is no exaggeration to saythat he is a character novelist. In all his novels we findone or more leading characters who dominate the action of thenovel. His protagonists are invariably drawn from the undersideof society, the voiceless and marginalised sections of India.It is interesting to learn from his article titled "TheSources of Protest in my Novel", that Anand's spirit of protestas a writer was aroused and inflamed by a statement of EdwardSackville-West:I made first conscious protest as a writer,when I came away from Bloomsbury after hearingthe critic, Edward Sackville-West, declare:"There can be no tragic writing about the poorThey are only fit for comedy, as in ~ickensThe canine can't go into literature."(Contemporary Indian Fiction in English : p.23)

And C.D. Narasimhaiah has paid a fitting tribute to Anandgsbrave innovation as a novelist saying that he introduced intocreative literature whole new peoples who have seldom entered therealms of literature in India.It is in this sense that we attribute wheroismn to thecentral characters of his novels. Anand certainly made arevolutionary departure from the existing practice and from theprinciples laid down by Aristotle and other classical masters.What is meritorious is that Anand has clung to his convictionwith great tenacity despite censures from all literary quartersand marginalisation by critics and scholars in India and abroad.In point of fact Anand was a pioneer in this type of fiction inIndia. All his protagonists are tragic heroes in their ownrights, but their tragedy is not merely personal but symbolic ortypical of the tragic situation of large segments of 1ndianpopulation.In his very first novel, Untouchable, Bakha the sweeper boyis the protagonist. He belongs to the lowest rungs of thecaste-hierarchy that existed in the punjab. The higher castes

who had religious sanction for their caste superiority consideredthese low-born untouchable. Hence, Anand in this navel has sethimself the task of exposing the darker, heinous and diabolicalaspects of the caste system perpetrated by the caste Hindus.Anand does this by probing the consciousness of the half-starvedpoverty-stricken sweeper boy, as he goes through his daily roundsof sweeping and cleaning against the background of his family,friends, playmates and the series of humiliations and insults heis subjected to. Anand has achieved his purpose in a remarkablefashion by observing and portraying Bakhafs acting and reacting,in the short span of a day. Bakha may lack the maturity orcourage necessary for him to achieve the status of a protagonist.But Anand has endowed him with a keen sense of his own personaldignity and an irrepressible zest for the good things of lifeaspiring to dress and behave like the sahibs.While Anand has paid meticulous attention to every detailof Balcha's life as he goes about his daily chores, he hasn'tfailed to investigate and indicate his innermost anguish andsearch for his own identity. Anand no doubt emphatically depictsBakha and his father Lakha, brother Rakha and sister ~ohini asstruggling to eke out an existence which is sub-human, confinedto their dreary and monotonous routine of cleaning latrines,

sweeping and begging for food which is their only reward fortheir daily drudgery,Anand portrays Bakha as a sweeper, untouchable with adifference. There are a few subtle artistic strokes by whichAnand projects Bakha as a nimble and intelligent boy who wasdiscontented with his anonymous position. He wanted to betterhis position and was unhappy about his status that merited onlycontempt and ill-treatment from the caste people. He wanted todress and live like the Tommies. All in all, Bakha lived in aworld of phantasy and illusion. But in and through all this wecatch a glimpse of Bakhafs search for identity, or recognition asan individual, as a human. These comic and pathetic touches ofthe writer enhance the poignancy of Bakhats consciausness as amere untouchable.Bakha is torn between two worlds, one illusory, fashionedby his acute imagination and the other the grim reality of hisnameless existence. All the insults heaped on him, thehumiliations and harassment, mental, physical and even sexualsuffered by his sister Sohini notwithstandingBakha is able toretain his sanity and flare for life, thanks to the 'fire thatwas a smouldering rage in his soul'.

The question he poses to himself in his depth of dejectionand depression is : "Why was all this?" Anand makes Bakha gothrough a painful process of introspection and self-confrontation. That is also a moment of truth, of illuminationthat Bakha is afforded as a result of his soul-searching. Theroot-cause of all his agonising and tormenting experiences, itnow dawns on him, is the fact of his being an untouchable. Hefinds himself imprisoned in this cell, for no fault of his.Bakha is depressed, but not desperate. His consciousnessof his pathetic predicament strengthens his will to fight againstthis oppression. He will not be a pushover. He is looking outfor a solution. He is not easy cannon-fodder for any demagogueor orator or evangelist. Of the three alternatives proposed, heis not fascinated by the Christian preacher, attracted somewhatto Gandhi's charismatic personality but captivated by the thirdalternative that promises immediate liberation from the filthyand despicable work done by the untouchables.Bakha is an individual untouchable, all right. He has hispersonality, feelings, reactions, aspirations all very authentic.Nevertheless Anandls delineation of Bakha leaves no trace ofdoubt as to the formerr s intention that Bakha is a type of alluntouchables who suffer similar discrimination and have no power,

position or money with which to resist or protest. Bakha8s spiritis protesting. His anger although ineffective in one sense, cangenerate a strong determinatian to fight discrimination andrestore dignity and equality to the untouchables. He seeksdeliverance from a work that makes them contemptible and dirty.Bakha is a symbol of the rage and indignation simmering inthousands of untouchables. If thousands of Bakhas can channelisetheir awareness and anger along positive, liberative action, onecould reasonably hope for a radical transformation of not onlythe community of the untouchables but of the whole society.It may be argued that after all Bakha too is a prisoner andvictim of his own self-pitying, self-recrimination and meeknessand therefore is not the subject of his own destiny. He is moreacted upon than acting, a passive victim of fate and of thesystem that annihilates him and the likes of him. But one cannotfail to perceive that Bakha is a die-hard optimist and warms upto the teachings of ~andhiji and the poet Igbal Nath ~arashar.He is disgusted and dismayed by the hypocrisy of the world he isliving in. But he doesn't give up. He is still confident of abetter future if only Gandhifs idealism and the poet's muchvaunted rnechanisation and modernization could eventually removethe stigma and the social ostracism of the untouchables and

ehabilitate them as equal citizens of India. He returns home atthe end of the novel, not with a vacant mind OT a pervasivefeeling of desperation but with his mind and his whole beingechoing the fiery words of the poet, a harbinger of good tidings.Bakha finds in the poet and to some extent in Gandhiji anaffirmation of his own deep-seated yearning for liberation. Andirvland has revealed in an unmistakable way his own predilectionfox mechanisation as a route to achieving a socialist democracy.In Coolie it is Munoo's sojourn and travails that becomeAnand's symbolic representation of the unequal classrelationships sharpened by the capitalist system with theunderlying hope of a crisis and an alternative. Like Bakha,Munoo is a victim of hostile circumstances from his birth havinglost both his parents. He belongs to the Kshatriya caste but onaccount of poverty and its attendant disabilities he is drivenfrom pillar to post in search of a better life.The story is cast aginst the background of a capitalistsociety ushered in by the colonial rule, where caste-hierarchynotwithstanding, it is injustice and exploitation and cut-throatcompetition that govern the relationships between the powerfulbusiness class and the silenced and subjugated working class.While Anand doesn't pretend that caste is no more a force to

eckon with, he turns his attention to another crucial problem. Hefollows with compassion and concern the relentless battle andstruggle waged by a whiff of a boy barely fourteen years old.But his delineation of the protagonist, though charged withpathos, doesn't betray romantic idealism or threadbaresentimentalism. Munoofs ill-fated odyssey started from his homein the scenic Kangra Valley, wended its way to the household ofBabu Nathoo Ram, then to the warm and kind-hearted hearth ofPrabha, his wife and their pickle factory in Daulatpur, then tothe Bombay cotton mills and finally to Sirnla as a rickshaw-pullerfor Mrs. Mainwaring.The untimely death that Munoo faces as a consequence oftuberculosis does by no means putthe lid on his ever vibrant andpatiently enduring spirit. The very flexibility and supplenessof his youthful body lend strength to his character at oncedignified and proud of his caste and minimal education. Ofcourse he was an orphan whom nobody wanted except for the purposeof exploiting him, He was literally hounded out by society anddriven mercilessly to his doom.We certainly feel let down by the writer when Munoosuccumbs to a wasting sickness. What happens to his robustoptimism and positive outlook in the face of a relentless fate

not allowing him to enjoy the sunny side of life or thelegitimate pleasures accessible to a boy of his age? Munooachieves a heroic character albeit in a minor key or limitedsense, in this that we admire him more than we sympathise withhim, Moreover in Munoofs vicissitudes we are enabled to witnesswith deep concern the tragedy that is the life of millions ofworkers in our country. Anand has moreover portrayed strikingparallels and contrasts in his study of human nature under theimpact and onslaught of capitalist values of self-aggrandizement,profiteering, selfishness and dishonesty. Anand has juxtaposedthe innocent hard working and basically contented coolies andlabourers and the unscrupulous, opportunistic, self-degradingemployers, traders and bureaucrats. Between the two, Anand makeshis judgement clear and unmistakable, It is a superb piece ofsatire without a trace of contempt but compelling our acquiescenceto the moral judgement on the depravity and inhumanity of thebusiness class. Anand ratifies the central tenet of liberationideology that it is only the dispossessed masses who should workout their own liberation and not expect any dramatic conversionor change of heart on the part of the wealthy. Munoo findsfellowshiup and brotherhood only in the company of coolies andothers in a similar predicament. The attitude of the rich people

is one of cold indifference or positive animosity.There is one hint which Anand has consciously thrown aboutMunoots awareness of the injustice of the situation and how thetrade union was one legitimate means of redressing the grievancesof workers and even sometimes of overthrowing an anti-labourmanagement. Just before the close of the navel as Munoo isconfined to bed suffering from the ill-effects of consumption,Anand says:When the haemorrhage occurred he lookedterribly frightened. But when the sun shoneand his breathing was a litle better he becameintent and absorbed in himself. He wanted toget well. And he made plans in his head.Ratan had written to him to come to Bombay toa small job in the pay of the Trade Unionorganising the fight against the Pathan moneylenders, the foreman and the factory wallahs.Munoo felt he would go... .(Coolie: p.326)But it was too late, this enlightened resolve, Munoo fella prey to consumption not long after. Anand has made a subtlesuggestion about the inevitability of revolt and rebellion andthe necessity of struggle if such a dehumanizing system could bedismantled and a more human dispensation has to become the orderof the day.

This and numerous instances in the novel where workers jointogether to display their solidarity and collective bargainingpower and the attempt to forge and strengthen a Trade Union atall costs and to demand their basic rights are an eloquenttestimony to Anandys unshakable belief in liberation, be it onlyeconomic and social, of the downtrodden groaning under the weightof an anti-people system.Now let us examine Anandfs delineation of Ananta in TheHeart. Ananta a coppersmith of Billimaran Lane in Amritsar withhis experiences working in cities like Bombaythe respect most the thathiars but alsocommands not onlytheir admirationand fear. He is moreover a man of tremendous physique endowedwith endearing qualities such as deep concern for human beingsliving in misery, starvation and squalor and readiness to extendany help to them and a disarming simplicity that: appeals tochildren. While Lalu of the village trilogy discovers thatharmony with oneself, self-control and self-renunciation areprerequisites for success in any action for liberation late inlife, Ananta possesses it right at the beginning of the novel.He is convinced of the absolute need for unity and solidarity inorder to combat suppression and exploitation and of the truth

that the destruction of the machine that is threatening to ruinthe coppersmith class is not a solution to the problem. Insteadhe vows to engage in concerted and positive action in order tobargain from a position of power with the factory management.Anpnd has sought to find a solution to the question of manor the machine or tradition versus modernity in his fictionalcontext. In this endeavour Ananta, the protagonist, becomes hispowerful spokesman and an inspiring symbol. Ananta advocates amiddle path of accommodation but not at the expense of humanvalues but in a bid to master one's destiny. And in this he isnot just a passive spectator or a demagogue indulging in radicalrhetoric.His life depicted by Anand in the space af a day, shows him tobe a man of action, of optimism and hope and above all of warmhumanity. Probably it is this last trait that has blinded him tothe social stigma that is attached to his living with Janki, hismistress. This is disapproved by the thathiars who are championsof tradition and conventions and vehemently opposed tomechanisation and modernisation.Anantats efforts to moblize the thathiars for collectiveaction to help all the coppersmiths thrown out of job to secureemployment in the factory are finally doomed to fail because of

Anantafs association with Janki and of the unfortunate incidentwherein Anantats receipt of the balance of his wages from theyounger brother of the factory owner is miscontrued by histhathiar brethren as a bribe. The narrow outlook and theprejudiced views of the coppersmiths stand in the way of theirunanimous approval of his proposals. Student Satyapal and hiscrew mouthing some Marxist slogans and indulging in inflammatoryand emotion-charged rhetoric prevent the people from listening toAnanta. Finally madness and mob fury get the better of wisecounsel and more planned action. In the orgy of violence anddestruction let loose by Satyapal and group after gatecrashinginto the factory, Ralia runs amuck and in the act of mindlessvandalism, murders Ananta who tries to dissuade him fromdestroying the machines.The death of Ananta at the hands of a fellow thathiar inthe very act of preventing anti-social and mindless violence andvandalism from destroying the cause of thathiar unity andsolidarity is significant, In other words the pathetic death ofAnanta although paradoxical, becomes a martyr's death,spbolising the sacrifice demanded of any grass-root leader inthe cause of liberation of the working class. Ananta is firstand foremost liberated from the curtain of suspicion,

insinuation, jealousy and mudslinging that separated him from hispeople when he was alive.In this violent death, Ananta shinesas a hero and champion of the coppersmiths even as the poet Puran~ingh Bhagat articulates a rare insight while paying a tribute toAnanta's indomitable spirit :"All stories end in death, Jankain the poetsaid."But childling, even if one is given ashort life, it becomes shorter if it isguarded selfishly.On the other hand, thinkof the joy of living for others, of helpingothers.(The Big Heart, p. 229)Anand sums up the essence of what it is to be committed tothe cause of liberation. Ananta had earlier spelt out that it isnot by- just one instance of rebellion that change can be realisedbut by a many a conflictbetween the employers and workers inseveral places, at different times, all this having a cumulativeimpact of making a dent in the system that is oppressive.Anantafs death is a triumph of such faith, signalling the beginningof the end. The remorse-filled thathiars mourn the death of Anantaas an irreparable loss but translate their anguish in adetermination to carry on his fight, the struggle.Above all,the single most striking result of Anantafs death is the dramatic

transformation that takes place in Janki after manta's death,Janki vows to practise bhakti and, to organise the women comradesin future.We hear Anand's voice when the poet Puran Singh Bhagatutters these words:"You must not be afraid, JankaiM he said."You are so sensible and have suchunderstanding. What a great thing it would be ifwomen like you who possess such gifts ofsincerity and grace, give yourselves to'bhakti', devotion, to working for othersn.(The Big Heart, p-229)Janki has begun to respond to the call to become a newwoman, to overcome fate by daring all criticism and provocationand taking risks in order to make Anantafs dream come true.Anand's heroes are tantalizingly complex. There is acertain flatness and static quality about them given theirpredisposition to love, compassion, suffering, endurance andsensitivity. However, they don't stagnate but have the capacityto relate their own personalities to the realities of the world.Speaking about an ideal of man in Anand's novelsMr.D.Riemenschneider asserts:

Munoofs intellectual capacities, for instance,are few and heis purely a suffering humanbeing; BakhaJs rebelion is almost likewiselimited by his little education and Lalu lacksthe sense of proportion in his struggles.Ananta, on the contrary, represents aharmonious balance between sensitivity andintellect though the final test of his strengthoccurs at a t ime when he himself cannot graspits significance. In Gauri we face arepetition ofthe whale development from aslightly different aspect because she is awoman. In Naqbool, sensitivity, reflectionand action combine in such a perfect waythat they triumph over the absolute challengeof annihilation,(Riemenschneider: p. 24) ,This concept of self-effacing sacrifice echoes the teaching&Gof Jesus as propounded in: ... unless a grain of wheat falls intothe earth and dies, it remains alone:."A. ~hepherd~in his essay''Alienated Being: A Reappraisal of Anand's Alienated Heronreiterates:

Anand believes in the values of unrelentingstruggledespite all obstacles, real orimaginary; there are really no otheralternatives.It is the untriurnphant herowhom he celebrates in his novels: KanwarRampal Singh, La1 Singh, Ananta,Maqbaol,men whose good intentions are exceeded onlyby their personal limitations in a strugglebased on the ideal of right: "It must beremembered thatbecomesthe literature of each agesignificant through the confrontationof the hero of the opposing death forces andby showing through his struggle, even if hefails, the possibilities of a nobler, bolderand near superhuman destiny - theaffirmation of life itself against death inall f omsn (Anand) .(Shepherd in Perspectives on M. R. Anand: p. 151)Anand has wittingly or unwittingly hit at the centralparadox of the liberation praxis. A E irmation ~ of life for thesuffering masses underscores the need for sacrifice and struggleaimed at eliminating all forms of death, liberation . from allforms of death-dealing forces and establishment of a new society

upholding life and pro-people values.In and through all hisnovels and protagonists Anand has tried to scrutinize and explainthis paradox.All his heroes are caught in this paradoxicalpredicament at the end of the novel.It is when they comeclosest to success that they meet with apparent failure ordisillusionment.His characters, especially the centralcharacters, embody the contradictoriness of human nature in itsextent and depth. After all, the gap between the real and idealin life is what spells the difference between successful men andothers who face apparent defeat. If it is an inseparable partof human life, it is also anlogic of liberation praxis.intrinsic element in the wholeChinua Achebe's portrayal of characters, specially themajor characters, is consistent and convincing. In all his fivenovels we perceive his stamp as a creator of authenticprotagonists.In Thinss Fall Awart Achebe has skilfully drawnthe character of Okonkwo on whose fortunes revolves the fate, therise and fall of the ~gbo clan of Umuofia. His death at the endof the novel signifies the death of the old traditions and waysof life.This is how Achebe has depicted the symbioticrelationship between Okonkwo and the people, culture and fortuneof Umuofia.

Achebe presents Qkonkwofs character as self-willed,self-opinionated, proud, courageous and power-conscious as wellas human and expansive. People fear him as much as they respecthim and admire him for his valour, wealth and other achievements,Although he is a character of intense individuality, he is alsoone in whom the values most admired by the Xgbo peoples areconsolidated* His stature is heroic as presented by Achebe atthe beginning of the novel. His heroic nature is flawed becauseof certain shortcomings and deviations apart from the inexorableelement of fatality symbolized by the 'chif that seems to workagainst him in the final analysis. His impatience and irratianalrage elicit from him rash responses ta situations. Above all hewas a man tormented by a nagging fear of failure and weaknessthat characterised his father Unoka, who incidentally had beennicknamed "agbalaW (woman) as he had taken no title.There is a clear split in Okonkwofs personality between hisstrong and positive qualities and the weaker side dominated byexcessive ambition. The final catastraphe, that seals the processof destruction of the old values and symbolises it, is sharpened byOkonkwo's obstinate refusal to accept the unsettling changesbrought on by the advent of the white administration, religion andtrade. His suicide is certainly a desperate act but not done outof cowardice. It was prompted by a sense of helplessness and

ejection by his clan. It knocked the bottom out of his personalview of his clan's right response to the current phenomenon. Hewas a man totally frustrated as he saw his best hopes dashed tothe ground. The refusal of the kinsmen to stand by him when heattacked the white authority's messenger was an insult and shamehe could not bear, Hence he took the most extreme step- Butprotest he did. He disapproved of his clansmen's meeksubmission to a foreign power and foreign religion thatundermined the traditional fabric of the tribal society andculture. Even in his ignoble death by suicide, considered to bean abomination and unworthy of a burial by his kinsmen, Okankwodoesn't lose the tragic eminence. We don't despise him in hisdeath, but we sympathise with him and in fact feel inclined toadmire him. Okonkwo achieves his tragic status by rising abovethe sceptical relativism of his'people and by standing for theessential values of the community. His death is an assertionthat there are certain things which are absolute. But the ironyis that the same attitude is a denial of the basic tenet of Igboreality which finds stability in flexibility and relatedness.Achebe projects the classic dilemma of open, flexible societiesencountering powers, monolithic and unscrupulous.His death only heightens the irony of the final scene wherethe novelist holds up to mild ridicule the 'civilizing missionrof the colonial masters. The total lack of understanding

displayed by the British of the native social and culturalheritage is highlighted in the last paragraph, although, a mildironic strand runs through the whole novel. The death of Okonkwoand the general falling apart of all cultural and social customsand values are symptomatic of the colonial notion of a divinemandate given to it for civilizing the Africans, at the cost ofdestroying the indigenous system. The process of liberationcommences here even as Okonkwo teaches his clansmen what it is tolead a dignified life without losing one's self-worth. The whiteman's wiles, subtle and sinister designs and hypocrisy should beexposed. This seems to be the message that Achebe deliversthrough the principal character's death. It is hoped that evenOkonkwols death by suicide could serve as a historic reminder of thecolonial rulersf apathy to the Africansf predicament and thetraumatic psycho-social wounds suffered by the natives.In Lonaer & =seAchebe1s central character is ObiOkonkwo, the grandson of Okonkwo, the protagonist of his firstnovel. He is son of Nwoye who betrayed his father by desertingto the new religion, Nwoyers experience of the brutality of hisfather Okonkwo in murdering Ikemefuna the boy-hostage who becameattached to him, forced him to become a ~hristian. obi hasreturned from England with a B.A. degreee full of an idealism torid his country of corruption and to create a new nation. Hestarts well enough. He is appointed to a responsible post as

Scholarship Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Education.Obi'scaste,his familyrelationship as12 1Butaffair with Clara an a8~su1~elonging to an inferiora descendant of slaves, complicates the situation asand kinsmen vehemently disapprove and oppose thisunbecoming foreign educated young man*Obi, who is an idealist and sets out to root out corruptionand establish a model of clean and upright public life, runs intorough weather as conflicting demands are made on him.While heis asked to pay back the loan given him for his studies abroad,he is expected to display a standard of living appropriate to his"European" rank.This is a severe test to his security andintegrity. Obi is no longer at ease. He is pulled byconflicting demands and pressures. He is in a state of confusionreflecting the contradictions that characterize his society inthe wake of a new order and a new set of values as a naturaloutcome of it, Obi is shocked and stunned by the contradictoryvalues and opinions held by his contemporaries and his ownparents. Achebe leaves no doubt about the truth that this stateof affairs was caused by the import of Western value-system,life-style, habits and customs that upset the traditionalbalance. In ather words, materialism and its twinacquistiveness, have become the modern day monster that isruining the Nigerian body politic,corruption is the logicalextension of acquistiveness which was released in Nigeria by theforces of colonialism.situation.Obi is a victim and product of this

The opening scene wherein Obi is convicted of taking bribesis certainly powerful and subtle indictment in Achebe" idiom ofthe moral and ethical decadence set in motion by the colonialethos. But the interesting point is the irony that is underlyingthe whole scene, The Urnuofia men are distressed not because Obiindulged in corrupt practices but rather because he was 'caughtraccepting bribes.Obi's strength is his moral consciousness but unfortunatelyit is not supported by an equally strong moral courage.As aresult when he has to take a stand he falters and failsmiserably. Moreover he lacks the capacity for consecutiveserious reasoning. This twin inadequacy ultimately let him downand led him to his doom.Achebefs ironic vision reahes a poignant stage in the storyas Obi's trial and conviction take place even as he is beginningto realise his moral guilt and his responsibility to turn over anew leaf. But Achebe has succeeded superbly in asserting hismoral vision and his historic perspective through the skilfuldelineation of his protagonist.Obi's characterization has helped Achebe in masterfullyprobing a moral problem and an ethical question with astuteintellligence and great objectivity and detachment. He neither

condemns outright Obi nor does he exonerate him. While taking arigid traditional line with regard to public morality, he pointshis finger, very subtlely through an ironic-cum-satiric mode ofwriting, at the real perpetrators of such an ambiguous situation.In fact by the end of the novel Achebe wins our sympathy andadmiration for Obi who is a transformed person.Obi is a type of a host of educated new elite in Nigeria.They are well-meaning and intelligent and determined to ridtheir society of rampant corruption and other evilpractices. They may be for a while rattled by the contradictionsthrown up by a polity that is no longer at ease.They may bevictims of this.predicament. Nevertheless they axe the hope of ayoung nation like Nigeria, The educated new elite are a singlemost talented group that can catalyse the movement for change ofstructures and establishment of a more humane and fraternalsystem. This, in effect, is a definite programme in view ofliberation. of course, no nation can pin all its hopes an itsintelligentsia. But it is a group that cannot be ignored ormarginalised in any liberation package.In Arrow of God Achebefs interest is ostensibly to evokethe glorious and col~urful Igbo-past by elaborately describingthe rituals, customs, historical happenings, beliefs and

The ultimate victory is an affirmation of the wisdomcontained in the saying, "no man however great can win judgementagainst a clanN. The power of the people in liberative praxis isbrought out by Achebe in the way he has delineated the characterof Ezeulu. Between Ezeulu and the people, it is the people'spower or grass-root struggle that will ultimately triumph.In Anthills a the Savannah where Achebe further probes thefunction of power and particularly of military power, hisliterary form has been dictated by his political vision and thesubject he is dealing with. He breaks new ground by not onlymaking a departure from his own practice but by striking aposture altogether different from other African practitionersfaced with identical socio-political situation and rage. Thetriumvirate at the helm of affairs in the fictional African Stateof Kangan are Sam, the General and His Excellency, the Head ofState and his two friends and rivals, Chris, the Commissioner forInformation and Ikem Osodi, the editor of the NationalGazette.1t is through the observations and articulations of Chrisand Ikem that Achebe mainly develops and portrays the perversionand corruption of power, herein typified by the person andfunctioning of the President. These two have their own theories

and views and share and discuss these in the company of BeatriceOkoh, Senior Assistant Secretary in the Ministry of Finance andthe fourth major character in the novel.Of the four, Achebe has drawn in detail only the charactersof Ikem, Chris and Beatrice, giving very little attention to thedepiction of Sam's character, probably indicating his inevitablefailure as dictator and the irrelevance of dictatorial regime inthe African context. Of the three, it is Ikem Osodi who is alsopoet, novelist and playwright who gets, the most extensivetreatment. He is a crusader against the abuses of power and useshis editorials to ridicule, parody and disclose suchmalpractices. He is a fiery character, a young Turk possessed ofan anarchic spirit coupled with a determination to prevent anyfurther corruption by unquestioned power. He believes, "Onlyhalf-wits can stumble into such enormitiesN speaking of thehazards of power. Achebe however decides to reeducate him as hedoes the other main characters. In the novel we observe how Ikemturns from a passionate xadical and freelance theoriser to aprospective martyr, a model of a new leadership role.Innes C.L. has noted with perspicacity in her book ChinuaAchebe :

It is Ikem who begins to articulate both analternative political creed, a new radicalismin defiance of the President, and a mythicaccount of what is happening to Kangan. Inbath of these roles he seems to speak moredirectly than anyone else on behalf of theauthor, His radicalism is sceptical,opposed to the present orthodoxies ofdeliverance of all kinds: ttExperience andintelligence warn us that man's progressin freedom will be piecemeal, slow andundramatic," he writes in an essay onoppression. Millenarian solutions Itwill alwaysfail because of man's stubborn antibodycalled surprise," Society, like theindividual, must be reformed around - "its coreof reality; not around an intellectualabstraction^..,.(Innes 1990: p. 173)One can't easily miss the voice of Achebe in thesewords.Ikem, as Beatrice foretells, has to die but his death justas he begins to translate his convictions in his life situation,violent and premature and tragic, has all the grandeur andsolemnity of a martyr's death. Achebe places this at the

threshold of a new awakening in the masses of the people of theirown power and responsbility to react and protest which in turnprovides the necessary environment for re-education of Chris,Ikem and Beatrice.As the political crisis deepens Ikem sets his politicalcredo and activity in motion and Chris resigns in sympathy. Theplotting and counterplotting and the attendant everydayoccurrences of life under a military rule are all powerfullyprojected by Achebe as taking place in Bassa, the Capital city.The focus of the various episodes is the way in which the massesreact to the machinery of oppression.Ikem now realises that the root cause of the failure of theGovernment is the failure of the rulers to re-establish vitalinner links with the poor and dispossessed of the country, withthe bruised heart that throbs painfully at the core of thenation's being. He, in a moment of illumination, abandons hiseditorship of the National Gazette. Later he addresses thestudents at the University of Bassa in defiance of thegovernment. Echoing Achebe1s favourite aphorism, 'wheresomething stands, something else will stand beside it', Ikemadopts the dialectics of affirming and contradiction. Heunleashes an attack on half-baked orthodaxis of all kinds andtheir provision of easy answers. He believes in aself-transcending and self-perfecting ideology that eschewsself-righteousness and extremism.

Shortly after his inspiring speech to the students he isaccused of inciting the students and of engineering a conspiracyto overthrow the government. While he resists arrest he isfatally wounded. Thus Ikem fulfils the prophecy that he woulddie a martyr's death.In fact Ikemfs life, activities, theory, ideas and viewsand finally his heroic death for a cause underline his life-longyearning 'to connect his essence with earth and earth's people'.Achebe has emphatically and artistically resolved thequestion of the solution or alternative to the presentoppressive, military or civilian rule. Ikem articulates it notonly when he places the cause of the failure of the government inits failure to re-establish vital links with the poor anddispossessed of the land, or when he composed the meaningful"Hymn to the Suntf but more emphatically by his death preciselywhile trying to make real this dream of his. He doesn't buildhis dream on hope of a millenarian but by initiating a piecemealreform of society around its 'core of reality'.Achebe has propounded through a fascinating web ofincidents and episodes woven round the triumvirate against thebackground of a despotic regime, his own perception of analternative to social and political chaos which has been the

actual scenario in Nigeria since Independence. He hasaesthetically concluded the novel by harping on the concept ofeschatology, reincarnation and resurrection in the person ofBeatrice who is the biblical remnant to carry on the task oflinking up not only with the present generation but also with thepast precursors such as Ikem and roadmakers such as Chris.Elewafs daughter who is Ikemrs 'living speck' is named Amaechina(May-the-path-never close) signifying the beginning of thisprocess ascribing a crucial role to women as never before done inNigerian history.Achebe in a way celebrates the convergence of the womenBeatrice and Elewa and the people at the syncretist namingceremony. It is his tribute to the new alliance of people guidedby enlightened and committed women which is a symbol of people'sstruggle that will remain reincarnated in this story to berepeated generation after generation. Achebe has convincinglyreiterated his hope in same kind of renewal and regenerationthrough an engagement with the oppressed as both Ikern and Chrisembody in their lives and deaths. Ikemfs "Hymn to the Sun" isAchebe's perspective of creation and decreation, ultimatelyemerging in a world of dialectic and mediation as against the oneof unilateral power throwing up monsters of leaders.

There are strong similarities and subtle differences in themanner both these novelists approach characterization. While itis easily perceptible that Anand is a character novelist by andlarge, it is difficult to assert this of Achebe. Neverthelesscharcterization is a strong point of both the writers, And it isquite evident that both Anand and Achebe depend on theircharacters, mainly the principal ones, in order to narrate thestory and to build the plot and action with the cause-effectlogical structure.Anand's protagonists are drawn invariably from theoppressed sections of society and are therefore types of aparticular segment of class of society. While individuality isnot sacrificed,one cannot miss out Anand's intention ofprojecting them as types of people whose lives and struggles hewas determined to give artistic expression to. Even as types,Anand's protagonists have their individual personality whichmakes them credible and real. Achebe on the other hand,delineates his protagonists as strongly personalised individualsmore often than not idiosyncratic and therefore differentiatedfrom the rest in the novel. While Okonkwo and Ezeulu are highlyindividualistic and even unparalleled in their own clan Obi ofLonserEase and Odili of A Man of the People are certainly

epresentatives of a particular segment of Nigerians. Obi andOdili are drawn from the sophisticated educated, town-bredAfricans who are the cream and hope of Africa or Nigeria.Nevertheless their individuality is not sacrificed and theyexist, act, react and interact in their rights as individuals.While there is an unavoidable ring of sameness or monotonyin the types of protagonists chosesn by Anand, Achebe delightsthe readers with a refreshing range and novelty in choice ofprotagonists. Anand's Bhikhu of The Road, is Bakha ofUntouchable. Of course Anand is constrained by his fictionalpurpose to confine himself to a narrow spectrum of individuals.But Achebe, although limited by his deliberate choice to the Igbotribe and its pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonialexperiences, has nonetheless produced characters who move, liveand have their being in the artistically evoked Igbo milieu ofthe particular novel. However Anand displays his creativefecundity in filling his canvas with myriad minor characters.In Anand and Achebe the characters inevitably become thespokesmen of the novelists. Nevertheless, it should be concededthat Anand whose protagonists in effect become vehicles throughwhich he conveys his views and voices his protests, has usedextreme caution and subtle literary narrative techniques in order

to perform the task.His method is not crude preaching orsermonising or exhorting except in some places, wherepropagandist intent mars the aesthetic and artistic finesse.Achebe has his share of the propagandist mechanism subtlelypressed into service through the narration or commentary ofcharacters. He has in particular a wise man in every novel whoaffects the authorial voice that presents a sane view-point,offers wise alternative or drives home a traditional saying orproverb or aphorism in order to instil a sense of the clan intosome key characters,Achebe escapes critical censure for doctrinaire orpropagandist approach byallowing his protagonists to aconsiderable degree, to develop on their own without making themhis mouthpieces or spokesmen. He has circumvented this pitfall bycreating spe~fal characters in the clan who are recreations ofthe traditional wise men or elders of an Igbo clan.Theprotagonists however grow in an organic fashion, given theirqualities good and bad and the milieu of the clan.The authorhardly intrudes into the growth process of or imposes hisviewpoints on his protagonists.Anand however tends to impose his opinions quite overtly onhis central characters thus doing harm to their authenticity andcredibility.Mrs. Meenakshi Mukherjee has severely castigatedAnand, in an exaggerated fashion, for this defect thus:

... But when his convictions are imposedupon his heroes, who are usually countrybredor unsophisticated people the characterizationfails. Anandfs characters are lonely misfits -not lonely in the tradition of the modernEuropean protagonist of fiction, whoseloneliness is a form of intellectual alienation,but lonely becauseAnand has transferred hisown loneliness to them. They lack the necessarybackground, are thereby rootless and mythlessand appear somewhat unnatural.(In Naik et al. 1977 : p. 245)While the accusation that Anand interferes in the organicgrowth of the protagonist with his personal views and convictionis real, it is not tenable that his characters are all rootless.In fact the disarming innnocence, unmerited suffering andbreathtaking naivete' of protagonists like Bakha and Munoo faroutweigh this defect.In fact one never for a moment suspectsthe reality of these characters. His other protagonists such as

Bhikhu, Gangu, Ananta and even Gauri exhibit characteristics ofmaturity and adulthood which balance the novelist's occasionallyinordiante intrusion or pulpit-preaching at the cost of theirindividuality.Another charge levelled at Anand is that his characters areeither good or bad lacking the real life mixture of good andevil. While this allegation may apply to a host of his minorcharacters, his heroes are not all paragons of virtue orincarnations of evil. Munoo and Bakha barely out of their teensare represented as free from adult vices or inclinations.Nevertheless Anand adds a comic touch when he endows them with aflare for some outlandish or exotic adventure. Bakha, forinstance, likes to imitate the sahib$ in the way they dress andbehave and in playing hockey like them. Munoofs irrepressibleyearning for life and good things of life including his sexualmaturation and misadventures, nevertheless adds a new dimensionto his characterisation. Ananta is a judicious mixture of goodand bad qualities with his innate goodness outweighing his moraldeviancy. Gangu and Gauri strike us as perfect individuals whoare more sinned against.than sinning.

Achebe avoids this pitfall and therefore his protagonistcannot be put into neat categories. Achebe's heroes are alllife-like and real and almost defy the illusion of fiction. Theway Achebe has painted Okonkwo, or Ezeulu or Obi or Odili,precludes any danger of the characterization becomingmelodramatic or stereotypical. They are products of a societyand culture which had its legitimate share of the good and thebad, of nobility and meanness, of openness andnarrow-mindedness, idealism and corruptibility and allshades of spirituality and materialism.All said and done both these novelists with theircharacterization of the protagonists have sought to drive hometheir own perceptions of liberation and societal transformationconditoned by their own socio-political and cultural backgrounds.And both have exercised caution and restraint in not overdoingthis and in allowing this motif to operate as an undertone and asa subtle, and subdued aspiration simmering in the subconscious ofthe heroes. Certainly this unconscious yearning for liberationat different levels can be interpreted as the partiallyinternalised and articulated aspiration in the race, caste,class or tribe for which Anand and Achebe have become spokesmen.

CHAPTERFIVE----------TRAD I T ION VERSUS MODERN I TY---------------------------------------I----That the colonial intrusion brought about changes sometimesdrastic, sometimes superficial, in the social and culturalstructures of both India and Nigeria, is an irrefutablehistorical datum. The British brought with them an alienreligion and a western system of education that opened up newvisctas of knowledge and a whole new world of ideas and values.A hitherto unalphabetical African society turned into a literateone. In India, the western ideas and values equipped the peoplewith new tools for thinking and analysing and in fact providedthe educated people with new opportunities for furthering theirown prospects and expanding the horizons of their knowledge andawareness.With the British came the novel into ~ndia and Nigeria.Although the Indians with their ancient literate background wereable to make a creative use of this literary genre in thenineteenth century, the Nigerians arrived at the scene ofliterary creations only about five or six decades ago. Thus ' theemergence of the novel in India and ~igeria is related to theadvent of the agents of colonialism.

This explains why the colonial writers have predilection forportraying the consequences of the clash of two cutlures or twodifferent worlds. The colonial writer is overtly conscious of theirreconcilable divergences between the two worlds and of thedamage wrought not only to the country's economy and politics,but also to the psyche of the people, their culture and vision.In other words, writers in Nigeria and India have alwaysdisplayed an abiding interest in this sphere of culturalconfrontation between the East and the West and the inevitableand logical con~eqz::,ce of the infusion of modern values andmodern ways of living and thinking, into societies which werepredomiczn:klt,. traditional, rural and conservative, Anand andAchebe are typical examples of this trend in India and Nigeriarespectively.The novel , as it has been creatively employed by Anand andAchebc, nas a close affinity to the social processes, which it istrying to depict. It could also be maintained that the novelform assumed greater power and thrust as it became an instrumentfor expressing the inner dynamics and contradictions apparent orhidden when two cultures encountered each other. O.P. ~onejaexpresses this concept in these words in his essay, llFictionalStrategies for colonial consciouness: An African PerpectiveN:

Novel is that bright book of life which is basicallyrebellious in nature and reflects fragmentation and loss of unityimplicit in the movement of the society from traditional toindutrial, rural to urban, collective to individualistic andcolonial to noncolonial. It flourishes particularly whereverthere is a change in the social structures, as there exists aclose relationship between the internal structure of a literarywork and the social structure, Goldmann calls it a ,homology ofstructures'.(In Gowda 1983: 187)Both Anand and Achebe are addressing themselves to theunsettling consequences of the imposition of the colonial ruleeach in his own country. Thus the conflict of cultures, values,attitudes and interests is focused in most novels of Achebe andin some of the novels of Anand. If there is one dominant themein Anand's novels it is tradition versus modernity. In otherwords Anand attempts to artistically project the contradiction orantinomy between the values mediated or advocated by the Westernculture and those of the indigenous culture. In a broad sensethese two variant cultures are indicated by the term tradition

signifying the sum total of practices, values, ideas, attitudesand interests of the colonised country and the term modernitysignifying the more open, urbanised, industrialised values of thecolonizer. The question of tradition versus modernity has engagedthe attention of scholars, writers and philosophers ever sincethe dawn of the era of science and technology. Although it hasbeen a problem faced by advanced countries of the first andsecond worlds, the third world countries with a colonial historyhave also been faced with this problem. While modernity has beenheld up as an ineluctable option for any developing country, thetarget people were never involved in the process, as thedecision-making was always in the hands of the colonial rulers.This is precisely where the process of modernisation or progressran into rough weather.Anandrs The Biq Heart more than his other novels portraysthe struggle between the forces of tradition and modernity in adramatic and realistic manner. Ananta, the protagonist isAnand's own alter ego in so far as he professes a pragmaticapproach to mechanisation and modernity and becomes eventually amartyr in the cause of disseminating the inevitability andindispensability of machines for progress. Through Anantarsfrequent harangues and discourses, Anand lashes out against the

narrow, myopic perception of life and progress by people whoblindly swear by the past and defend all that is old and timehonoured. Poet Puran Singh sees in Ananta the foundation andprototype of a modern Indian who eschews all cultural prejudicesand superstitions and bravely crosses hedges laid by anobscurantist religious and caste dogma, in a bid to usher in theera of prosperity and modernity.Anand gives sufficient indication of his intended theme ofthe conflict between tradition and modernity right at thebeginning of the novel as he paints the setting of the novel:It must be remembered, however, that Billimaran isnot a blind alley. Apart from the usual mouth,which even a cul de soc keeps open, it hasanother which makes it really like a two headedsnake. With one head it looks toward the ancientmarket, where the beautiful copper, brass, silverand bronze utensils made in the lane are sold bydealers, called Kaseras, hence called Bazar~aserian. with the other it wriggles out towardsthe new Ironmongers' bazar where screws and boltsand nails and locks are sold and which mergesinto the Booksellers' mart, the cigarette shopsand the post office replete with the spirit ofmodern times. (Pp. 16-17)

The Ironmongersf Bazar stands for modernity symbolizingthe advent of industrialization and mechanization while the'Bazar Kaserianr signifies tradition. Images by which modernityis connected- screws, bolts, nails and locks-show the author'spartiality for tradition. Bookshops, cigarette shops andpost-office are certain ingredients of a modern setting,juxtaposed deliberately in an awkward manner to highlight theinexorability of modernity. As if to mark its measured andinescapable march, Anand has placed a clock tower with afourfaced English clock at one end.Anand is ostensibly biased in favour of the coppersmithsand their traditional or hereditary occupation displayingtremendous skill, artistry and finesse, The Kali temple and theGolden temple represent the traditional religious values and themagnificent architectural skills of the traditional artists,artesans and architects. But Anand is not a blind extoller ofthe bygone age of obsolete traditions and values. While he isnot for throwing overboard ancient values, traditional skills andpractices, for the sake of appearing to be modern, he advocates aproperly perceived and assimilated modernity, which will be atthe service of human being particularly of the poor, oppressedmasses. As Ananta time and again declares, machines we need, butman must master the machines.

Anand has a fine perception af the slow but sure collapse afthe old order and old way of life in India in the throes of avast, engulfing, social, economic and political upheaval. Hisprotagonist is a man of this world, not a paragon of virtues,but with an unmistakable grasp of the changing scenario. Justlike Anand, he is not a dreamer or a utopian theorist. Ananta ispainted as a spontaneous roguish Adam whose large heart andsympathies are evident in his favourite refrain", There is notalk of money, brother, one must have a big heartc. The sloganis obviously anti-capitalistic and pro-people in its core.Thepeople of Billimaran Lane call the age that is bygone, the age oftruth and the new age 'the iron ager. There is a sense of theexistential entrapment among the people at large in the narrowconfines of the Billimaran Lane. Anand has this to say:Caught in the nousetraps where they are born,most of them are encaged in the bigger cage offate and the various indiscernible shadows thathang over their heads. And they do not know themeridian beyond the length and breadth ofBillimaran until the day when they are carriedout, feet first, to join the elements.(P-17)

Anand has artistically and realistically recreated thelife, experiences and struggles of peaple living in a corner ofArnritsar with their age old beliefs and superstitions andprimitive lifestyle and approach to work. It is into such amilieu of self-enclosed traditionalism and conservatism that thenew culture irrupts causing violent upheavals, factions andinternecine quarrels. The most serious consequence was the gapbetween the coppersmiths steeped in ancient traditions reluctantto change and the other of the same community typified by thehero Ananta who, while being open to change, to accept themachines, are prepared to pay the price by mobilising and unitingthe workers and weld them into a union for the purpose ofnegotiating with the management on equal footing.In the process of unfolding the character and attitudes ofAnanta, Anand exposes some more chinks and flaws in the samepeople who pride themselves on their religiosity and morality.Anand tears down their mask of hypocritical morality when he,by his refined techniques of subtle irony, brings on thecensorious critics of Ananta" alleged illicit liaison with Janki,discomfiture and embarrassment by almost apotheosizing Ananta inhis martyrdom and by idealizing Janki as a potential liberator.In fact the life, behaviour and activities of Ananta which are

cast in the mould of a self-effacing hero are a cohstant reproachto his carping critics. Anand uses mild irony in these scenes,but his hidden sympathy for their outmoded way af thinking andbehaving is quite obvious,All said and done, Anand's hero is apparently vanquishedbecause of his own shortcomings,moral weaknesses and agnosticism.As a militant thathiar committed to the cause of thedeliverance ofhis fellow thathiars from the fetters of ignorance,traditionalism and conservatism, he ought to have been moresensitive to the religious andprescriptions of his community,ethical expectations andAnand, in this struggle between two world-views and systemsof values, is able to discern, with his uncanny sense of truth1and justice, that a convulsive overthrow of all long cherishedideals or an instant solution to all social ills throughrevolution or bloodshed, is misplaced and misguided enthusiasm atbest.Ananta fails, when chips are down, to deliver the rightresult and therefore he jeopardises his worthy cause. He isunable to see his ideas through by offering a concrete tangiblesolution.Sawos ~owasjee has captured this point effectively in hisessay, 'TheBig Heart: A New Perspectivef in the followingwords :

But above all, he (Ananta) is unable todramatize his cause and he is hence unable tooffer an immediate remedy for the misery of theunemployed. To the strircing workers, who want animmediate return for joining the Union, he offersa post-dated cheque for a better life in thedistant future:The Revolution is not yet. And it is notmerely in the shouting. Nor is it in this singlebattle in Billimaran, brothers. It is onlythrough a great many conflicts between theemployers authorities and the workers, in a wholenumber of battles which our comrades elsewhereare fighting, that there will come the finaloverthrow of the bosses (p.194). Sound Logic, butnot to the hungry (In ACLZS, 4-2: 89)Anand while portraying the conflict between tradition andmodernity has highlighted, with subtle strokes of his genius, thedifferent aspects of this question. He has created two charactersin Ananta and poet Puran Singh Bhagat who are crusaders, each inhis own way for the adoption af a pragmatic and realisticapproach to the phenomenon of modernity in the form ofmechanisation. While Ananta is more practical and actionoriented,the poet is more abstract and out of touch with the

ground reality.However it is the poet who articulates theapproach and the thinking that underpins it.But Anand hasbrought out very emphatically and artistically the twin aspects afhis humanism, Ananta signifying the qualities that should formpart of the personality of a social reformer and the poetstanding for the need to articulate the facets of reality and themechanics of the reformation to be undertaken.S.C. Harrex has expressed this aspect af Anand's creativehumanism thus:... The poet sees in Ananta the foundation of thenew modern man.However, it is the poet whoarticulates the humanism which the hero enacts:I believein the restoration of man'sintegrity..,. the reassertion of man'sdignity,reverence for his name, and a pure love for manin all his strength and weakness, a limitlesscompassion for man, an unbounded love especiallyfor the poor and downtrodden.(PO 142)Thus, Ananta emoodies those qualities of theheart and the poet, those of the head which incombination will create the new Adam of Anandrsfuture society, The Poet's discourses at the endof The B iq Heart are not merely a choric comment

on the tragic action, they are intended to leavethe reader with the image of a desirable socialform for which Ananta is a noble sacrificialprelude. (in Guy (ed. ) 1982: p. 155)Anand is aware that India needs both the types of peoplewho, in tandem, can catalyse a conscientizing movement among themasses to channelise the unbounded energy available forconstructive purposes. Committed individuals like Ananta have avery crucial role to play in spearheading purposeful actionagainst the impersonal and destructive potential of the machinesand the modern trends and value-systems. The role of theenlightened and educated individuals in a nascent democracy isalso being emphasised by Anand. They provide clarity andnecessary pieces of information to the people, apart from being aprophetic voice furthering the cause of change, protest, struggleand liberation,The error in approach or the lacuna in Anantars thinking ishis failure to offer an immediate relief to the jobless andstarving thathiars. To that extent, his programme ofamelioration of the workers' lot, was defective and ineffective.Anand wants us to take notice of this possible limitation giventhe existential situaion of the people under the yoke of poverty,

ignorance, superstitious beliefs imposed by the capitalist systemand legitimised by an obscurantist religious leadership.Anandwill have no part in philosophy as professed and preached bySatyapal, the student militant and his extremist comrades. Anandhas, however, not offered a solution to the unresolved andcontentious question of the justifiability of the use of violencein any revolution or reform package. He seems to leave it to thedynamics of the process of change to deal with violence notpre-planned but unforeseen.In Gauri Anand has once again dealt with this themealthough not in an extensive fashion as in The Biq Heart. In thelatter, the theme of tradition vs modernity runs through thewhole narrative and is woven into the structure of the action ofthe novel.In ~auri the theme is implicit and highlightedtowards the end as the action reaches a climax. The protagonistof this novel is a woman and therefore Anand has taken immensepains to draw her in vivid details.She is a creature of theculture and milieu in which she has grown, and which she hasimbibed.There are clear signs of her self-effacing 4s eaccep&h@p h~.5h3*84ard live$ with him despite his insolence and sadistictreatment. She even submits to the humiliation of being sold toan elderly banker and of returning to panchi who had thrown herout.

Though Gaurits journey towards her self-knowledge and fullrealization of her inner reserve, forms the substance of thenovel, the tragic experiences of Gauri stem from the woeful lackof enlightenment on the part of her folks, including Laxmni hermother- Anand endows Gauri with an innate awareness of the worldand the dynamics of life which contrasts sharply with the totalabsence of it in her kinsfolks and others.Alastair Niven sums up Anand's presentation of Gauri inthese words:.... The girl herself has no idea of the fullreserves of her character and the reader onlygradually sees them as she suffers one rebuffafter another to emerge with knowledge andassurance at the end,Her cow-like qualitiesremain - Anand may not be conventionally religioushimself, yet he defers to the symbolic gentlenessof the sacred animal-but her humility isfortified by an awareness of the world and somesense of its future which the other women in thecommunity totally lack.The 'fullr Gauri,educated in a vision made practical, does notemerge until the last page of the novel. Anandrs

command of his narrative never slackens and heleaves off the novel at exactly the moment thatGauri8s knowledge of herself and of herresponsibilities has crystallised(Niven 1978: p.107)The tragic finality of the action of the novel is such thatGaurifs ultimate maturation and her intimate self-realizationcoincide with the still stagnant and static civilization of thepeople of her environment. Mellowed and stung to the quick bysome of the terrifying experiences in the hospital, she agrees toreturn with Lami to panchi and resume her life with him. ButGauri, albeit a devoted and caring wife, is not free from theinfluences of modern life as experienced in the hopsital. She isa liberated woman and therefore tends to display signs of modernwomanhood, her habit of lowered dupatta and using sweet-smellingsoap being singled out among them by Panchi for harshremostrations and abuses. This shows the utter lack of sympathyorsensitivity on the part of panchi, who is a rabidtraditionalist, to the changes wrought in ~auri by herexperiences as a working woman.Anand highlights another negative aspect of the process ofhuman liberation when he constantly refers to the habit of gossipand character - assassination indulged in by the villagers. his

orchestration of vicious vilification of persons has ademoralising effect and detracts from the constructive movesgeared to social change.spokesman.In this context Dr. Mahindra becomes Anand'spowerfulHe tends to become didactic and even monotonous andartificial at times. But his central message is clear. He pleadsfor a world made free of prejudice and meaningless traditionsthat only stymie positive and change-effecting actions andprocesses.With his broad liberal principles and humanisticvalues Mahindra enters the life of Gauri just at the moment whenshe is dismantling form the altar of her life and belief system,the traditional gods occupying high pedestals.She exclaims inutter despair and anger, 'May the Gods die if they favour thesedogst, a half-suppressed blasphemy in the context of herrecent revolting experiences.Mahindra is not only Gaurirs idol but the powerful exponentof Anand's ideology. In delineating the basic principles of hisown vision Anand has insistently stressed the need for courageand daring.The woes and failures of characters like Panchi,Laxmi and Dr. Batra are compounded by a fear-psychosis of 'Whatpeople will think'.Mahindra proposes the antidote, 'We must notbe afraid and weak and cowardly and small-minded.We have toreform the whole of our country, every decaying part ofit* '(p. 242)

A certain fearlessness and scant respect for what peoplesay or think is a necessary concomitant of a meaningful humanlife based on a universal human love. This once again focuses onthe conflict between values and perceptions that are traditionaland modern. Gauri finally bids goodbye to her traditionalmeekness and conformity and turns her back on the maligningcrowd and marches into a brave new world of freedom andself-determination. She wants to shape her own destiny withoutbeing bothered about what the vulgar crowd has to say about herstandards.Anand's fictive representations of his perception of theconflict between tradition and modernity, or the clash betweenvalues associated with indigenous culture and those associatedwith the west, can be counterchecked with his own writingspertaining to this area. In his Anolosv for Heroism Anandexpresses this conflict in different ways:But I believe that the decay of values arisesprimarily when the myths which clothe the desiresof men, which embody in the form of art, theinner aspirations of men to grasp the realitiesoutside them, become outworn, and inept prophetsgo on using the old legends, catch words andcliches without making any attempt to reinterpretvalues in the light of fresh knowledge ...(p. 143).

. . .That is a task which wif l require all theenergy, intelligence and devotion of men. Only,they have got to be new men, whole men, who havethe critical spirit to see the machine age forwhat it is worth, to distinquish technology withit, to sift grain from the cha'ff. And they willhave to be men who are sincere, disinterested andfree, men who are willing to save the world sothat they can live in and through it, men who arehuman, who represent humanity everywhere and seeka new way of life in freedom. (~9145)From the standpoint of his comprehensive historicalhumanism Anand has found it necessary to have a modern outlook, aweltanschauung that accommodates a critical openned to thenecessity and inevitability of science and technology and apossession of the scientific rational temper shot through withprofound sincerity, real freedom and human interest.Achebe, being a highly motivated writer who looks upon hisrole as a crusader with missionary zeal, has used the navel as amedium to project the Igbo society before and after the colonialencounter. He uses the Igbo past, traditional culture, religiousbeliefs, ceremonies and rituals as the raw materials for

fashioning out his fictional narrative, action and plots. Theanthropological density that is found to overabound in ThinssFall Apart and Arrow of God, is a clear proof of his keenhistorical sense, interest in the past and involvement in thepresent and future of Nigeria. Of course the first navelprojects the colourful Igbo world in all its richness, simplicityand ingenuousness. The contradictions and commotion resultingfrom the descent of an alien rule and culture form the substanceof No Lonser Ease, Of course a consummate artist that Achebeis, he does this by a meticulous analysis of the protagonistObi's character, his rise and fall, his intellectual and moralstrength and weakness. It is set in modern Nigeria in the dayimmediately before Independence. The novel opens ominously withthe hero on trial for accepting bribe as a civil servant.G.D. Killam maintains that this novel is an effectivefictional representation of Achebe's view of the conflict betweentraditional values, beliefs and structures on the one hand andthe modern western values imported into Nigeria by the colonialrulers on the other. He asserts:, . , . Obi is a modern man and his story comprisesa modern tragedy. In this novel Achebe providesa record, transmuted by his personality andpersonal vision of, on the one hand, the nature

of 'modernityf - in terms of its social,political and economic impfications - imposedthrough colonial action on Nigeria, and on theother, the price Nigerians have paid for it.(Killam 1975: p. 37)Achebe deals with this question in Obif s efforts to facethe pressures, brought on him by the expectations of the Lagosbranch of the Unuofia Progressive Union on the one hand and theparSentsf irrational and hypocritical demands on the other. Hisidealism gets a battering and crude shock when the UmuofiaProgressive Union, both wants him to repay the loan they hadadvanced for his studies, and to improve his standard of livingin accordance with his foreign education and social status. Thisbecomes a severe test of his integrity by threatening his.security and by eroding his equation with his kinsfolk.In addition to paying back the eight hundred pounds to thetagas branch of the Umuofia Progressive Union, he feels obligedto buy an expensive automobile and to lease and furnish a poshflat, merely to keep up his veneer of Europeanness, conferred onhim by his foreign education and his job as scholarship secretaryat the Federal Ministry of Education. He has moreover to sendhone money every month for the education of his brothers.

Obi is presented as an educated Nigerian with a keen senseof moral right and wrong and idealistic at the beginning of hiscareer. He resists temptations to bribe and maintains a cleanrecord. But the milieu in which he lives is vitiated with allsorts of venal practices being the order of the day. It can betermed as a venal era of ethos, He is exposed to constant teststo his moral uprightness even as he strives to keep himself at asafe distance from such morally reprehensible practices oroffers. He is even capable of resisting an occasion that camehis way of taking advantage of a girl.But the atmosphere is so morally perverted that Obi isunable to withstand the pressure for too long. The maral laxityis all too pervasive and the culture so permissive that hismoral consciousness gets a rude jolt. His friend Christopher whoalmost holds a brief for endemic corruption and venality, is areal representative of the contemporary culture and philosophy oflife. According to him corruption or taking bribes is part ofthe game and has come to be accepted as a way of life. Muchworse, he justifies having sex with a girl as it is not doing anymaterial harm to her, as taking a bribe which makes the manpoorer.Achebe portrays the gradual perversion of the mind andmoral consciousness of obi, hemmed in by enormous expenses

entailed by his high style of living and the luxuries imposed byhis status. Obi is shown as waging a two-fold battle, oneagainst his people represented by U.P.U. and the other againstparents. While the former pits him against the slow erosionof moral values symbolised by bribe and graft in return forservices rendered, the latter involves him in a more personalkind of wrangle as his parents oppose his affair with Clara asshe is an "Osu". Here Achebe deftly uses his ironic power inthis that although Obi's parents are Christians, they are not ina position to discern the unchristianness of this discriminationand condemnation of an individual only because she is an outcaste.Achebe is sharp enough to expose the dichotomy between the socalled modern views and values of the Christian dogma and faithand the die-hard ancient social practices espoused by theChristians. Even the Christians become victims of thiscontradictions resulting from the clash of two diametricallyopposed world views.While Achebe does not justify all that is modern or westernuncritically he does not advocate a blind adherence to sometraditional practices, beliefs or superstitions that stand in theway of the African society coming to grips with the moderntrends and values. He disapproves of Obirs parents' and his

village people's stout opposition to his marrying Clara, a memberof an accursed slave community. Moreover Rchebe is critical ofObi's inconsistency and lack of guts in the act of repudiatingClara, using her lowly and indefensible pasition.In the samevein he assails the hypocrisy and double standard of Obi'scommunity.Achebe's interest centres around the confusion andambiguity caused by the colonial rule. The one case in point isthe life of Obi, a determined, enlightened and conscious youngman, who is unable to sustain his moral rectitude in the midst ofa society that is no longer at ease. The people at large aregoing through a process of moral degradation and decadence,initiated and precipitated by the lack of clarity or confusionthat prevails in the wake of the intrusion of the westerners. Onthe one hand the Nigerians are entering a new phase ofdevelopment symbolised by new education, job opportunities,access to money, power and other luxuries and opportunities.Neverthelss, the ancient and traditional, moral and religiousvalues are the first casualty even as material welfare andacquistiveness become the be-all and end-all of the presentsociety,

Obi's life ends in a tragedy made more poignant by the factthat he is candemned and humiliated just as he is realising hispersonal guilt and immorality and is ready to turn his back onhis former unethical ways,Achebe pleads for a basic sympathy and broad vision on thepart of his people who, flush with the sudden acquisition ofwealth and power, make, in their over enthusiasm, unrealistic andimpracticable demands on the newly educated, young elite. In thisthey are liable to forget that in their culture and traditionthey have more lasting values. Achebe deplores this tragedy. Itis this tragic irony that he focusses in all his novels andparticularly in this novel. According to him young idealistslike Obi are the backbone and future of an emergent Africa. Itis all the more important that the elders, leaders and people atlarge should exercise greater patience and understanding withoutexpecting dramatic improvement or miracles from them.Nevertheless, it is imperative that the elders guide the youngintelligentsia of Nigeria,Another notable feature of this unease and confusion isthat people are loath to disabuse themselves of some of theregrettable elements of beliefs and practices of the past, whilerepudiating the more positive and community building values. Itis probably a sociological phenomenon occuring in any society onthe threshold of a modern epoch. Nevexthelss, this dangerous rotshould be stemmed lest it endanger the whole society-

The point af view as expressed by Christopher and Joseph ontwo different occasions in conversation which obi is symptomaticof the time and symbolic of what Achebe predicts for a country inthe thraes of a new birth.Christopher says to Obi:. . . You may say that I am not broadminded, but Ido not think we have reached the stage where wecan ignore all our customs. You may talk abouteducation and so on, but I am not going to marryan l0suf,Joseph addresses Obi in these words:Look at me Obi..,(P- 1301what you are going to doconcerns not only yourself but your whole familyand future generations. If one finger brings oilit soils the others. In future, when we are allcivilized, anybody may marry anybody.time has not come.only pioneers,But thatWe of this generation are(P-68)While Achebe is not for compromise, he certainly advocatesmoderation in ushering in changes and reforms where it conerns avery stable, cohesive tribal society rocking under the impact ofan avalanche of an alien culture, religion, administrativesystem, education and trade.

At this point one does see the appropriateness of thequotation from T. S. Eliot from which the title of the book istaken:We returned to our places, these Kingdoms, But nolonger at ease here, in the old dispensation,With an alien people clutching their gods,Ishould be glad of another death.(The Journey of the Magi)While Anand becomes didactic in his fictionalrepresentation of his perception of the conflictual nature of theencounter between tradition and modernity, Achebe maintains arational and emotional detachment in portraying the sameintensedrama in his novel'. The latter scrupulously avoids longharangues which are common in Anandfs Biq Heart, while at thesame time, eminently succeeds in building up the tragic theme andtempo by creating events and sequences that are lively and human.While there is no dearth of human warmth and passion in Anand'sportrayal, he is time and again carried away by his ideologicalconvictions and humanist zeal. However, Anandrs success as anartist in this novel as in some other, consists in the compactstructure of the novel, providing just sufficient space for Anandto spell out emphatically his theme. He has achieved his

thematic end by laying greater stress on the rhetoric of Anantaand Puran Singh than on the characters or their interaction.Achebe has skilfully interwoven his fictive purpose into thestory and plot with the result there is no trace of didacticismor monotony in the manner of rendering. The titanic conflictbetween the world that is struggling to be born and the one thatis vanishing, is masterfully presented as taking place in theminiature intersection of these two forces in the life of thehero.

CLASS WAR AND CASTE POLITICS-----1- ---------------------The word 'exploitation' sounds the keynote of the themesthat Anand and Achebe proceed to examine in their novels. Infact, the processes unleashed in the socio-political and culturalrealms of a country as a consequence of colonial intrusion, aremarked by an overwhelmingly exploitive character. It will be nQexaggeration to affirm that Anand and Achebe have consistentlyinvestigated the theme of exploitation. Exploitation in Marxistjargon, signifies the iniquitous relationships that prevail inthe economic sphere only.It is again from the Marxist perception of poverty andexploitation at the micro and macro levels that we haveinherited terms such as class, proletariat, labour, surplus,means and mode of production, used to analyse a capitalisticsystem. According to Marx, a society is diviaed into two classesthe poor and the rich, also called the ruled and the rulingclasses or the dominated and the dominant classes.Marx predicted a class struggle consequent upon theappropriatcon and accumulation of surplus value in the hands ofowners of capital and the deprived proletariat becoming poorerand poorer. In his views, the history of modern society is the

story of the struggle between these two classes. The phenomenonof production of extremes of poverty and wealth, pauperism andluxury will sharpen the class-struggle until it breaks into openrevolution. The end-product will be a stateless socialismwherein production will be carried on for the good of all andbring about the classless society.No wonder then that Anand who came under the influence ofMarx's writings and was fascinated by Marxist theory of socialchange and revolution, set out as a writer to expose the evils ofa capitalist society divided into these two polarities orclasses. In particular Anandgs attention is focussed on theaftermath of the colonial imposition of an alien worldorder.Margaret Berry sums up Anand's method of attacking thecapitalist system in this manner:Anandfs attack on the capitalist system isexecuted in the novels by direct and indirectpresentation of the evils of privateownership, private enterprises and the profitmotive in business. Even in the firstnovel, Untouchable, Sasshar the socialistcalls far a casteless and classless society.In depicting the road to such a society,

Anand does more than dramatize the issues withplots, themes and settings. His %approved'characters boldly expound the socialistprogram and with dialectic and oratory,compound their opponents - villains,'respectable8 compromisers, and sincere butunenlightened men.(Berry, 1970: p.63)Anandrs Coolie (1963) and Two Leaves and 2 (1937)portray the scandalous gulf existing between the rich and thepoor in pre-Independence India. Hence Anand aims at highlightingthe role of the British in bringing about this unfortunatesituation. Industrial capitalism was imported from the West bythe Colonial rulers. This upset the applecart of the 1ndiansocial and cultural relationships and polity And thisdevelopment was made possible by the ~ritish who introducedCommerce and trade based on mere profit-seeking and cut-throatcompetition. And it should be noted that the Indian soil wasjust ripe for accepting this western product as it had beenpreconditioned by forces such as mechanisation, industrialisationand scientific materialism.As a direct result of the interplay of these forces,Indian society of the thirties was losing its cohesion andstability, the hallmark of its social fabric before the onset of

industrialisation, Money became the principal symbol, measureand means of well-being and happiness, Moreover allrelationships and interactions began to be scrutinized and judgedby the criterion of possession or non-possession of money.Munoo, the central figure of Coolie and Gangu the hero of---Two Leaves and q Bud are both Kshatriyas, the second highest incaste-hierarchy. But they come of an indigent background and,therefore, become victims af the cruelty and marginalisation thatare associated with the upper classes.Munoo and Gangu are represented as labourers or coolies whodepend for their livelihood on the wages paid to them for sellingor hiring out their labour. Munoo is driven from his home in thesylvan setting of the Kangra Valley merely beause, "my aunt wantsme to begin earning moneymf. Anand makes sure that we are briefedabout the havoc played by the landlord in his fatherfs life byseizing his five acres of land in return for the interest onmortgage not paid, Munoo's family was a hapless victim of anU~SC~U~U~OUS landlord,Thus Anand underlines the role offeudalism in wrecking the lives of innumerable, unlettered,ignorant, unwary villagers who sought the help of the land-lordmoney-lenders for loans.Munoofs plight is symbolicallypresented by Anand as he makes his child-hero wander from placeto place in search of a job, a livelihood,Munoofs experiences in Sham Nagar in the family of BabuNathoo Ram are evidence enough to bring out the kind of

ill-treatment meted out to a poor wretch just becuase he isdestitute. He is told clearly that he is no more than a servantand hence cannot hope to mix with people of the rank and dignityof Babu Nathoo Ram's family. His sojourn in Daulatpur, working asa labourer in the pickle factory owned by Prabha, a former coolieand Ganpat a crooked and villain~us partner who eventuallyswindles him, has been described by Anand with a keen eye fordetails of Munuafs psychological reactions, revulsions and finaldisillusionment. He is made to realise that it is only the likesof Ganpat and Sir Todar Mall who have access to big money andtherefore to influence and power, who can lead a comfortable,easy-going and pleasure-seeking life while honest and hardworking poor have no chance of survival.Anand further pits his waif-hero against the powerful andU~SC~U~U~OUS world of the rich mill-owners in Bombay. Here againMunoo wilts and withers under the heavy oppressive weight of asystem biased in favour of the rich and powerful.The strikeorganised by the workers is put down with an iron hand and therevolt quelled mercilessly by the unilateral decisions of theBritish management aided by their 1ndian henchmen. The worstirony of it is that the whole strike is undermined and debunkedas sparking off communal clashes.In point of fact, communalriots were engineered by the anti-worker lnanagement in orderto*-:blacklist and denigrate the striking workers and the labourunion leaders.

Finally we see a hunted and hounded out Munoo seekingasylum in the household of a half -caste, scrupulous andover-sexed Mrs. Mainwaring at Simla. Here again Munoo becomes avictim of all the whims and fancies of this rootless caricatureof an Anglo-Indian woman. The last days of Munoo as he wastesaway under the effects of consumption are one long night ofsorrow and pain only terminated by his untimely death.Anand contrasts solidarity, endurance and friendliness ofthe pavement dwellers in Bombay and the paar coolies in Bombayand other places with the sordidness, complacency,.self-righteousness and superciliousness of the rich. The novelis a severe indictment of the capitalist system that spawns suchinhuman monsters without a trace of concern for the deprived,side by side with hosts of workers, coolies and destitutes likeMunoo whose life is one long nightmare of thwarted ambition,unrewarded honesty and hard work and unrequited love and service-They are condemned to a life of slavery and abject poverty withno way out, however much they may struggle and strive.Sauda in the Bombay phase seems to have penetrated into themechanics of a class society when he echoes Anand's ideas:nThere are only twa kinds of people in theworld: the rich and the poorn, Saudacontinued, "and between the two there isno connection. The rich and the powerful, themagnificent and the glorious, whose opulence

is built on robbery and theft and openwarfare, are honoured and admired by the!whole world and by themselves, You, the poor,and the humble, you the meek and the gentle,wretches that you are, swindled out of yourrights, and broke= in body and soul, you arerespected by no one and you do not respectyourselves. l1(Coolie, Pp. 265-266)Child labour is one of the evils of the capitalist system as itprovides the factory owners with cheap labour in most inhuman andabominable conditions. Anand's description of this most heinouspractice endorsed by the rulers is as pathetic as it ismind-boggling.Two Leaves and g Bud is another novel that is devoted tothe theme of exploitation built around cash-nexus of thecapitalist mode of economic organisation. This novel is moreconcretely about the class of coolies represented in the novel byGangu the central character, who is a hapless peasant luredto the plantations of Assam with false promises of bettermaterial prospects. The irony of it all is that apart from beingcut off from his roots, losing his freedom and self-dignity inserfdom and bonded labour, he eventually dies at the hands of hisdiabolical boss, Although Gangu is sceptical of the exaggeratedovertures of Buta, he is finally beguiled by Buta who uses thepeasant's strong love of land as a decoy.

Gangu's destiny is inextricably wedded to the plantationfrom now on. He will lose his wife after an epidemic of choleratakes a heavy toll of the coolies. The filth and squalor of thecoolies' lives defies description. As if these hazards at thework places were not sufficient, the coolies and their childrenare exposed to untold health hazards. The British overlords havenot an iota of sympathy or concern for the workers.Anand analyses the relationships existing between the whitemasters and the coolies. It is a condescending and contemptuousattitude with no concern whatever for their well-being, safety orhappiness. The coolies are herded together in plantations as ifthey were cattle and have no need for the higher pleasures offamily life and human solidarity.Reggie Hunt, the assistant planter is an embodiment of thecruelty, heartlessness, and frivolity of the white planters andthe class of planters as a whole. He prowls around theplantations seeking for a prey to devour. He is not only brutalin terms of his treatment of deviant coolies but a sexual wreckwho seeks to satiate his lust by preying on any coolie woman. Hehas no moral qualms about his unethical behaviour and immoralexploitation of the plantation workers.De la Havre is an exception to the general apathy,inhumanity and ruthlessness associated with the planters. He hasa different perception of the deplorable plight of the coolies

and the injustice and sinfulness of the system that is operating.However he is powerless and finally deported after being labelledas a non-conformist, anti-British humanitarian. He is not only acompassionate doctor but a champion of the cause af the coolies.Coming to the coolies, we find them averse to any protest orreaction. They are illiterate and ignorant and it is their crassstupidity that makes them resigned to their inhuman situation.They are incapable of making a protest, leave alone mobilisingthe group to wage a battle against the consistently anti-labourpolicies and practices of the British planters. The mild protestorganised by the leaders of the group ends in a fiasco as theyare overawed by the presence of the white masters, particularlyReggie Hunt. Gangu is a typical character belonging to thisgroup. He is fatalistic when it comes to the crunch, be it hiswifef s death or his daughterf s narrow escape from the rapaciousgrasp of Reggie Hunt syrnbolised by her escape from the python.The climax of this story of subtle satire on the white bossesin relation to the natives is achieved when the court finallyacquits guilty ~eggie. This, in other words, is symbolic of theultimate triumph of evil in the capitalist world of the rulingclass suppressing the working class and treating them as the scumof the earth.Anand8s portrayal is grim and is a vehement plea for thesubverting of this system so that the workers will not only getadequate wages and recompense but will come in possession of the

means of production. This is what is declared by Anand throughhis mouthpiece de la Havre. As perpetrators of an unjustsystem of capitalist exploitatan and the resultant furtheranceof social stratification, the British administrators have noright over the land of the Indians.The Biq Heart is another novel where Anand has addressedthis question from the point of view of mechanisation. Clasgconsciousness can eventually overtake caste which as of now is apowerful factor in all human commerce and relationships. Thecoppersmiths who have attained to wealth and prosperity and abetter social position in the caste hierarchy, look down upon theothers and forge new ties with their business counterparts.Murli Dhar who excludes this thathiar brotherhood from hissons's betrothal ceremony is made to rue his decision by thethathiars who boycott the function, The thathiars may be poor.But caste should be respected. Murli who asserts his classsuperiority at the expense of caste unity is taught a lesson.Gokul Chand regrets to have formed a partnership with a man oflower caste at the risk of losing his own. Ananta takes a middleposition while the ather thathiars reject the machine andmechanisation altogether and uncritically. Ananta stands for arational approach and wants to eschew violence and vandalism.Machine is the sign of the advent of the capitalist mode ofproduction. The thathiars resist it as they sense a threat to

their profession. But Ananta is able to perceive the wisdom ofaccepting the machine. But he believes in the solidarity andunity of the workers which alone can achieve the desired goal.Paradoxially, Ananta dies at the hands of a frenzied Raliain the very act of dissuading him from mindless violence.Ananta's death is not the end, but the beginning of the newalliance of workers and women to be forged by Ananta's friendsand admirers together with Janki who vows to carry on thestruggle, launched by Ananta.Anand has masterfully laid bare the mechanics of a classsociety marked by greed, acquisitiveness, jealousy, rivalry andfissiparous tendencies. The cause of the workersf unity isthwarted not only by the relentless strangle-hold of the ownersof the factory but also by the fatalistic, unenlightenedapproach of a section of coppersmiths themselves. Moreover thepresence of different ideological postures within the groupaccentuates the division and polarisation. Anand in this novelpleads for unity and solidarity of workers in the larger interestof securing their rights and privileges and of eventuallymastering the machine and owning it.Anand moreover emphasises the principle that money shouldnot rule the mind of man, and what is essential is possessing a'big heartr. This is the refrain af the protagonist which falls

on deaf ears- And his heroic death stings their simmeringconsciences and rouses them to the reality of multipleexploitation they are victims of.Dr. Rengachari has effectively summed up Anand's fictionalgoal in these novels thus:Coolie is concerned with a different socialaspect. The treatment of the caste system isturned upside down in this novel.Caste-hierarchy dwindles into insignificance,for Mammon is represented as the undisputedruler in the world of Coolie, Money is thesummum bonum of human existence. It cancatapult a pariah to a respectable positionand Dr. Merchant is a case in point.Indigence can plunge the high-caste Munoointo the ignominious depth of obsequio~sness. . . .The Bi_s Heart highlights the inbuilt....irritants in relationship between thedifferent strata of higher castes, amongthe kshatriyas, kaseras impelled by asense of superiority stemming from theassumption that they have descended from LordRama, become snobbish and supercilious andlook down upon the thathiars.

.... he chastises their inherent shopkeepermentality, the mercenary motive of theBritishers in Leaves and 3 Bud. TheBritish never do anything, he says, withouttrying to extort the maximum advantage out of it.(in Polymeh 1989: p,99).A dispassionate analysis of the situation of theunbridgeable gap existing between a small group of the wealthyand the overwhelming majority eking a subsistence level ox belowpoverty line existence, unfolds the undeniable fact that theBritish were the prime cause as they introduced the capitalisticform of trade and commerce. of course later it became anunavoidable and inevitable phenomenon any country or society hasto reckon with. Saros Cowas jeee in his ,Coolie: An AssessmentJremarks :But the plight of Munoo and his kind is thedirect result of the British rule and theindustrial revolution they introduced withoutpaying sufficient heed to social reforms,Munoofs position in life raises the question offreedom in a capitalistic society. As Anandsees it, freedom to Munoo, as to millions ofothers, means no more than being beaten frompillar to post.(Cowasjee 1976 :17)

And Margaret Berry seems to agree with Anand's point afview vis-a vis the role of the British when she comments:For pre-Independence India, capitalism wasidentified with colonialism: the greatpolitical enemy was the British. Anandfspre-1947 novels quite naturally attack theEnglish Sarkar at every turn, as the majorsource of India's ills, the preserver ofcorrupt social institutions, the exploiter ofIndian labour and wealth, the tyrant overcivil liberties.(Berry, 1970: P. 67) .Anand's spokesman de la Havre in Leaves and a Budverbalises Anand's own perception and anger in the followingcrisp woxds:"And when, after enjoying the monopoloy afIndian trade for generations, our Britons, whonever, never shall be slaves, found they hadcut their own throats by introducing the steamengine into India, not only because their homemanufactures competed with their colonialmanufactures, but also because the Indianmoneyed classes were pressing for a share inthe industries of their country, they began to

ully the coolies and bleed them as much asthey could before the judgement day arrived."". . . But what is a contract with a slave?Less than a scrap of paper:And that is yaurEmpire. (P. 1106-107)de la Havre seems to have gone to the root of the questionof exploitation and squarely placed the blame for it all, on theBritish colonisers.His perceptive insight is not altogetherbereft of a sympathetic concern for the sweat and toil of thecondemned coolies. He says that 'a single cup of tea containsthe hunger, the sweat and the despair of a million Indians'.If this was true of India during the British Raj, it ismore poignantly descriptive of the contemporary Indianpredicament.Achebe hasn't explicitly addressed himself to or dwelton, except in passing or by implication, the whole area of classdistinction or class-consciousness in the aftermath of thetribe'sencounter with the colonial world in his novels,Thinss Fall Apart and Arrow of God.Of course in his othernovels he is specifically probing the political situation inNigeria before and after Independence.In Anthills of theSavannah, there is a systematically worked out anatomy of powerin all its dimensions, manifestations, functions andcorruption, Achebe has exercised his social and artistic

conviction bearing on the conflicts and contradictions resultingfrom Class-distinction, an off-shoot of capitalism.In Thinss Fall ADart, Achebe has made an allusion to thecolonial trade or market based on money introduced by the Britishinto the tribal milieu.reference to this:In chapter twenty nine, there is a"The white man had indeed brought a lunatic religion, but hehad also built a trading store and for the first time palm-oiland kernel became things of great price and much money flowedinto Umuof iam (p. 161) .Achebe is perceptive enough to point to the capitalisttrade or market system as one of the two major changes that beganto challenge the vitality and the relevance of the traditionalf oms. The trauma that the tribal economy suffers isdramatically expressed in the most essential commodities likepalm-oil and kernel becoming dearer and the whole market systemdominated by money.This is the beginning of the capitalisteconomy making inroads into a primitive tribal economy. The flowof money into Umuofia suggests that trade and commerce based oncash had become a regular and predominant feature of the economyof the clan,nay of the whole of Africa.Achebe is quick to point out that erosion of traditionalvalues because of the western patterns imposed on the tribe, hadbegun to show unmistakable symptoms, the most glaring one beingcorruption. He makes only a mild reference to it in chapter

twenty where Obierika and Okonkwo are engaged in a conversationand Obierkka seizes him of the latest happenings in the world oftheir clan. Speaking about the land dispute which resulted inthe hanging of Aneto, Obierika alleges that the white man's courtdecided it should belong to NnamaCs family as they had given muchmoney ta the white man's messengers and interpreter. This 2s asshocking as it is revealing. But in the context of the new formof market economy that is functioning, it is quite understandableand in fact to be expected,In Arrow of God Achebers interest is focussed, on theconflict between the forces of oppression and the traditionalstructure that is showing signs of breaking up. Nevertheless hehas made sure to direct his ire against the third enemy theeconomic system, the white administration and the religion beingthe first two, In this novel he has created several characterswho listlessly flit between the two cultures in a bid toassimilate the new values without being alienated from theircultural roots.Nwodika is one such character whose ambitionis to reconcile the two opposite or contradictory cultures and inthe process to earn money. He starts a trade and joins themarket for the sole purpose of making a prof it. Nwodika is aprototype of the new class of rich businessmen yet to emerge onthe horizon of Umuaro, He is shown as a precursor and the voiceof the future. While he testifies to the Igbo flexibility and

adaptability, he is unwillingly hastening the breakdown oftraditional Umuaro, cutting across its time-honoured loyaltiesand allegiances. The class system just originating in theterrritory of Umuaro is an offshoot of the capitalist marketeconomy introduced by the British for the purpose of augmentingthe profits accruing to the mpire.No Lonsar At Ease narrates the story of Obi the grandson ofOkonkwo, his ups and downs as a western-educated, idealisticyoung man who eventually succumbs to the pressures of a modernNigeria under the colonial regime. It has a very ominous openingwith Obi being convicted for taking bribes. Achebef s satire isquite penetrative and subtle as he probes the political andeconomic conditions that mark the Nigeria of his novel.Obi's failure is in one sense attributable to theirresistible attraction and temptation of material comforts andriches chracteristic of the urbanisation and industrialisationthat were overtaking Nigeria. The modern Lagos is a melting potof cultural and social values emanating from the West. It is tothis Lagos that Obi comes armed with his western categories ofknowledge, values and principles. In Lagos however the emphasisis on money, success, luxury and class distinction, While thisdevelopment is inevitable in the context of advance and progresssweeping through the entire universe, Achebe regrets itssupplanting the traditional spiritual values.

Corruption has become the way of life of the people so muchso, they are not distressed about Obits accepting the bribe asmuch, as about his being 'caught* by the police, It is a sadcommentary and a satiric narration of Achebe.Obi wants to rootout corruption by sticking to a rigid code of public morality.IBut he belongs to the new elite class. He can't afford to dress,live or behave differently. Thus he is torn between the ~ W Qpulls.To make this worse for him, his own village people whoadvanced a laan far his studies abroad demand the loan to berepaid while at the same time placing very high expectations interms of his external appearance and overall life-style.Inother words they want him to be a foreign educated man of theworld. This pushes him against the wall and his resistance failsand he becomes corrupt.With the onset of capitalistic system of business, thetemptation to conform to oners class at all costs is great.Itis important to note that this moral decline or decadence isitself a symptom of the fundamental changes occurring because ofthe colonial rule, The whites pride themselves saying that theyhave outgrown bribery of the overt kind.Anne Tibble in heressay "Chinua Acheber puts it this way:First Obi gets into debt over taxes, then overhis new car, then over sending money to hispeople.Next he takes bribes. The whiteleaders are not free from using personal pull

in well-diguised or civilized 'innocent~~forms:such as that you're most likely to gainpromotion if you go to church and say you area Christian, if you let it be known that youhave been to a well-known school, or even ifyour aunt slept with a king ... As if unawarethat any of these things are notin theA Mandeepest sense corrupt, they are supremelycritical of the African new officials' form ofcorruption, their addiction to stark bribery,by money or gifts.,..(Tibble, p. 127)of the Peowle analyses Nigerian politics afterIndependence and with a prophetic foresight foredooms Nigeria tocoups and counter-coups resulting in a military dictatorship.Odili the principal character is originally in league with ChiefNanga . The struggle between the profoundly religious andspiritual values of the old world and the pursuit of materialthings flaunted as a value by the new order is further exploredand sharpened. As G.D. Killam avers:The emasculation of traditional religion iscomplete by the time of the action of & Man of- the Peo~le. Achebe conveys this powerfully ina very brief scene. The brevity of the sceneand the nature of the religious comment made186

offers an exact ironic reflection of theefficacy of the restraining force of thetraditional religion in the contemporarysocial situation, It is Christmas time andthe hero of the novel, Odili, is visiting thewife of Chief Nanga M.P. Among other things,comment is made on the new house which isbeing built for Nanga. One townsman says:"Look at the new house he is building.Four storeys: Before, if a man built twostoreys the whole town would come to admireit, but today my kinsman is building fourH.(Killam, 1975: p. 35)It is later announced that the house was being built freeof cost by the European building firm of ~ntonio and Sons to whomNanga has given the half million pound contract to build theNational Academy of Arts and Sciences.The casual and ironic way of providing this information issufficient to underline the rampant corruption in high placeswhich was corroding the very fabric of Nigerian society. Thenovel is a telling comment on the degree to which materialisticvalues, acquistiveness, general moral decline and unrestrainedcorruption have come to be syonymous with the way of life ofNigerian politicians and the uppish new elite. It is ultimatelythe capitalist system which has thrown up people like Nanga andKoko and seeks to suck in well-meaning people like 0dili and Max.

Odili though an idealist has a desire to create a bettercountry than that he lives in. Nevertheless Odilirs idealism istempered by an awareness of the pragmatic realities, assisted bya capacity for decisive action, unlike Obi the hero of LonaerAt Ease. Max who is a rebel and a dreamer is nevertheless quitepractical and does not hesitate to accept a bribe from Koka andto use it for his own capaign.Nanga, with his uncanny ability to get closer to the massesand to get away with anything, is presented almost as a mafialeader indulging in thinly disguised system of bribery,corruption and nepotism in order to keep his position of power.His style of living and functioning is an eloquent testimony tothe callousness, unscrupulousness, corruption scams andscandalous deals that were the order of the day in ~igeriangovernment circles.From Achebe's narration of the story it is quite obviousthat he was pinning down all the woes and ills of the Nigerianpolitical situation to the excessive love for money among the newelite of the country and the crucial role money played in all thepolitical transactions. Even Odili and Max who eventuallybecomes a hero and a martyr by his death are not altogether freefrom 'corruptf practices albeit for a cause. In fact evenOdili8s father who is otherwise a good man asks his son if hisparty C.P.C. has provided him with sufficient money to conduct

his campaign. And he has no scruples about using his son's carfor his personal requirements. Of course Nanga's misuse of powerand his strategy of wooing voters through bribes, his control ofthe media of the government and employing hired thugsmasquerading as policemen are the very epitome of the moraldegradation and erosion that has taken place in the wake of thecapitalistic made of production and the central place accorded tomoney in the country's economy.Achebe squarely places the blame for all this anarchy onthe economic system based on competition and profiteering andacquisitiveness, which was at least originally introduced by thecolonizers. Of course the system functions now, quitesuccessfully, as the moral base of the Nigerian society has beenalready knocked out. And the new elite, educated, idealist youthof the country are victims of this system and not allperpetrators or supporters of anti-people, anti-socialactivities,In his latest novel Anthills of the Savannah Achebe continuesthe same theme but declines to predict any viable form ofgovernment or any alternative to the present malaise- Thepolemical tone of A Man of the Peowle is softened to aconsiderable extent as the omniscient narrator is missing. Thevery form and structure of the novel are understandably tailoredto promote Achebets pluralistic vision of the future of Nigeria.

AIL said and done, Achebe's investigation of the theme ofpower and its manifold revelations and corruption, centres roundthe moral decadence that has crept in, after the onslaught of thepowerful capitalistic system and values. The triumvirate rulingthe fictional African state of Kangan, namely, Sam, Chris andIkem are friends and rivals at the same time. They are productsof the interplay of the oppressive colonial system and the newindependent Nigeria still struggling to find its moorings, tosettle down in the context of new found freedom and itsconcomitant of irresponsible leadership. Sam metamorphoses intoa dictator ruling the country with a sycophant cabinet unwillingto displease the President. However, Chris and Ikem havedifferent notions about power and policies and ruling. Once theyare disillusioned with the Presidentfs authoritarianism,neo-colonial mentality, susceptibility to flattery andhero-worship, they turn sour and resign from their respectiveposts in the government and take to meeting the challenge in themidst of the masses.Achebets disaffection with the excesses of the military anddictatorial regime and the vagaries of the political leaders ofthe young independent Nigeria is powerfully expressed when,abruptly, he introduce the myth of Idemili and the formalstructure and the theme of this myth and the hymn to the Sun,focus on the theme of creation and de-creation. Achebe blamesthe African leaders for causing a rupture with the religious and

moral past of the people and far their subservience to foreignmanipulationsr and adoption of 'inherited second-handcapitalism'.MarSy EPlun Modupe Kolawole recapitulates Achebets concernsas projected through this novel in the following words :Achebe therefore dwells on the past toidentify the root of current problems, in asearch for social rehabilitation andtransformation. He considers the presentsociety too gullible and susceptible to allforms of orthodoxy. But the social X-ray iscomprehensive as he asserts that the past andcolonialism are not the only forces that havecaused the present predicament. He blamesAfrican leaders for 'the subservience toforeign manipulation' and for adopting'inherited second-hand capitalismy. But hegoes beyond this to .highlight the role playedby corruption, repression, intimidation,neglect of the poor majority, insensitivity .and inefficiency. He also blames the presentleaders' mediocrity, parasitism, and fraudcover-ups.(Kolawol e, p. 125)

From a reading of Achebe's Anthills of && savannah, itbecomes obvious that Kolawolers analyses are objective. Thenovel is commentary on the unprincipled and egoistic lives of thepolitical leaders of past Independence Nigeria, and a timelycaution that the common people are going to call their bluff andexpose their knavery whatever sacrifice and struggles it mayentailAll in all Achebe's analysis of the present societal maladyyields this precious insight that an artificially anduncritically transplanted capitalist mode of production andmarket and the attendant cut-throat competition andacquisitiveness are at the root of the present predicament. Ofcourse Achebe refrains from going into a full-lengthinvestigation of the class-system as it operated in Nigeriansociety. It doesnot mean that class is not a reality there. Onthe contrary class consciousness and class formation in ~fricansociety are a reality that has come to stay in Nigeria.Modernization or modernity is one facet of the capitalist system.And the traditional tribal society of ~igeria has undergone asea-change specially after the advent of the Western trade andcapitalist modes. The tribal economy and social life are markeddeeply by the consequences of the capitalist system as understoodand developed by the business class and the ruling elite.While Achebe is interested in the ethical crisis andpolitical instability that have been caused by the capitalist

system and not in its external manifestations, Anand is an angryman and seized with a righteous indignation and determined toexpose the seamy side and the horrendous injustices andoppression unleashed by the class distinction and consciousness,an intrinsic part of the capitalist world. Hence, we have somemoving, pathetic, gruesome, mind-boggling and tragic scenes anddetails of the social underdog's experiences at the hands of therich and powerful people who call the tune in a capitalist setup. Anand is out to denigrate not only the system as a whole butalso the individuals and groups that manipulate the system inorder to orient it in favour of their personal aggrandizement andprofit-seeking. Anwd is realistic in his approach to thistheme, often reminding one of ~ickens. Nevertheless his purposeis first and foremost to expase the insincerity and one-sidednessof this class character of a capitalist society. In order tohighlight the inhumanity and injustice of it all he sometimesexaggerates the cruelty and barbarity of individualcapitalists, particularly the British colonial masters inrelation to their lowly subjects or employees.Achebe doe&nft dwell on these aberrations at any length,probably his fictional matrix comprising the colourfulprecolonial past and the subsequent contradictions andconfrontations does not really admit of such a treatment. Achebeis faithful to his avowed goals in his fiction writing even asAnand is true to his proclaimed social convictions.

Now we turn our attention to the caste system which hasbeen instrumental for so much of exploitation in India and to alesser extent in some other countries. It is believed that casteas it is today, is a remnant of the varnasramadharma. adifferentiation of castes made on the basis of one's occuptionfor the common good of a given society. However, there is anothertheory which maintains that the Hindu religion originated thecaste system as it favoured the so called ruling caste.According to this Hindu belief the four different castes emanatedfrom the Brahma but from his different parts. The Brahmins, thehighest in the caste hierarchy were said to proceed from theforehead of the Brahma, the Kshatriyas from the shoulders, theVaishyas from the stomach and the sudras from the foot of theBrahma .While the division based on the kind of work performed by aparticular group is quite agreeable to reason, the theologicalexplanation offered is an outrage to human dignity and becomedthebasis for the ignominious and iniquitous social evil called'untouchability1.For Anand casteism and untouchability are two great woundsin the Indian psyche that need to be healed or two cankers in thebody politic of our society sapping its very vitality. InAnand is a fervent disciple of Gandhi.thisAnand had first-handexperience of this insidious practice of untouchability as hischildhood was spent in the midst of children of all castes

including the untouchables, His Bakha of Untouchable is but afictional recreation of Bakha, his childhood friend. Hisexperience in Gandhifs ashram had instilled into him anabhorrence of this social taboo which is a sin against man andGod according to Gandhi. Gandhi is said to have advised Anand onthe manuscript. His own segregation and isolation on board aship by some westerners left an indelible mark an him and arealization of the humiliation of being treated as anuntouchable.Hence Anand took it as a challenge to depict the lowly andcolourless lives of the untouchables in his novels. 1nUntouchable obviously and in The Road Anand has created twoimmortal heroes drawn from the scum of the so called casteistsociety. Bakha of Untouchable has a perennial appeal as a childhero who grows from innocence to maturity and as a celebration infiction of a sweeper boy, the likes of whom never entered therealms of literature before Anand's bold venture,The sweepers* colony is described at considerable length byAnand, thus underlining the fact that they have an existence oftheir own, if it may be called an existence, about which thecaste people, whose dirty jobs these untouchables do, have noconcern or knowledge. It is a symbol of the filth and squalorthat mark their persons and their lives, This is the paradoxthat the persons who are responsible for maintaining the hygiene

and cleanliness of the high caste people are systematicallydeprived of their basic rights to hygiene or cleanliness.But this is just one level or kind of discrimination. Butthe belief that their proximity or their touch or contact canpollute and contaminate a high caste person is an outrageousdenial of the basic humanness of these men and women. It is acontradiction in terms as thase who practise it take it as areligious mandate and the untouchables themselves haveassimilated it into their psychology and being, as their fate andas ordained by God Almighty. The privileged caste Hindusproclaim in a11 sneer and callousness: "They ought to be wipedoff the surface of the earthM(p.54).Bakha's insignificant daily life is filled with insults andhumiliation. The climax occurs when he is said to haveinadvertently touched a caste Hindu and is slapped by him. Beinga sensitive and smart lad Bakha could not brook the injustice andshame of it. Anand makes this the moment of truth in Bakha8slife as he has an unprecedented illumination and clarity as towhy he is being hated, and maltreated. He realizes painfullythat his status of being an untouchable makes him a sucker, apushover, a good for nothing in a caste-ridden society.Apart from exposing the absurdity and stupidity of casteconsciouness Anand also probes the different levels of casteismpractised. In this novel he is able to point out the degree of

caste among the low caste groups.subcastes.There are castes andBakha is a sweeper or scavenger belonging to thelowest sub-caste. It is this that makes Gulabo a washer-womanlook down upon Sohini who is a sweeper girl,untouchability within untouchability, if one may say so.This isK.R.Srinivasa Iyengar observes:.... there are degrees of caste among the tlow-caste8people, there being none low without one being lower still.(Iyengar, 1962: p.337)Anand has a cool dig as it were at the practice of touchinga Mohammedan to neutralise the pollution caused by an unholytouch. The irony is that the high caste Hindus ordinarily regardthe Muslims as outcastes.Anand takes pains to uncover the ridiculousness of thissystem while at the same time castigating the high caste peopleand the Hindu religion which are repsonsible for the perpetuationof this unholy practice. He points out the several myths thathave grown up around this system. He reproaches theuntouchables for their sense of inferiority and self-effacing, ofcourse a patrimony of thousands of years of serfdom andservility.He ridicules the high caste superciliousenss thatthinks that it is presumption on the part of theplebeians to smoke like the rich. He is angry with thehigh caste housewives whofavour the lazy sadhus with hot

vegetable curry and rice while they fling stale bread at theuntouchable. He is irritated by the segregation of theuntouchables in hotels by allotting separate tumblers.Bakha is created by Anand as a sweeper with a difference,He is endowed with a keen sense of his own lowliness and thepossibility of his escape from this sordid reality into a worldof the tommies. This opportunity is provided him by some of thebabus and sahibs who are more friendly towards him. Hismake-believe world consists of his occasional puff at a cigarettethrown by the high caste people, his sporting the clothes of thewhite man and his fondness for hockey. These are little detailsthat work up to give a credible and authentic picture of Bakhatsgenuine aspiration to transcend his own limitations.Anand after providing three different alternatives forBakha8s liberation leaves it to him to choose one. But Bahkhadoesn't find any of the three solutions too enchanting. He isnevertheless fascianted by Gandhiys suggestion of liberation fromtheir inferior status by their refusal to accept the 'leavingsffrom the plates of high caste Hindus and by seeking free accessto wells and temples. He is moreover attracted by the poet' Sproposal to end their drudgery by adopting flushout system andmechanisation,Anand's approach to this problem as manifested in thenovel is one of actions done for the amelioration of theuntouchables and a corresponding distrust of abstract propositions

and solutions. He steers clear of any intellectual orphilosophical approach to this problem so entrenched in theculture and psyche of our people, Anand finds it a moralobligation to respond to this human problem not only on the partof individuals, but society as a whole, In this it is not somuch Anand the Marxist, as Anand the Humanist wha is grapplingwith this ancient problem that has defied solution till today.His socialism is not revolutionary or violent but well groundedin ethical principles and rooted in India's cultural values. Hisapproach is existential, viewing the pernicious practice ofuntouchability from the victim's situations and perspective. Theperspective of the subaltern is a necessary pre-condition for anyobjective analysis of their situation. Anand moreover brings tohis job an artist's detachment as he by caste is a Kshatriya andnot an untouchable. However he is able to strike a sympatheticchord as his heart vibrates with the untouchable's abject stateand his artistic genius finds the fictional correlative to makethe story and plot convincing.His novel, The Road published in 1961, is again areaffirmation of Anand8s emotional involvement in the problem ofuntouchability, Anand created this 'enchanted mirrorf primarilyto illustrate to Nehru that untouchability is still a reality allthe government's protestations to the contrary notwithstanding.Fourteen years of independence had done nothing to remove thissocial stigma from them but in fact had intensified theopprobrium of being an unwanted segment used as a mere tool.

Bhikhu the protagonist is a road-worker who has to contendwith the ideology of a power structure that tolerates no changein the status quo.The road also symbolises the road toemancipation from an inhuman situation. And this is going ta bean arduous and well-nigh impossible task given thesocio-political situation today.Anand, by means of a deft handling of irony and mildsatire, reveals some of the psychological forces that operate inboth the high caste Hindus and the untouchables in their inter -relationships in the context of a changed socio-economicsituation.With the introduction of certain reforms in thevillage administrative set up and village economy, the governmentof an independent ~ndia, has paved the way for a slowamelioration of the condition of the untouchables. They can workand earn moeny as their wages. Thus the control hithertoexercised by the upper caste Hindus over the life of theuntouchables is slowly disappearing.Hence they are strickenwith fear coupled with jealousy that a progressively liberatedand independnet untouchable community may attain to the status ofthe 'twice born1, A sense of insecurity has been generated inthe high caste Hindus as the outcastes are climbing up the socialladder helped by government's economic and poverty alleviationprogrammes.

Anand uncovers the hyprocrisy and double standards involvedin the high caste Hindusr attitude to the untouchables.Theyrefuse to touch the stones touched and 'pollutedf by theuntouchables. Nevertheless they have no shame about enjoying theyield of the fields tilled by them. Pandit Suraj Mani who swearsby the Vedas and demands a high standard in observing theprescriptions of religion and caste dharma, is an embodiment ofthis contradiction. He has to carry with him a little earth toavoid treading on what has been 'soiledt by the untouchables buthe finds nothing wrong in eating the mangoes plucked by theuntouchables.The repeated and almost nauseating allusions to the divineorigin of caste and duty of everyone to fulfil its obligations inorder to work out one's salvation put in the mouth of landlordThakur Singh and andi it ~uraj Mani are a powerful critique of thehollowness of such a theory and its hypocrisy.sparing the chamars either.Anand is notHe presents them as sociallyaware and better off and bold enough to withstand the oppositionof Thakur ~ingh, Lachman and ~ajnu. But their self-awarenessthough better, is not deep enough to stand them in moments ofcrisis.They are unnerved and defeated by their own sense ofinadequacy and inferiority. While Anand wants to shake the highcastes out of their spurious sense of superiority and

complacency, he also attacks the lack of self confidence,self-awareness and courage of the chamars, of coursesympathetically and with concern.Dhooli Sinqh who belongs to the majority high caste and isLambardar is an interesting portrayal of the change that can comeabout in a high caste Hindu who realizes that 'no one can enter alittle door seated on a camelr. He is convinced that the road toprogress and prosperity lies in casting off the shackles oforthodoxy and in building a broad alliance with people ofall kinds including the untouchable chamars. Modernity cannotbecome an actuality if one is too conservative or closed in upononeself.Anand makes the character of Dhooli Singh quite credible ashe strives to show that although he has a reformist fire in him,he is not altogether free from his traditional mental-sets andattitudes to untouchability. He wouldn't want his daughter toset her affections on the mean. But his son Lachman's puerileincendiarisrn that consumed in a fire all the huts of the chamars,helps him to overcome such reservations and ambivalence. Hestands up courageously for the victimised chamars and offers hisland and valuables to them as a compensation for their loss. Henot only cuts across caste lines here but identifies himselftotally with the pathetic situation of the chamars. No doubtDhooli Singh is Anandrs vision of transforming the caste-riddensociety into an egalitarian one.

Bhikhu is a mere symbol. He seldom reacts or retaliates.He is neverthelss a leader of his group deeply involved inbringing the fruits of modernity to his village. Of course he isup against a massive road-block, the curse of untouchability.However he is determined to lay the road which alone can aid hispeople to move into the mainstream of national life, destroyingin the process, the barriers laid by caste and pride of wealthand power.The conclusion of the novel is hazy and ambiguous leavingthe reader to keep guessing. But one thing is clear that castediscrimination and untouchability, though legally abolished inIndia, continue to bedevil our so called modern democracy. Thelikes of Bhikhu have no other alternative but to escape intoanonymity and die a slow death in the darkness of theirloneliness. Bhikhu is a frustrated individual even as hissuperhuman efforts to construct the road, Anandfs symbol foreventual progress and modernity, fail to elicit appreciation fromhis high caste brethren, He feels rejected and betrayed. Anandin this novel has mounted a bitter but ironic attack on thecontradictions and hypocrisy that mark the attitudes andbehaviour of the ostensibly superior castes. He lashes at theircomplacency and issues a stern warning that this caste systemwill not stand the test of time as the so called low caste

people, thanks to widespread availability of education andopportunities for employment, are slowly shedding their complexesand are aware of their inhuman situation and their responsibilityto pull themselves out of this pathetic situation.Anand has treated the same topic in his The Biq Heart butfrom a new perspective. He examines the snobbery that marksinter-high caste relationship. The thathiars and Kaseras aresub-castes of the Kshatriya community, the second and highest inthe branch of castes. The orthodox Kaseras look down upon thethathiars as low and have only contempt for their people andculture. Murli Dhar, a thathiar and Gokul Chand a Kasesa arepartners in the factory management. Nevertheless Gokul Chand isin no mood to accept the invitation to attend the betrothal ofSadanandrs son as he is a thathiar. He is frightened of theconsequences of associating with the thathiars as his ownbrotherhood would frown on it. Although in business they arepartners, in social relationships and functions they prefer tokeep their caste identity and distinction.Another interesting sociological development veryartistically expressed by Anand is the tendency of the rich andbusiness calss of the low castes trying to move out of their owncaste identity by striking alliances with the high caste. Inthis manner they feel their stigma as untouchable is removed, and

they come to be regarded as members of the affluent businessclass. Here is a very interesting and comical scene describedwith Anand's typical eye for the humorous and the ironicalwherein the betrothal of Nikka, grandson of Murli Dhar takesplace. He has invited only a few important Kaseras like GokulChand and a few Arya Samajis and some leading thathiars. Therest of the thathiar brotherhood is not invited by Murli Dhar forhe considers them 'low'. But at the ceremony Gokul Chand ishorrified not to see Murli Dhar's kin, This is a moment of utterconfusion and discomfiture for Murli Dhar. He is emphaticallytold that he can't afford to ignore the kith and kin, justbecause they are poorer.Anand's perception of class being more powerful andexerting greater influence than caste in the long r~n~contradictsthe theory of Periyar, E.V.R. who held that caste is not going tobe altogether eradicated given our religious and culturaltraditions,Not that caste is going to bealtogether eradicated. But caste differences can be sunk andforgotten if the class association or alliance is strong.Achebe evidently has not touched on caste as it is not to befound in his country in the £om in which we find it in1ndia.While class plays a rather serious role in the action ofAchebe's novels caste is not mentioned at all. However, if castehas to be broadly defined it could include distinctions of groupsof people as undeeirable or outcaste or ostracised,

It could be by extension applied to a category of peoplereferred to as 'Wsuu" specifically mentioned in LonserEase where the protagonist Obi Okonkwo is in love with Clara whois an 'Osu'.In fact the conflict in Obi's life commences whenthis truth is revealed to his Christian parents who vehementlyoppose this move. His whole village is against his marrying an"Osu" girl. Osu is an outcaste traditionally treated so by theIgbo tribes. Probably the real reason for this is hidden in themisty past or shrouded in mystery just as their many otherbeliefs were.Anne Tibble explains the significance of this practice inthe following manner:Presumably 'Osu' are outcastes because of somecrime or social misderneanour one of theirancestors has been guilty of. The villageelders attempt to identify themselves withrelentless 'national' laws of punishment:they the guardians of the community's morals,cannot trust to present mercy and forgive theinnocent descendant of an offender- They musthold to implacable logic of judgement.Simple human forgiveness would be thought weakand sliding.(Tibble pt in Cooke, p.125)

It is undoubtedly a clear case of social ostracism whichbrands a whole section of people, generations of a family asoutcaste, Although the concept of caste cannot be applied here asit is, it can be extended ta it. Achebe disapproves of this'caste' division within the same tribe. The fact is that such adistinction however limited it may be, exists among the tribes inNigeria.The scandalous side of this story is that Obi's parents whoare Christians and profess and preach equality, are mostinflexible in holding on to this discirrninatory practice. Thedeepseatedness of this prejudice in the minds of the people isthrown into bold relief by the reply phrased by Obi8s fatherIsaac to ObiFs first announcement of his affair with Clara, the'0su8 :I know Josiah Okeke very well,. . . . I know himand X know his wife.great Christian.He is a good man and aBut he is "OsuW, Naarnan,captain of the host of Syria, was a great manand honourable, he was also a mighty man ofvalour, but he was a leper ....." 0 s ~ is ~ ~ like leprosy in the minds of ourpeople, I beg of you, my son, not to bringthe mark of shame and leprosy into yourfamily.If you do, your children and yourchildren's children into the third and fourthgenerations will curse your memory ...(p. 121).

And his mother literally shattered the fervent hope henurtured by swearing that he would marry Clara only at the costof her life.Unable to bear this, Obi decided to repudiateClara. It was an astounding decision on Obi's part but itexpalins the pressure brought on him by his parents.There is a reference to HOsu88 the outcaste in Thinss Fall-Apart, where a dispute arose in the young Church of Mbanta aboutadmitting wOsu'l into the church.The new converts vehementlyoppose the idea of receiving 1rOsut8 into their midst. The Osu issaid to be a person set apart, a taboo forever, a slave whoalways carried the mark of his forbidden caste-long tangled dirtyhair.The collective and ancient wisdom of the clan could notprevail against the force and vigour of the new faiths preached.Though one may not insinuate there was 'caste'in thesocial structure of the Nigerian tribes, we are sure there wereoutcasteand the taboo was quite widely accepted and passionatelyadhered to.Anand and Achebe are equally aware of the overwhelmingpower that class system can command, given the capitalist mode ofproduction, distribution and consumption,The class divisionwhich is inevitable will spawn conflicts and struggles. The realproblem of the third world is that of the gap between the richand the poor. And the gap has been widening over the yearsas the inherent logic of capitalism dictates. The continued

pauperisation of the poor will escalate the conflict between therich and the poor classes. This conflict cannot last long.Anand and Achebe advocate different approaches to solvingthis impasse* Anand believes in action of 'bhaktif which meansselfless action for the betterment of society, Anand expectsevery oppressed individual and group to engage in affirmativeaction for social transformation or universal liberation. Hebelieves in a socialist, egalitarian, fraternal andcaring society to emerge from the embers of the vanishingsociety. The writer or the intellectual has an important roletoplay in exposing these contradictions, in clarifyingalternatives. He/she has to be the spokesperson or the 'fieryvoicef of the voiceless. In other words he has to play aprophetic role.Achebe too believes in the unique role of a writer orintellectual in the emerging social change. He/she acts as theprivotal point in the process of education and liberation.Therefore the writer becomes a teacher or educator according toAchebe. Achebe proposes struggle as the only way out of thePresent political and social muddle, He assigns a specific andimportant role to the new elite of ~igeria in this process ofliberation. They need to be reeducated and regenerated. Theyshould not be swallowed up in the rat-race for money and powerand popularity. The writer becomes the conscience of the people-They have to educate and pull up the drooping confidence and

2 09morale of the people. Struggles at all levels need to be carriedon if the ultimate triumph has to be a historical reality.Anand condemns caste discrimination as a pernicious,shameful and inhuman practice. Caste consciousness and casteismare so much a part of our cultural and religious heritage that itdevolves on every Indian particularly the victims of this systemto raise their voice of protest. Anandfs commitment to humanismshines through every one of his novels and underlies his powerfulindictment, in some of his novels, of the atrocities perpetratedagainst the untouchables in our country.Neither Anand nor Achebe is an obscurantist. They bothappreciate and welcome the revolutionary changes in life-style,modes of thinking and relating, introduced by the processes ofmodern scientific and technological development. ~achines areuseful and are in a way indispensable. However man should masterthe machines. Human values cannot be sacrificed, Machines aregood slaves, but bad masters. Therefore it is necessary to havemachines for the purpose of making progress, But human dignityand respect for the human being as a person should be at the coreof any programme for social change or liberation. Anand's andAchebe's ideas of social transformation seem to echo thefollowing words of Aime Cesaire in tiDiscourse on colonialism"-It is new society that we must create . . a society richwith all the productive power of modern times, warm with all thesharing of olden days.(Cited in Caspersz, 1992).

-I--------CMWIPUiER SEVENL l BERAT i ON FROM THE FEM i N l ST PERSPECTI YE---- . ------- - -----------------In the context of the ancient Indian classics, social andfamilial structures and customs, and cultural images and concepts,what is imperative today is a de-mythologising, demystifying,deromanticisingand in short, a radical overhauling of theunderstanding of Indian women. The conventional images totypify women are those of Sita and Savitri as perpetuated bythe ancient Indian classics and the one that equates her withttSakthi", the goddess Durga and Kali. The male-dominated,male-defined Indian society has laid down rules and norms,customs and rituals that make women inferior to men, forced tolive in self-exile and self-imprisonment, subjected to life-longservitude and self-sacrificing sub-ordination to man. She isconceived both as a goddess and property to be sold and bought.Both these concepts successfully continue to keep her out of themainstream.In Childhood a woman must be subject to herfather, in youth to her husband and when her lordis dead to her sons.independent.A woman must never be(Quoted in Krishnaswamy, 1984: 9)

This has been the traditional attitude to women in India asembodied in the epics and vedas and other ancient classics, giventhe official seal a of approbation by Manu, the Hindu law-giver.As several scholars and social commentators have pointed out, theworst tragedy of the Indian woman is the fact of the womenacquiescing in the conceptual framework, conforming to theseself-defeating and self-demeaning norms and images andinternalising them. In other words, the woman is a perfect foilto the chauvinist Indian male who wants her to be a paragon of thevirtues traditionally associated with her. She has to bepatience, love, purity, docility and gracefulness personified.Nevertheless, there is a silver lining in this dismalscenario and that is the voice of protest or revolt that is beingraised by groups of women in India as elsewhere in the world. Thewomen of pre-independence India or of Gandhi's struggle forfreedom sought to break out of their solitary confinement bymaking their presence felt in public life. Just as in theWestern hemisphere, in India too, women's education, franchiseand participation in public life and national self-determination,promoted and passionately advocated by Gandhiji, paved the wayfor the resurgence of Indian women. It should further be notedthat women's liberation movements and feminist approaches in artand literature have gained ground in the post-independence India.

of course Western ideals and practices that were disseminatedthrough Western education played a crucial role in preparing theground for such a revolutionary point of departure.The women's liberation movements or the feminists worked,or rather clamoured for the emancipation of women, not onsufferance but by right. The extent and the nature of thefreedom or emancipation demanded were the same as those of themen. In other words, they condemned subjugation anddiscrimination of women based on sex and demanded equality ofthe sexes. Both the early and contemporary feminists haveengaged in a radical re-appraisal of the role of women in allspheres of life and in the area of relationships between man andwoman in all national insitutions. While one should admit thepolitical and often polemical slant of the women's liberationmovements of the West and even those of India, we need not be tooapologetic about it. Pheextreme shades assumed by the feministphenomenon are common knowledge. Nevertheless, one should be ableto critically probe the historical and sociological reasons forsuch extreme developments, and appreciate the balance orequilibrium that is being achieved today by most exponents orspokespersons of feminism. The stigma attached to the lable of"feminism" is slowly being given the go-by, even as malechauvinism and the macho ideal are being frowned upon by writers.

It is very gratifying to note the emergence and ascendancyof a host of women novelists in India over the last four decades.Nay, what is more, a number of men writers have espoused thecause of women and have voiced their aspirations and yearningsfor freedom and equality. While novelists like Raja Rao, BhabaniBhattacharya, R.K. Narayan and Mulk Raj Anand manifest thesensibility towards women, they cannot be labelled as feminists.The women characters in their novels, at least some of them, havebeen drawn with such great care and tremendous sympathy, that onecannot fail to perceive the author's deliberate intent behindsuch portrayals.The image of the new Indian woman, a by-product of a moderncivilization began to exercise the minds of Indian writers. Thetraditional or mythic images such as Sita and Savitri orpativrata disappeared giving place to more enlightened andliberated types of women. The roles of women have changed in thefamily, in public life and in society at large. The novelists inIndia and Africa have been influenced by such developments andchanges and therefore they have tried to project either women intheir modern roles or educated or enlightened girls facing atrditional or conservative household or husband or society. Itis this latter dilemma that is frequently encountered in novels byIndian writers in recent times.

Mulk Raj Anand himself has successfully portrayed theconflict arising out of the imcompatibility between a woman'sindividuality and self-awareness and the traditional views of herhusband and her kinsfolks in his novel Gauri. The protagonist ofthis novel, Gauri, the first and probably the only femaleprotagonist of Anand, is a welcome and revolutionary departurefrom the novelistic tradition for him, as for many othercontemporary novelists.For S. C. Harrex, Gauri is "the modernMother Indiatf.Shantha Krishnaswamy in her comprehensive study titled TheWoman in Indian Enslish Fiction has the following to say aboutthis novel:Gauri breaks away from the established pattern ofsaved males and doomed females. At novel's endshe had been rejected by Panchi her husband, onthe standard Hindu charges of inauspiciousnessand impropriety, She acquires enoughself-assertion to take the road to the towntowards the hospital of the humanistic Dr,Mahindra. It is panchi who now stands doomed inthe slough of rejection and existential,loneliness, (Krishnasvamy 1984: 26)

Anand has, in his novel taken a bold stand on behalf ofmillions of Indian women tortured and hounded by unsympathetichusbands, crafty in-laws, fault-finding and censorious kith andkin and above all, by deepseated guilt-f eeling and self -accusingremorsefulness on the part of the woman, born out of centuriesof psychological subjugation and bombardment. Gauri by herattitude of mature revolt and defiance when the chips are down,delivers a lethal blow to the machismo ideals of a male-dominatedsociety. Gaurifs experiences as a daughter, a wife and anemployee are all marked, by a shattering sense of the futility ofexpecting her husband or the other males and females around herto vibrate with her predicament. Although Anand draws a parallelbetween the cow of the story and the meek cow that Gauri is henonetheless presents her as a modern day Sita, who is undauntedin the face of traumatic and humiliating experiences at the handsof an unsympathetic and money-minded Lakshmi, her mother. Heranger and resentment, although unexpressed, keep swelling to apoint when Gauri can no longer bear it. She has the courage towalk out of her husband and his egocentred world, into anuncertain future, but with a gritty determination to shape herfuture and that of her child to be barn.Anand focuses his attention and the reader's, on thefortunes, the stress and strain and the psychological and

emotional respones of Gauri. There is a very slow progression inher self-awareness. The ~auri of the first half of the novel isa perfect replica of her mythic counterparts. She is tolerant,self-suffering, self-sacrificing even to the extent of allowingherself to be sold as a concubine to a rich old merchant.suffers enormous injustices and exploitation at the domesticlevel. She almost allows herself meekly to be manipulated by hermother, uncle and otherg* Nevertheless, Anand has shown uncannyand keen interest in Gaurifs inner development, growth as apersan from being a near non-person.SheIt is on this growthprocess that Anand focuses his attention and ensures that shedevelops into a strong person endowed with moral courage,intellectul clarity and awarenss of the reality around.Marlene Fisher has this to say about Anand'seffectivemanner of expressing Gaurifs growth juxtaposed to Panchi's lackof it:The fullest fictional expression of Anand'sadvocacy of freedom for women is his novel, The- Old Woman and the Cow, published in 1960. Thisnarrative is convincing and effective, in part,because, the sympathy Anand evokes for youngGauri is not at the complete expense of herhusband Panchi. The latterfs inability to keep up

with his wife in her growth into selfhood is dueto his own immaturity, his blind, orthodox Hinduviews governing the relationship between husbandand wife and the pressures of earning alivelihood in a period of drought and famine. Anorphan brought up by his aunt Kesaro, Panchi ishard put to deal with Kesaro8s jealousy of Gaurior with an effort to retain her own hold over hernephew. (Fisher 1985: 99-100)Thus Gauri becomes a fascinating study of a woman intravail and despair, of how she faces the challenge of a moronicand sadistic husband and comes out of this crucible, chastened,purified, enlightened and emboldened. The weight of meaninglesstraditions and values that bends her down for years is cast offby Gauri, the moment she realizes her own inner potential andreserves. Her final act of departure from her household is thedeath-knell she rings, for all the customs, rituals andstructures, legitimised by religion and glorified by ancientliterature as absolute values, while they always militatedagainst basic human dignity, personhood and sanctity that inherein the woman as a human being. Anand questions the values offemale inferiority, subjugation and dependence underpinning someof the gruesome traditional practices such as sati and dowry,

outmoded marriage and family laws, inheritance rights andatrocities such as abortion, rape and many other. If Dr.Mahindra is his mouthpiece for proclaiming his revolutionarycounter-ideology, Gauri is his objective correlative, a symbol ofhis protest against social and sexual inequalities anddiscrimination. The following words of Shantha Krishnaswamy seemto mirror exactly what happens in the action of this novel,specially in the elaboration of the theme in and through the lifeof the central chracter:The awakening of the woman's consciousnessestablishes a new set of values in the fictivesystem. The typological experiences of thesewomen have constant elements like an abruptawakening, intense introspection, a stasis intime and action, and an abrupt ending with aconscious decision. The ending does not lead to aresolution of her problems, but the fictionalshaping of a very specific kind of crisis seenthrough her eyes is rewarding, for it leads toinner enrichment, a sense of exhilaration andvicarious achievement as we see her battlingthrough harsh reality. (Krishnasvamy 1984 vii)

Anand has successfully resolved the binary opposition, ofwoman as subject versus woman as object in this novel. While mostof the women characters, including Gauri of the earlier phase,function as objects, passive participants, it is only Gauri whoemerges as a subject of her own life and destiny. She is unableto stand the injustices heaped on her for too long. Thereforeshe decided for herself and becomes her own saviour withoutdepending on or expecting her husband or other male champions todefend her cause. She conducts her own defence and doesn't allowanyone else to interfere with or intervene in her life. AlthoughDr. Mahindra has played a conscientizing and ennobling role inher life, he is no more than a mentor or guide. It is Gauri whomakes the decision to quit her legitimately-wedded husband.Thus Anand emphatically portrays Gauri as a subject of herown destiny. Anand's intention of making the woman a subject isvery clearly observed in Gaurifs arbitrary and almost non-chalantexit from her husband's abode. Indirectly Anand has denouncedmale dominance, as a value that should be eschewed by Indiansociety. Anand richly deserves the encomium paid to this work byMeenakshi Mukherjee in these words.This novel is unique among Indian novels, inrejecting rather than extolling, the timehonoured womanly virtues of patience andsubmission. (Hukherjee 197,k 159)

In point of fact Anand has done much more by creating acharacter like Gauri and making her a ficitive prototype of amodern Indian woman of the village, whose institution as a woman,more than her education, had led her to a stand that changes theface of the women's situation in India and signals thechanged roles of women, not only in fiction but in reality.Anand, being a social realist and a committed artist, isable to perceive Gauri as, not just an individual radical orrevolutionary, but as a focal point between the growing andexpanding human consciousness and the fundamentalist andobscurantist walls and blocks that prevent human solidarity orstall progress. Anand believes in universal human solidarity andsalvation or liberation in which the woman has a crucial role toplay. As an intelligent student of social dynamics, societalchange and transformation Anand knows that such a process sansthe enlightened and self-determined woman is bound to be lopsidedand abortive. The woman can be and is a potent rallying pointfor all the forces of liberation. I£ continuous on-goingstruggle on all sides and at different levels is the only answerto today's multifarious societal problems and questions, thewoman can never be ruled out as an active agent and catalyst ofsocial transformation. She represents an oppressed section ofhumanity endowed with remarkable qualities of endurance,

acceptance and compassion, so very essential for humanliberation. Anandfs Gauri constitutes a singular impetus to theliberationist zest and trends found in the Indian sub-continentand its literature, and is a boon to activists and literarymen/women committed to the cause of liberation of all oppressedpeoples and of women in particular. While it cannot be labelledas a handbook for liberation activists, it is without doubt amagnificent clarion call of a committed novelist to hiscontemporaries not to ignore the silent half of ~ndia, the women,without whom the process of liberation can never succeed. It isa superfine novelistic affirmation of the crucial role that womencan play in actualising the dream of visionaries like Anand forthe total emancipation and real freedom of the teeming millionsof India.The situation of the women in African societies has been analtogether different story. As the colonial encounter upsetthe applecart of the traditional harmony and egalitarianpolitical, and social structure, the reality of women didundergo considerable change. The woman in the tribal societydid not suffer much discrimination or exploitation although herrole was more confined to the domestic world. W i t h the advent ofwestern education and western political and other structures,women had greater access to modern values and ideas. Areawakening of a sort must have taken place among ~frican women,

a new awareness of their capabilities and potential. What is ofimportance or relevance to us here is the perception of Acheberelating to women's role in his society. Achebe swomen,specially in the precolonial or colonial society are quiteindependent and mature, of course within the limited sphere ofthe home or the household or clan. Equality of the sexes amongthe tribals was never questioned or jeopardised. Functionally oroccupationally they are subordinate to the man, the husband orthe father. Nevertheless, none of the ugly forms of repressionand subjugation still extant in India or elsewhere is foundprevalent in any African society. In Achebe8s novels we arepresented with a picture of African womanhood that is quiteliberated, uninhibited, assertive and dignified. It is in hisnovels about independent Nigeria and her indigenous leaders thatAchebe has tried to portray some full-blooded women characters*If at a11 there is a feminist strand in Achebe's works, itis evident only in his latest novel Anthills of the Savannah.Here Achebe has created women, who are intelligent, reflective,radical and bold. The part played by eatr rice in the plot pndaction of the novel is quite significant, specially viewed fromthe context of ~frica's post-independent history and from thePerspective of feminism in African creative writings.

Achebe is quite critical of the inferior status accorded towomen in Nigeria's present scheme of things. Through subtleportrayals of the attitudes of the male characters to women andby employing the ironic and satiric mode in delineating thechauvinistic postures taken by the sycophantic group around thedictator, Achebe has laid bare the hidden sentiments of thedominant male vis-a vis their female companions. Achebe doesn'thesitate to expose the hypocrisy of even the highly educated,enlightened and motivated characters like Chris and Ikem, whereit concerns their attitudes to or relationships with women.Chris, in spite of his loudly-asserted passion for cleaning theaugean stables of the body politic of Kangan, is guilty of acondescending attitude to his fiancde Beatrice. The latter timeand again points to this weakness in his personality as also hisgeneralised reluctance to listen to others' opinions or to beopen to other alternatives, alternative subjects, alternativemotives or alternative audiences. In fact, it is only when Chrisis declared an enemy of the leader that he will begin to listento his fiancge Beatrice, to ~raimoh and his fellow taxidrivers, and to Emmanuel the student leader. Thus thereeducation of Chris, incorporates his outgrowing theunwillingness to accept and appreciate women's role inliberation.

There are many other instances of male chauvinistattitudes displayed by the chief characters of the novel. Thepresident-turned dictator, Sam's smug celebration of a cynicalrefernce to 'African Polygamy', the invasion of the Women'sHostel by soldiers quelling a student protest and the attemptedrape of a girl by a po&cp-officer even as Chris was fleeing Bassofor safety, are all so many cases in point to underscore theprevalent attitude of scorn and condescension towards thewomankind.Beatrice is an ambivalent symbol of female oppression onthe one hand and female resurgence and resilience on the other.She pensively recalls some of her childhood memories, such as,her given name Nwanyibuife meaning, "A female is also something",her mother's painful narratives of her father's ill-treatment andbeatings, and her father's angry out-burst whenever she behavedas a I1soldier-girln. Beatrice's past childhood experiences arereplete with images of male-superiority and male-dominance.Neverthelss, in the final stages of the novel she becomes theconcrete embodiment of Achebe's views on women's specific role inAfrica's reconstruction and the indispensable and unique partthat women should and can play in Africa's and Nigeria's searchfor a better political alternative. Beatrice becomes a lonewarrior for the rights of women and refuses to admit that she is

ambitious- She holds a brief for Ikem and Chris and defendstheir activities and posture. She champions their cause notalways for egotistic reasons. However, a streak of the femininefear psychosis is not altogether absent. Innes C.L. has made avery perceptive assessment of Beatrice's character andtypological role in this novel:She too has changed by the novel's end, so thatshe has become the focus of a new nucleus ofhope, providing a place and an intellecturaltesting ground for the discussions of Emmanuel.Captain Abdul, Braimoh, Elewa and even Agatha agroup significantly more varied in class andethnic origin than the gatherings to which, she,~hris and Ikem had formerly been accustomed. Ina metaphor carefully chosen to subvert its usualconnotations of gender role, eatr rice isdescribed as "a captain whose leadership wassharpened more and more by sensitivity to thepeculiar needs of her companyw.(mnes 1990: 158) (AS, P.229)The last chapter wherein the naming ritual of ElewaCsdaughter takes place is certainly a masterpiece of Achebe'screative imagination and artistic verve. eatr rice becomes the

village priestess combining in herself the mythological past androle of a modern prophetess. After the death of the triumvirate,it is her responsibility to symbolically enact the eschatologicaltimes in apocalyptic terms. Achebe skilfully weaves thisfantastic climax by introducing the female myth of Idemili andthe male myth or the prose-poem of Ikem, the lVHymn to the Sunn,the mythical version of the realistic aspects of the politicalsituation. The destructive and creative dimensions converge inBeatrice as she performs the naming ritual, assuming thetraditionally male prerogative and making the entire ceremony acolourful, collective, symbolic and effective sign of the birthof a new awakening, new hope, a new generation, a regenerationand reincarnation.Elewa's daughter is given a male name, Amaechina, whichmeans, "may-the-path-never-close". This group becomes thebiblical remnant in effect, anticipating the eschatologicalregeneration after death and destruction. Ikem and Chris becomepart of the process, a necessary and inevitable, vicarioussacrifice in the cause of the nation's metamorphosis. The wholeritual, the language, the conversation, the dialectics, thespirit and the people, are shot through with an extraordinarysense of solidarity, vibrancy, and above all hope. It is anamalgam, nay, a fusion, of the past and the present, the mythicaland the

ealistic, the male and the female, the Christian and theMohammedan creeds, a rare intimation of the eschatologicalreality.In this vision, the role of women is ernphasised andBeatrice, Elewa, Agatha and the elders together form the remnantwhich has its links with the past through Chris and Ikem and lookforward to the future as if in a continuum. The birth of a childand the presence of the young and the old, the men and women ofdifferent creeds and socio-econmic and educational backgroundsunite to create a new myth or image of human solidarity andongoing struggle with the women in the vanguard. The creativerondo, encapsulated in Achebe's line "Stories create peoplecreate stories" has been passed on by Ikem, the male story-tellerto Beatrice, the female story-teller. The torch of hope is beinghanded on to the people. The triumvirate is dead. The remnantrepresents not just one section of people, but all peoples whoare engaged in the struggle. The struggle is important; equallyimportant is the story-telling. Both must go hand in hand. Inthis process the role of the enlightened and committed women likeBeatrice becomes electrifying, imperative and crucial.Both Anand and Achebe lay great store by the liberationalpotential of the women, committed to the cause of social andpolitical emancipation. While neither specifies or explicitatesthe nature or dynamics of the would be struggle, they are both

positive about the direction it will take, its outcome, above allabout the role of women in the struggle.Anand focuses Qn theagony and the injustices experienced by a vast majority of Womenin India and voices their protest and demand for justice,redressal and rehabilitation. Most of his characters are silentsufferers, symbolic af the masses of women in India, who sufferignominy, humiliation, violence and marginalisation simplybecause they belong to the feminine gender.The gender-bias inIndian culture, religion, society, politics and even in law hasbeen imbibed by both men and women as a matter of course. Anandportrays it, in its naked reality, in the poignant tragedy 9fEaur i . Gauri triumphs in her moment ofdiscomfiture andostensible rebellion against the accepted norms of religion andSociety. Anand has given a superb artistic expression to hisvision of a free, liberated and self-determining womankind- Itis not only Anand0s dream but he projects it as the unarticulatedaspiration of millions of the oppressed and exploited warnen-Gauri stands for these awakening and questioning women, who evokesympathetic responses from creative artists like Anand, whodeclare themselves as committed to a new society where alldiscrimination and exploitation based on sex, race, caste, classor creed will be rooted out.

Achebe, when compared with Anand, appears to be a championof total emancipation of the African society in which the role ofwomen is crucial and strategic. Achebe stresses theirreplaceable service that women, specially educated women, canrender to the cause of social transformation. Achebe1s women,particularly in Anthills of the Savannah do appear to be victimsof a male-dominated political structure. Neverthelss, they arein the thick of the battle, as confidantes and one, a topnotchofficial with a measure of independence. The marginalisationoccurs notwithstanding the fact that the elite group at the topgoes through a process of disaffection, disillusion and eventualrebellion in the context of the president of the statemetamorphosing into a tyrant. eatr rice, for example, observesthe political trends and events, comments on the course ordirection that the country is taking and, in fact, critiquesevery move, plan and idea of Ikem and chris who are the top twoideologues reflecting and reflecting on the sad plight of themasses resulting from Sam's despotic rule.While Anandfs Gauri enacts a revolutionary and symbolicprotest against all conventions, Achebe's Beatrice gathers aroundher a remnant group and performs an apocalytic ritual repletewith gestures, symbols, words, myths and responses all indicativeof a nationwide movement for the emancipation of women from the

man-made yoke of obscruantism, and culture of silence andsubordination. While Anand expects individual women to revolt andexpress their indignation and frustration, Achebe weldsthe enlightened and battered women and galvanizes - theminto a collective force to make a dent in the male-citadel,nay, to rock the ship of the state and cleanse it of allundersirable people and ideas.Both these aspects are important. Individual realisationand conversion of the kind portrayed by Anand are necessaryhowever difficult it may be. The collective act of strugglingon a political platform with a well-thought out programme ofstrategies so admirably depicted by Achebe, is the other side ofthe coin of liberation. In short, liberation is a process thathas to be commenced both at the personal and collective levels.In other words, it is a process of re-education and regeneration,initiaed and operated by the people with the intellectual eliteplaying the key role of giving the movement, the thrust forward,the intellectual stamina and dynamism without which it may notsurvive till the last. Achebe's accent on the story-tellingaspect of the struggle supplies the latter dimension. It is thecollective consciouness, historic memory that uphold the saggingmorale and spirit of the people.Anand and Achebe have touched reality in the raw, each inhis own inimitable way and in the context of his own peculiay

national situation and cultural heritage. From a feminist angle,both Anand and Achebe have scored remarkable victories, as theirportrayals can serve as potent starting points for furtherelaborations in creative parlance, of a social reality, which isstill very depressing, mind-boggling and defying solutions.

ART AND COMMITMENT"Commitment1I understood in its broad moral and religiousconnotation was the underlying concept in Horace, Plato and~ristotle as each of these classical exponents, tried to definethe nature, extent and aims of literature in general or ofdifferent genres of literature. Spenser down to Dr. Johnsonin England spelt out the purpose or aim of writing in terms of aconcrete moral or spiritual or intellectual or behavioural changeto be achieved in human beings. Invariably every one of thesewriters emphasises the pragmatic view of art as a means toachieving either pleasure or instruction. According to M.H.Abrams, it is this manner of viewing art as an instrument forgetting something done and of judging its value according to itssuccess in achieving that aim, that has been the principalaesthetic attitude of the Western World from the time of Horaceto the eighteenth century. Dr. Johnson's following statementalmost approximates to the notion of commitment as understoodtoday. "It is a writer's duty to make the world better, andjustice is a virtue independent of time and place?(Raleigh, 1908: 16, 20-21JCommitment took on a social and political hue with theemergence of the Romantics burning with a passion for the dawn ofa new humanity and new society free from corruption and

injustice. They were poet-prophets steeped in the "politics ofvision". Being rooted in the mundane realities of existence theyenvisioned and proclaimed liberty and equality as ideals to becherished and fostered. The Victorian Age witnessed theemergence of a new literary genre - prose of thought perfected byCarlyle, Ruskin, Matthew Arnold and John Stuart Mill. TheVictorian novelists such as Dickens, Thackeray, Bronte and Mrs.Gaskell with their eloquent and vivid portrayal of contemporarysocial evils and iniquities allied to poverty and socialdisparity, were admired by even Marx. The political novel becamea powerful tool for expressing social commitment in the hands ofDisraeli, George Eliot and Trollope. The Victorian Age also sawthe growth of the ~eligion of Beauty and the aesthetic doctrineof laart for art8s saken.The Marxist writers' thinking is founded on two basicpostulates, both stated by Marx. The first, stated in Econtribution ta the Critique of political Economy, says:"Themode of production of material life conditions the generalprocess of social, political and intellectual life. It is notthe consciousness of men that determines their existence buttheir social existence determines their consciousness8~.. Thesecond constitutes the eleventh of the Theses on Feuerbach: 'Thephilosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways8the point however is to change it8.

Jean-Paul Sartrefs What is Literature? (1947) made avehement plea for "engagedl1, or committed literature. Sartrewrote of "titterature-engaggg' in the after math of the years ofGerman occupation in France, recapturing and reflecting thedisillusionment, indignation, despair and pessimism of a defeatednation.Sartre underscores in this treatise the socialresponsibility of the writer and demands that the writer must beat pains to discover the work within his unique historicalsituation.Commitment is a translation of the French word''engagementfB used by Sartre.The central theme of What isLiterature? is that the writer should propose, in each work, aconcrete liberation on the basis of a specific situation.Sartre being an Existentialist philosopher proclaimed manas freedom and regarded liberty as an integral feature af humancondition itself. He declares:The writer, a free man addressing freemen, has only onesubject - freedom.(Sartre, 1947: 46)For Sartre this preoccupation with freedom is not a mereattitude. It needs a political purpose. Literature must besubservient to a political cause,For him literature, truth,liberty and other human values are bound up in a kind ofprogramme.

This brings us to the current debate on the question ofpropaganda and literature. Accusation of propagandism is thrownat any writer taking the side of the poor and the downtrodden orspeaking on their behalf, no matter what forms or techniqueshe/she may employ. It cannot be denied that every writer has abelief or doctrine or a point of view which helshe is trying toput across through the particualr work of art. Does it mean thenthat he/she is trying to impose a point of view on the unwaryreader or advocating a specific ideology? To a large extentwriters are doing this in one way or another, according toseveral critics. But then this is what is expected of them afterall. Writing is an outcome of their commitment to a concept orcause with or without a particular political affiliation orprogramme,But those who equate 'propagandisml with commitment arelabouring under the notion that commitment is another form forthe political assault on the freedom of the writer engendered andengineered by the Marxists. Thus a sinister eft-wing plot toimpose on the artist hard fetters of doctrine is suspected bysuch critics. John Mander has reformulated the whole questionthus :. . . . But is there no more to be said on thesubject of commitment? Is not rather moreimplied in 'tcommitting onself" to a concept orcause than merely showing the flag whether red,

white or blue? Is it not in the first place,a moral rather than a directly politicalquestion? But is it not, also a question tobe asked of an artist's work rather than hislife? And could one not reverse the questionand ask whether, since every artist iscommitted to something (even if only to thesignificance of his own art), the idea of awholly uncommitted art is not a contradictionin terms?(Mander, 1981: 7)Thus commitment can be contra-distinguished from propagandaand accepted as a multi-faceted concept signifying not just apolitical stance but a moral responsibility of the writervis-a-vis his existential sitaution and his society. The writer isnot only committed to his belief or point of view or vision ofsociety but also to his art. Thus it becomes a two-foldcommitment. While propaganda in the right persepective is~ennissible and at times inevitable, one cannot by the same tokenassert that propaganda is necessarily conducive to greatliterature. What matters is the way in which a writer conveys hismessage: is it too overt and explicit or subtle andimperceptible? Ezekiel Mphahlele has this to Say regaxding theissue :

Propaganda is always to be with us. Therewill always be the passionate outcry againstinjustice, war, fascism, poverty etc. It willkeep coming at us, reminding us that man is aswicked as he is noble and that the massaudience out there is waiting to be stirred bypassionate word .... It was Brecht who said:' I have noticed that we frighten many peopleaway from our doctrines, because we appear tohave an answer to everything. Should we notin the interests of our propaganda, draw up alist of those problems that we considertotally unsolved?'(Brecht: Keunerareshichten)Indeed in great literature propaganda cannotbe easily separted from the way thought isconceived by the author and the manner inwhich he presents it.(Mphahlele : Villi)While it becomes obvious that commitment in literatureneed not lead to propaganda it may not be all too crudelyPropagandist if the writer can make his stand known withoutadvacating it openly. Nevertheless people tend to suspectpolitical commitment. The underlying fallacy in this general

attitude derives from the misplaced concept of politics as narrowor partisan loyalty to a party. This fear or misunderstanding isbased on a false dichotomy of 18politics1t from other humanactivities. As John Mander points out, Is... this is a heresypeculair to our age; it is not the traditional view!'(Mander 1963: 13)In Ancient Greece and in the Middle Ages there was not thisdividing line between politics and other areas of humanactivitity. Thus it follows that there is no criticism of life -and literature is in the Arnoldian sense "criticism of life" -that does not have both 'social' and 'politicalf implications.Therefore political commitment need not be misconstrued as aleft-wing plot to deprive writers of their freedom or to impose aparty line of thinking on innocent readers.It is well withinthe framework of a work of art arising out of a givensocio-political milieu and addressing specific issues confrontingcontemporary society.One will do well to remember in this context that contraryto what the so-called vulgar Marxists declare, both Marx andEngels took a highly complex view of literature, marked by asensitive response to literary works. Nkosi Lewis asserts:There was never a crudely reductionist view ofliterature which merely means reducing poem tothe political conditionsof its existence."In no sense" wrote Marx in the manuscripts

"does the writer regard his work as a meansH.They are an end in themselvesa. Neither isart reducible to ideology, although it enjoysa close coexistence with ideology. Artcontinually undermines the ideology of theauthor himself. This is what enabled Lenin tocall Tolstoy a ngreatw writer in spite of hisconnection with the landed Russian aristocracy."Indeed, art is so ideologically powerfuln,writes a latter day Marxist critic, TerryEagleton, "precisely because it isn't justHaving cleared this misapprehension and misplaced fear, thecrucial question of whether commitment of any artist must besought within the work itself or in his/her views about the work,has to be squarely faced. There are critics who favour the ideathat the writer's commitment should be sought in the work itselfand not in his other writings or pronouncements. There areothers who categorically maintain that in order to understand orassess the commitment of the writer it is useful and oftennecessary to know hisJher views on the work and on hislherPerception of commitment and literature in general.

In this connection it may be helpful to take a look at thepoetry and belief debate involving great literary luminaries likeT-SI Eliot and I.A. Richards. T,S. Eliot has formulated theproblem clearly in his essay "Goethe as the Sage" in thefollowing manner:The question is as to the place of ,ideasr inpoetry and as to any 'philosophyf or system ofbeliefs held by the poet. Does the poet holdan idea in the same way that a philosopherholds it; and, when he expresses a particularphilosophy in his poetry, should we be expectedto believe this philosophy or may welegitimately treat it merely as suitablefor a poem? And furthermore is the reader'sacceptance of the same philosophy a necessarycondition for his full appreciation of the poem?(Eliot, 1957 : 222)The first aspect of this question relates to the basichonesty or veracity of the writer, while the general opinionmaintains that no poet will commit to verses an idea in which hedoesn't believe, it is common knowledge that certain poets havemade such attempts at least in some poems.The second and probably the more crucial aspect of thisWestion is, if the reader should have faith in the doctrine or

elief system embodied in a poem or work or art in order toappreciate it fully. While numerous critics in the past were ofthe opinion that a corresponding belief on the part of the readerwas essential, the same is disputed given today's culture ofpluralism in the sphere of knowledge and belief. While Coleridgeadvocates a "willing suspension of disbeliefN, Matthew Arnoldargues for an objectless religion which can give us theemotional satisfaction without demanding the commitment.I.A. Richards in his Principles of LIterarv criticism.Science Poetrv, and Practical Criticism has posited two typesof knowledge or truth. He distinquishes between scientific truthwhich is empirically verifiable and the Ittruth" of poetry whichhe calls tlpseudo-statement". According to him the poem's worthis to be found in the nature of the right reponse to it. It canbe inferred from this that it is not what the writer says thatmakes it great but the manner in which he/she says it.Eliot's views on this question traversed a whole spectrumtill at last he settled for a very flexible and broad perspectiveincluding the possibility of poetic inspiration, theindispensability of religion to art and the extreme position ofconsidering doubt and uncertainty as a variety of belief.Between the two extremes of Mongomery ~elgion's "I likePoetry merely for what it has to sayu and of I.A. Richard's "1 likethe poetry because the poet has manipulated his material into

perfect art", T.S. Eliot has posited a middle position.He sawthe possibility of a continuous range of appreciations each ofwhich having limited validity. Eliot has remarked that 8tpoetryis not the assertion that something is true, but the making thattruth more fully real to us". Thus Eliot has indirectlycommented on the relationship between commitment and art orbelief and form. While belief or commitment need notdistortthe art form or expression, the formal side of the workenhances and enriches the content. Eliot in a sense touches thecore of commitment when he asserts that belief has infinitegradations from doubt to assent, concerns all activities of lifeat a given time, comprising thought, feeling and will. Hemoreover, hints at the intrinsic relationship that should existbetween commitment and art when he points out that this beliefsystem depends on the emotions of the reader and therefore amatter of sympathetic understanding, not of mere rationaldemonstrability, Here T.S. Eliot has instinctively arrived at asharp perception of the essence of art and its relationship ofmutual enrichment and transformation to commitment.It is in the light of this brief analysis of the debate onPoetry and belief that one should examine the premises andarguments of those who criticise committed art as being entirelycontent-oriented.

According to some critics commitment seems to be at oddswith modernism on the one hand and formalism on the other.Marxist critics have accused the modernists of being isolationistand defeatist despite their avowed espousal of the cause ofsociety in general. Lukacs has gone so Ear as to equate realismwith the forces of peace, and modernism with those of war in thepost-war world. He has paid a rich tribute to the greatbourgeois critical realists such as Anatole France, RomainRolland, Bernard Shaw, Theodore Dreiser, Heinrich and Thomas Mannfor their effective contribution to a progressive rearguardaction against the dominant forces of imperialism and war.Perhaps the more interesting literary wrangle that shouldengage our attention is the one between the avant-garde and thecommitted writers. The former have severely censured thecommitted writers as biased in favour of content and theme to thetotal neglect of art and form. With its insistence on the primacyof form it questions if the so-called committed art has a rightto call itself art.Several critics are inclined to agree with this view asthey find most committed writers, the ~arxists in particular, notinterested in literature as art. while there is some substance inthe above criticism, the fact that a considerable number ofMarxist writers and committed writers in general display keen

interest in art and form makes such a sweeping generalisationuntenable and unfounded. Moreover Marx and Engels have expressedthemselves very clearly on the autonomy of art and its potentialfor social transformation.The prejudice against all committed art seems to stem froma misplaced belief that literary commitment is the preserve ofthe Left. Matei Calinescu contradicts this position when heobserves :"The first advocates of the idea that writersshould commit themselves politically and usethe aesthetic means at their disposal for theachievement of a political goal wererepresentatives of reaction during the periodthat followed the French Revolution of 1789.(Calinesdu, 1982: 126)The strange irony of it all is that the same censoriouscritics not only accommodate but single out for exceptionaleulogy writers of the ~ightist line who are ultra-conservativeand even reactionary. The answer to this is not far to seek. Itis their ideological stance vis-a vis the Estern bloc and itssystem of Government that warps and distorts their criticalPerception. David Caute, expresses the same view when he asks:"Could it be that Sartre, rather than Camus,provides the whipping boy for nine out of ten

critics hostile to commitment, because,Sartrers commitment tended in one politicaldirection and Camus in another?"(Caute, 1971: 37)Brecht was by his own confession a committed writer, whoneverthelss respected his art and its inner dynamics.He waswedded to the concept of 81~itterature-engagt$11 and in factperfected this art by his deft, intelligent and innovativehandling of his artistic tools, forms or models.Thus Brechtprovides us with a model wherein the content and form orcommitment and art fuse into one whole, interlocked unit. Whilehis commitment or responsible writing is lent credibility andrespectibility by his artistic expression, the latter get apolished and perfected as a fit medium for committed writing.John Mander has not only paid an extraordinary tribute toBrechtfs commitment as an artist, but has moreover highlightedthe paramount value of an artist's handling of his medium inrelation to his content in the following words:... the biographical fact that Brecht never became a memberof the Communist Party does not help us to decide the importantand difficult question of how far Brecht realised his Marxistideology in his dramatic work. Brecht s commitment like that ofany other artist, must be sought in the work itself, not inBrechtfs views about his own work.(Mander, 1961: 13).

Likewise the real reason for ~olstoy's greatness, as G.Lukacs has it, has nothing to do with the eternal verities of thehuman condition, but to his having given coherent expression tothe world-view of the peasantry.Thus it becomes clear that any committed writer worth hisname does not have to depend for his credibility on props such ashis speeches, letters or lectures or other writings forvindicating his bona fides or honesty as a writer. One need notseek his/her ideology or belief outside his/her work. Insteadthe work of art itself bears sufficient testimony to hisauthenticity and commitment and carries indeaible marks of hiscreed as a writer and his attitude to art and aesthetics.Now we are in a better position to situate the third worldwriters vis-a-vis commitment or committed literature. First ofall it is imperative to remember that any literature emergingfrom a third world country is ipsa facto conditioned by theenvironment social political and cultural, peculiar to thatcountry. The overriding concern of the third world writers hasbeen with vindicating their own native culture and restoring itto a position of pre-eminence, autonomy and dignity. In otherwords, the committed writer of the third world wants to berecognised as a third world person and therefore strives toidentify himself with the most oppressed people of his country

and to be their spokesperson. In the words of Peter Nazareth,commitment for the third world writer "is to accept an identity,an identity with the wretched of the earth.. . (and) to determineto end all expolitation and oppressionw.It moreover can be perceived in Achebets cultural assertionand cultural reconstruction.Almost echoing Sartrets verdictabout a writer that HWillynilly he is involved in his time;impartiality is impossiblett, Diana Brydon says that the idea ofthe uncommitted writer, like that of the totally objectivescientist is a myth.world writers.Of course she is referring to the thirdWith this background knowledge of the nature of commitmentand its relationship to art and its scope and sweep we cometo the study of Anand and Achebe as committed artists of thethird world.While both these writers have the reputation ofbeing writers of nlitterature engagglt, they are also known aswriters of political engagement or of revolt or of dissent,Anand for one has been in the centre of a storm of controversyover the nature of his commitment and has been severelycrit icised and hostilely reviewed over the years by partisancritics and academics who charged him with tt~ropagandism".

Probably it is this trend among critics both Western and~ndian that has been the stimulus to Anandrs apologies includinghis work titled Fpoloay for Heroism. He has, besides, a score ofother articles and speeches that constitute in effect, Anand's'apologia pro vita sua'. More correctly this corpus of writingshould be termed as Anand's defence of his literary creed and hisWeltanschaaung. In Anand's Credo as a novelist the content orsensibility has the highest priority. According to severalcritics and in Anandrs own admission, he attaches greaterimportance to content than to form. Saros Cowasjee one of thebetter known and more objective critics and commentators of Anandhas this to say of Anand's creed as a novelist:Marxian dialectics, the social impulse is aswith the writers of the thirties, at the heartof his writings. A work of art, be it a novelor a painting or a play, is first of all asocial event. This explains why he givesmaximum emphasis to the duties of a novelist(and what a good novel should be), and verylittle to the tools at his disposal. In hisdozen or so articles concerned with the novel,he has to my knowledge only one comment anthe need fox a style. "Of course it is notenough to want to say something. Everthingdepends on how one says - how the imagination

of a writer can transform the variousrealities, inter-penetrate characters withinsight and connect the poetry and prose. Andcertainly there has to be some kind of styleq1(Creative writing is the Present crisisw inIndian Literature, VI, No.1, 1963, p.74).This is a half-hearted acceptance of theimportance of style, almost a concession,since there seems no way out of it. However,Anand seems to leave the impression thatneither style nor form is basically fundamentalto the novel. "What is the use" he wrote tome angrily, 'of keeping the form, the kerb andthe edge all right and destroy the bloodyhorse - Roy Campellfs phrase, not minet. Thisoutburst is not without its irony, for hisnovels are not formless nor is he a writerwithout style.(Cowas jee, 1976: 10)Cowasjee warns us against being taken in bythe specious arguments Anand advances in hisFnoloq for Heroism in disapproval ofpropaganda. At the same time he states that

Anand "is no facile propagandist; he is whatGeorge Orwell was, an expositor, a politicalnovelist, one who sees his characters and theiractions in relation to the social, economicand political upheavals of his timew.(Cowas jee, 1976: 11)Although Cowasjee himself employs considerable quotationsfrom Anand's non-fictional writings, letters and lectures, he isnot in favour of simplistically accepting his ideas and commentswithout critical scrutiny . ~lthough he discourages suchuncritical or unquestioning attitude, he is not averse to usingAnand's writings where necessary in order to clarify a point oraffirm an opinion. His own essays on Anand are studded with astring; of quotations from Anand1s essays and lectures. ButCowasjee is able to approach Anand's works of art with anextraordinary detachment and objectivity.S.C. Harrex takes an altogether different approach toAnand's works and particularly to the formal and technicalaspects of his fiction. He goes to the extent of asserting thata study of the formal and technical aspects of Anand's fictionnecesitates consideration of Anand's intentions, attitude andthemes. He states:

Anand explores aspects of the human conditionmainly Indian, from the point of view ofcertain assumptions; his stories, charactersand themes evolve out of the interactions ofthese assumptions with mirror images of "reallifen, his dramatization of these interactionsconstitutes a quest for a coherent world view.I would therefore postulate a closecorrelation between this quest for ideologicalstructure and his quest for the fictional formcompatible with his instincts and prejudicesas a writer. Whether the ideological pursuitinitiates or takes precedence over the formalpursuit (or vice-versa) is difficult todetermine though I suspect that in most of hisnovels Anand has taken the view that formshould be subservient to content.(Harrex, 1982: 142)Harrex offers the theory that for Anand both theideological pursuit of the socialist humanist restructuringand his own fictional pursuit of the appropriate form andtechnique are complementary aspects of one and the sameProcess. Harrex describes his standpoint or ethical base as

cosmopolitian-lndian, anti-Brahmin, this rather than other worldorientedand gives his ultimate form of fiction the name of thesocio-political messianic novel.Harrex moreover contends that there is often a fusion ormerger of Anand1s intentions as a writer and social reformer.He is able to achieve, probably consciously, a perfect unisonbetween the moral, social questions he is addressing and theformal technique of the narrative, so much so, one can't suspectthe commitment at both these levels. An examination of thestructure of his first novel Untouchable, does illustrate thispoint. The writer's basic problem must have been how toperceive and express experience from the untouchableslpoint ofview. As a socialist humanist his dilemma is: how to enter suchan alien, individual and caste consciousness? The final product,the novel, demonstrates beyond doubt Anand1s exquisite handlingof this two-fold problem in such a way that at both levelsAnandrs commitment is unmistakable. He has succeeded remarkablyin identifying, agencies and aspirations of the untouchables thatBakha is both an individual and type. His moving portrayal ofBakhals revolutions, resentment and dejection in the face ofpublic humiliation such as the slapping by the brahmin and thehigh caste woman's contemptuous flinging of bread, is a tributeto his mastery over form. He finds a congenial medium for his

social content or purpose in the technique ofstream-of-consciouness. It has enabled him to enterimperceptibly as it were into the inner and most intimaterecesses of Bakhars self-tortured, agonising and dehumanisingfeelings and above all his seething anger. He used this methodbecause he was convinced that "the application of this techniqueto the labyrinths and substrata of Indian mind could alonemetamorphose the inner realities of our soul".Anand has masterfully employed the method of interiormonologue in unravelling Bakha's unarticulated but intensefeelings and reactions in the face of indignities heaped on himjust because he is an untouchable.The scene where Bhakha is being insulted and slapped by acaste Hindu whom Bakha is supposed to have inadvertently touchedand defiled is a masterpiece of Anandrs craftmanship. He buuildsUp the cresando of Bakhafs discomfiture and embarrassment,confusion and anger through cleverly contrived incidents thatheighten Bakha's pathetic state and by nirroring his conflictingemotions and feelings now and again. As if to relieve themounting tension and to offset the overwhelmingly hostile scene,Anand introduces the tonga-wallah with a refreshing sense ofsympathy for the abused and ill-treated Bakha.The climax of the scene is yet to be. Anand is still toProbe the mind and inner feelings of Bakha who has barely managed

to bottle up his surging rage and to present a humble andrepentant face thus staving off any further abuses or physicalassault.Anand begins to probe the consciousness of Bakha atthis hour when his cup of woe and humiliation was overflowing:And in the smoky atmosphere of his mindarose dim ghosts of forms peopling the scenehe had been thro~gh.,..~~Why was all this?" heasked himself in the soundless speech of cellsreceiving and transmitting emotions, which washis usual way of communicating with himself."Why was all this fuss?I could have struck him'...been the high-caste peopleWhy was I so humble?I should havein the street.That man; That he should have hit me; My poorjelebis; I should haveeaten them. But whycouldn't I say something?. . . The slap on myface: But why couldn't I say something? ....The slap on my face; The coward: How he ranaway, like a dog with the tail between hislegs. The child: The liar: Let me come acrosshim one day. He knew I was being abused. Notone of them spoke for me. The cruel crowd;All of them abused, abused, abused. Why are we

always abused?.... They always abuse us.Because we are sweepers.Because we touchdung. They hate dung. I hate it too. That'swhy I came here.. . They don't mind touchingus, the Muhammadans and the Sahibs, It is onlythe Hindus, and the outcastes who are notsweepers. For them I'm a sweeper, s weeper- untouchable: untouchable: untouchable:That's the word: untouchable: I'm anuntouchable:(Untouchable : p. 56)Bakha has achieved a singular illumination as to the rootcause of all his iniquities. ggUntouchablew is the answer to hissoul-searching, tormenting question "Why all thisn. This singlepassage is an eloquent exposition of the reality ofUntouchability, its extent and intensity and the mute passivityof the majority who through their silence acquiesce in it. Theauthorial voice may be heard here and there, but every wordUttered has the area of authenticity and realism reflecting thegoings on in the mind of Bakha whose perception of his ownsituation has matured and crystallised, thanks to his sensitiveand intelligent nature.Bakha'sThe whole story evolves and progresses as the by-product ofinteraction with his neighbours and the continuousprocess of reflection and introspection that he is engaged in.

The realization of Bakhafs own inferior status and the injusticeof it has aroused the smouldering rage in him.His ownexperiences of maltreatment and exploitation and those of hisfellow-untouchables become so many experiments with the truth.The novelist not only allows the character of Bakha to blossomgradually but in the process, develops the story woven aroundBakhafs experiences and maturated as an individual untouchableand a type of the untouchables come of age.Anand has achieved a high degree of success in correlatingmoral, social questions to formal narrative problems. He has notonly succeeded supremely in identifying himself with the life andexperiences of the untouchables in India but in finding the mostappropriate medium to express these.There is a perfect fusionof Anand's view of the situation of the untouchables and hisattempt to artistically project it. In this, he has masterfullyemployed techniques such as the 'stream of consciousness~ and the'interior monologuef. He has moreover made the structure of thenovel taut by restricting the entire action of the novel to asingle day - a remarkable achievement for an Indian novelistwriting in the thirties. Anand himself calls his fictional form"poetic realismtt by which he meant a synthesis of the subjectiveformalism and social realism of the Western schools ofliterature, Anand could probably have cut out the last part madeup of three long and monotonous harangues on alternatives andstill have preserved the organic unity of the entire novel-

While Anand has skilfully and consciously avoided turning Bakhainto an intellectual abstraction, his obsession with societalchange or transformation has got the better of the artist in thefinal section of the novel.Nevertheless it must be admittedthat his fictional strategy in this novel and particularly hisstyle which is his own are a landmark in the history of Indianwriting in English particularly in the field of novel.William Walsh comments on the novel's content and style inthese words: His sharpest, best organised novel is untouchablewhich was very highly thought of by E.M. Forster. It is aninteresting combination of hard material, narrow specific themeand throbbing Shelleyan manner.(Walsh: p.7)The Bis Heart is another successful novel of Anand whereinhe has handled a theme probably hinted at in Untouchable andCoolie, It is the classical question of man or the machine thatfinds a fictional presentation in this novel. In other words,Anand is trying to grapple with issue of conflict betweentradition and modernity, a very real problem for India at thethreshold of an industrial and scientific era. Anand uses theterms '@the age of truth" and "the iron age1' to denote the twoeras.While Anand's purpose as a socialist humanist believingin modernisation and mechanization is quite obvious all throughthe novel, he hasn't sacrificed the character of the hero Ananta

or the form of the novel in the interest of propaganda. Alastair~iven his book titled, The meof Pity makes the followingcomment :Though the novel is undoubtedly propagandistit has a wide and humane scope, surveying theproblem - humanitarian, social, cultural,economic, political - which are inherent inthe radical changes which India has to undergoif the lot of the common people is to beimproved.(Niven A, 1978: p.81)While we can easily perceive Anand's own biases and pettheories voiced by the protagonist and the poet Puran BhagatSingh, we admire the manner in which Anand has carefully drawnthe main characters and the events which ultimately lead to theclimax. The didactical overtones of the debates featuring thecoppersmiths and their warring groups do not in any way detractfrom the powerful delineation of the closing scenes that hastenthe dramatic finale by heightening the tension and triggering acrisis of leadership. The sober ending that caps the dramaticand gripping action wherein AnantaJs mistress Janki is integratedinto the mainstream of struggling coppersmiths is a stroke ofgenius on Anandfs part. The sudden void created by Anantafs

death is more than compensated in the hint that the struggle willbe carried on by his comrades. The novel ends on a note of hopefor the future of the struggle of the workers against theexploitation of the employers eventually against the capitalistsystem geared to profit at the expense of the labour. Ananta whodies a martyr for the cause of the worker's unity and unionizing,epitomises Anand's stand for replacing the present capitalist,profit-oriented, power-mongering and elitist form of business andcommerce by a more humane, egalitarian, worker-oriented anddemocratic form of business and government. Anand perceives thenexus between the Government and the big buisness class andtherefore pleads for proletarian unity for over throwing such anoppressive and powerful system.While caste-discrimination is the central problem inUntouchable, the class-consciousness is at the heart of Coolie.The Bis Heart deals with both these problem but emphasises thetruth that the class is more powerful than caste and mayeventually relegate caste into the background. The novelunderscores the importance of the solidarity of labourers byexposing the lack of unity of workers and the forces thatundermine such a unity. Undergirding this discrimination andpolarisation is the conflict between tradition and modernity.

The divide between the two groups is so pronounced that anultimate resolution is not to be expected. Hence Anand makes theprotagonist undergo a martyr's death which signals the release ofongoing and invincible revolutionary zeal rooted in the life andethos of the labour class. Poet Bhagat Singh sums up this beliefof Anand in these words addressed to a heart-broken Janki:ll.. . . Perhaps you are right. Because mendon't really learn from speeches as much asthey learn from examples, Perhaps the life ofAnanta - I mean the way he lived may be agreater example for them than any words hecould have spoken. Why, they may even recallthe wise things he said to them now that he isdead. For what can be more persuasive thanthe death of a man who loved themtt.(Pp. 228-229)These words of Anand1s spokesman poet Bhagat ~ingh embodythe outlook of the author which is crystallised in the word'tbhaKti" meaning service of one's fellow human beings out ofselfless love. Anand believed this to be the foundation for aclassless, casteless, just and egalitarian society. The marvelis that Anand hasnft produced a political or moralistic tract ordocumentary to convey this philosophy. Rather he has created an

absorbing life-like story filled with living and credible peopleacting out a body-soul drama in a given socio-economic situationthat could be witnessed in any part of India in the thirties.And this he had done by narrowing down the action to thehappenings of a single day.G.S. Balarama Gupta sums up this unique harmony - of thepolitical vision and artistic commitment on the part of Anand inthe following manner in his essay IVAnandfs The Biq Heart" AstudyH :The conflict between the capitalists and thelabourers is a theme which could easily haveproduced a propagandist novel. But The BigHeart escapes this criticism not only becauseof Anand's intimate knowledge of the problems. he writes about - he himself is a descendantof coppersmiths - but also because there isperfect naturalness in what the variouscharacters say or do. It is a merit of novelthat there is a perfect integration betweenthe novelistfs philosophy of humanism and thenovel's artistic excellen~e.~~(Gupta in B.P.13, 43)

Anand may not have been as successful in mantaining thisbalance between his political creed and demands of an art form inhis other novels. Nevertheless an examination of one of hisother novels may be fruitful at this stage. In coolie Anand hasused a much wider canvas. Not content with one aspect of thespectrum of exploitation and discrimination in Indian society asin Untouchable, Anand has widened the horizons of his fictionalworld by introducing the theme of the consequence ofindutrialisation in the towns and cities and its impact on themiddle classes and the poor peasants in the villages. Munoo theinnocent and sprightly lad from the hills is made to go through aseries of chance contacts, accidents and circumstances, as aresult of a remorseless historical process. Although Anand haspeopled this novel with numerous good, benevolent, malicious,evil, and even comical characters, the focus is always on Munooand his response to the situations he is faced with.The tragedy of Munoots life, as, in fact it is of a majorityof the poor and the downtrodden, consists in his suffering anddeprivation despite his desire to ameliorate his lot and hisearnest efforts to realise his dream. He is an innocent victim,unaware of the hostile forces and structures he is pittedagainst. Although he is not discriminated on the ground ofcaste, as he is a Rajput, he is nonethelss tortured and hounded

out sirnply because he is indigent and seeks to eke out anexistence by clutching at whatever job may be offered to him. Hearrives at the folllowing inference after some painfulexperiences and humiliations:..-. there seem to be only two kinds of people in theworld. Caste did not matter. I am a Xshatriya and I am poor,and Verma, a Brahmin, is a servant boy, a menial because he ispoor. No, caste does not matter. The babus are like thesahib-logs, and all servants look alike: there must only be twokinds of people in the world: the rich and the paor.Coolie's(P-69)single most striking feature is the treatment ofMunoo with his variegated experiences and existential situationstill his premature death. It is Munoo who provides the thematicunity in the novel.It is through the sieve of his adolescentmind that Anand analyses and criticises the world of thecapitalists. While Anand exposes the foibles, psychoses,machinations and inadequacies of the ambitious middle C~SSPeople, the bourgeoisie and the white bureaucrats, he displaystremendous sympathy, compassion and concern when he deals withMunoo and the working classes. Anand's technique of expressingthe general and the universal through a careful portrayal of theparticular has paid him rich dividends in this novel. Almost all

the characters of the novel, including Munoo are meticulouslydrawn and individualised, still the reader can't fail torealise that each of these characters typifies a group or class.As Jack Lindsay avers, this novel has been well-conceived andexcellently structured till the point when the adbortive strikein the mill takes place. With the advent of Mrs ~ainwaring thetight structure and the absorbing narrative sf the novel, nayeven the theme and message seem to suffer a setback. This phaseof the story lacks the organic quality which we perceive in theother parts of the novel.The language and style of Anand is consistent with histheme and fictional objective. The manner of narrative beingpicaresque, the style and language are extremely relevant. Oneinstance of Anandfs capacity for adapting the tempo and rhythm ofhis prose is where the narration is attuned to the varying speedOf- the train suggestive of the urban and rural scenes thatare passed. Even the abusive language and the swear words ofdifferent characters do not jar as they sound natural in themouths of the respective characters. Although Anand does notalways exercise artistic restraint in the use of such 'uncivil'language, he has struck the right measure in this novel. In factthe artistic value of this work is immensely enhanced by thestyle and language that Anand has masterfully contrived andemployed. Anand adapts and modulates his language to suit

different characters and situations thus providing a raciness toit. A word about the conclusion of this novel may not be out ofplace. Anand subjects his protagonist to an agonised deathcaused by tuberculosis. He is a victim of fate andcircumstances. Munoo seems to succumb to his fate without even asemblance of a fight. This ending seems a logical outcome of thepassive self-suffering character that Munoo is. However, wefeel, as C.D. Narasimhaiah and Saros Cowasjee have declared, thatAnand contradicts himself by legitimizing the fatalistic view oflife and by allowing much good to go waste. C.D. ~arasimhaiahhas observed:In the circumstances sheer survival must be looked upon asa triumph of the spirit, the very will to live must be reckonedas strength.(~arasimhaiah 1969: p. 119)The author, however, seems to have a difficulty aboutresolving the riddle of the life of Munoo endowed withirrepressible zest for life and for the good things in life.Anand can not consciously advocate a meek submission orresignation to the so-called fate, given his refutation ofdoctrines like fate and Karma. Nevertheless he finds himself ina tight spot as to the ending of the novel. There is a pervading

sense of hopelessness and despair looming large in the finalscenes. The smouldering ember of revolt and ambition in Munoocould have been creatively used by the writer to spark off othercurrents of revolutionary fervour geared to the toppling of theoppressive system that is built on cut-throat competition,profiteering and cash nexus. The lust for life in Munoo, sparksof which are occasionally revealed in his musings and reactions,amounts in the ultimate analysis, to a desire for liberation,personal and communal, physical, material and spiritual. In anotherwise well-constructed and beautifully designed novel, theway Munoo ends up strikes a discordant note. One is tempted tosay, Anand has missed out the prophetic under-current that couldhave heightened the narrative verve and enhanced the personal anduniversal value of the theme of the novel.These three novels have been singled out for investigatingthe relationship between Anand the humanist and Anand the artist,as these novels, more than others highlight both these aspects inan abundant measure. The social motive or theory is the solidrock on which the fictional matrix of these novels revolves.Moreover, it is in these three novels that Anand has notconsciously allowed himself to be dominated or swept off the feetby his theory or ideology, The structure and the fictionalstrategies employed by Anand in these three novels have a

dialectical or mutually enriching and transforming relationshipto the content or sensibility, powerfully expressed by Anand.William Walsh while finding fault with his habit of preachingremarks :But when his imagination burns and the dross of propagandais consumed, as in Untouchable, Coolie and The Biq Heart (1945)there is no doubt that he is a novelist of considerable power.(Walsh: p.7)It is no mean achievement on the part of Anand that despitehis personal involvement in the topics or problems he isanalysing, he has been able to maintain that measure ofdetachment that makes for a successful novel, probably because,most of his novels are concerned with people not of his own casteor class. All said and done, it has to be admitted that wherethis artistic detachment or objectivity deserts him and hiscompassion for his characters who are all victims at some level,gets the better of him, his plots are loose, narrativemonotonous and language and style artificial or far-fetched.Chinua Achebe has time and again declared that he considersthe restoration of African 'dignity' and ,self-respectf as his aswell as what ought to be every African writerrs responsibility.In his essay, "The Role of the Writer in a New Nation1@, Achebesays :

.... that African people did not hear ofculture for the first time from Europeans,that their societies were not mindless butfrequently had a philosophy of great depth andvalue, and beauty, that they had poetry, andabove all they had dignity. It is thisdignity that many African people all but lostduring the colonial period and it is this thatthey must now regain.(Achebe, 1964: p. 158)Thus Achebe by his own conscious choice has committedhimself to convey to his people "What happenedtt and "what theylostn. In other words he has tremendous respect for the past ashe is deeply involved, in his peple8s present reality and itstransformation. However Achebe insists that a novelist must dothis "by showing in human terms what happened to them". AndNkosi Lewis in his book entitled Tasks and Masks says that Achebemeans to do it through a social reconstruction of the past innovels which deal with recognisable people in recognisable humansituation.Achebe has styled himself a politcal writer. And he hasdefined his politics as universal human comunication acrossracial and cultural boundaries as a means of fostering respect

for all people.True to this definition Achebe has addressedhimself in all his novels to clearing the channels ofcommunication by removing the misconceptions and misinformationsin the minds not only of Nigerians but also of others regardingthe precolonial past of ~igeria and how they lost it in theirencounter with the Europeans. With his characteristic racinesshe asserts:The writer can tell the people where the rainbegan to beat them. After all the writer'sduty is not to beat this morningrs headline intopicality, it is to explore in depths thehuman condition. In Africa he cannot performthis task unless he has a proper sense ofhistory. He should moreover be concerned withthe question of human values.(Achebe, 1964: p. 158)f--'Achebe believes in educating the people. He terms thewriter a teacher.Therefore the writer has to be committed tohis task. The task becomes all the more difficult as the legacyleft behind by the whites, together with the positive gains tothe country, has done untold harm in engendering in the minds ofthe people self-defeating and self-negating values and complexes.In other words if Africa is viewed as the negation of Europe one

could imagine the magnitude of psychological harm perpetrated bythe colonial masters during the colonial regime and afterwards.Achebe is no starry-eyed romantic. He is aware that he andhis fellow writers are up against a very complex situation.is convinced that their colonial past with all its gruesome andbitter memories is not altogether devoid of brighter moments.Nor for that matter is the history of the Nigerian people beforethe colonial period one long ,technicolour idyllf.HeHe warnsfellow African writers against the temptation to select in theirwriting only those facts which flatter them.He further addsthat "it's not the writer's personal integrity as an artist thatis involved, but the credibility of the world he is attempting torecreatet1. Achebe maintains that Ifany serious ~frican writer whowants to plead the cause of the past must not only be God'sadvocate, he must also do duty for the devilu.While Achebe'ssole purpose in all his five novels iswithout doubt an analysis of the Igbo historical past whichencompasses the precolonial, colonial and post-colonial orpre-independence and post-independence days, his choice ormaterial, organisation and treatment of it, his narrativetechniques and characterization differ from novel to novel. Hisfirst novel ~hinqs Fall Apart presents a view of the Igbo tribein Umuofia with its daily ritual of work and play, its religious

ites and its own administrative set up. Okonkwo is the centralcharacter through whose vicissitudes, strengths, and weakenessesAchebe examines the internal cohesion and harmony of the Igbosociety showing signs of exhaustion and internal disintegration,The fortunes of the tribe seem to rise and fall with Okonkwo ashe is portrayed as the representative and key figure of theentire community.The first part of the novel reveals the composite pictureof traditional Igbo life cut off from any outside or foreigninfluences. It is a self-sufficient, harmonious, self-enclosedsociety not brooking any threat, to its internal cohesion. Thereis virtually no plot as such in the sense of a well-knit causeand effect structure in this part. There is no major conflictconfronting the protagonist except the minor day to day problems.It is only in the last chapter of the first part that there issome attempt to create a major problem leading to a crisis. Thatis Okonkwofs exile as a punishment for accidentally killing atribesman. And it is only at this stage that we come across thefirst encounter between this closed but ordered Igbo society andthe twin foreign forces of Christianity and the British colonialrule,The llplotless" nature of the narrative of the first parthas made a lot of critics point to the structural weakness of the

novel. According to Gerald Moore this structural flaw is theconsequence of Achebets introduction of several digressionsremoving the reader from Okonkwo: anthropological background andexplanations, substories and several forms of old traditions.ene edict Chiaka Njoku however takes exception to this criticism:One of the points made by critics of thenovel is that it is structurally weak becausemany of its main events turn upon chancerather than by design. True, great literaturehas design, where one set of action leads toanother and leaves nothing to chance. But thesober reality is that Achebe seems to haveovercome this problem by his masterful controlof the narrative voice. Thinss Fall Apart istold in third person by a third personnarrator, not by an omniscient being who actsas a God capable of being in many places atthe same time, knowing the Igbo past,nineteenth century world view and the future,able to penetrate into the psyche of everycharacter and capable of creating andmotivating other characters by his

infallibility. But Achebe's story is narratedby a seemingly wise and compassionate andsympathetic elder, who is ably conversantwith Igbo worldview, philosophy and culture.He is aware of the past and is cognizant ofthe intrusion of Christianity and Europeancultures, which are making "Things Fall Apartw.(Njoku, B. C. , 1984: pp. 16-17)Invoking the Igbo cultural and social background Achebe hasmade a liberal but judicious use of the village meetings apermanent feature of the Igbo social organisation and of musicand the big drum or the gong which played a significant role inthe communal drama. The eqwuwu, the Igbo traditional cult wasused to settle disputes within the community, thereby ensuringorder, tranquillity and solidarity. Achebe has taken pains tobring out the role played by the communal drama and the eswuwuin the daily rituals of the Igbos.Ancestral worship signified by eswuwu, respect for theelders and dead relations and place of importance and eminencegiven to the doyens of the community are all hoary traditionsrecreated artistically by Achebe. The local meetings which Achebehas sought to introduce into the action of the novel are notonly foci of major decisions but contain veritable gems of

literature. Igbo idioms abound in these meetings and poetry andrhetoric blend to refine the speech constructs. In fact,Achebe1s merit lies in the dynamic building up of events anddetails that go to enrich the narrative.As oral traditions were part of the everyday life of thepeople, Achebe strews his novels with oral forms such as stories,folktales, proverbs, anecdotes and songs. They play asignificant role in shaping the values and beliefs, actions andbehaviours of the people, For Achebe, as for many modern Nigerianwriters, traditional forms, rituals and ceremonies provide aframe work for expressing reality. Achebe uses folk tales asaffording answers to certain practical needs in inculcating moraland social values. Ekwefi's tale of how the tortoise broke itsshell conveys the moral of the evil consequences of greed andselfishness and the value of sharing. Again Uchendu, Okonkwo'suncle, suggests a strategy for confronting the whiteman by meansof a folk-lore, Like the mother kite, who warned her offspringto keep away from the silent duckling, the villagers must avoidand fear the silent white stranger.Achebe draws his tales and stories from the traditionalrepertoire and renders them with consummate skill. The tales areintegral to the framework of the novel and become a part of hisnarrative technique.

The other oral form which Achebe introduces is the folksong. He has certainly blazed a trail in integrating folk-songsinto the novels, basically a western form, without violatingconventional norms. One of the gripping songs appears in thisnovel, the song sung by Ikemefuna as he is led to be slaughtered.The song is part of a game which he often played as a little boy.It is left untranslated as if to heighten its evocative power andthe suspense and the pathos of the scene:Eze, elina, elina ! SalaEze ilikwa yaIkwaba akva oligholiEbe Danda nechi ezeEbe uzuzu nete egwu SalaHe sang it in his mind and walked to its beat. If the songended on his right foot his mother was alive. If it ended an hisleft, she was dead. No, not dead, but ill. It ended on theright. She was alive and well. He sang the song again and itended on the left. But the second time he did not count. The firstvoice gets to Chukwu or God's house. That was a favourite sayingOf children. Ikemefuna felt like a child once more. It must bethought of going home to his mother.

The liberal but skilful use of stories and folklore in hisnovels can be seen in proper perspective if one understands thegreat importance Achebe attached to the function of imaginationin the context of liberal-mindedness and materialistic outlook ofthe modern dispensation. ~ccording to him, there is animperative need for the ttcreative energy of storiestt in theprocess of diagnosing Nigeria's social ills and cultural malaiseand application of the corrective. Itpeople create stories createpeople; or rather, stories create people create storiesw.Achebefs prose in this novel has been described aswleisurelylt and ltstatelylt. Probably Achebe's emotional andintellectual detachment from the issues he describes anddramatizes in the novel has influenced his style of writing. Thefact is, even the restrained pace of his style enables thenovelist to move the story forward with a sense of inevitability.It is Achebe's supreme craftmanship that has enabled him tosustain the ironic mode of narrating all through, even to theextent of toning down or completely veiling the intensity of thelife the novel evokes through a casual approach and leisurelystyle. G.D. Killam points out:The novel is in fact a structure ofironies-irony of the tragic kind which showsan exceptional man see his best hopes and

achievement destroyed through an inexorableflow of events which he is powerless torestrain, tragic irony suggested and supportedby a carefully integrated pattern of minorironies throughout the work - the accidentalshooting which brings about his exile, theirony of the appeal of Christianity to Nwoye,Okonkwo's first born in whom he placed hishopes, the irony contained in the persistentcomment by Okonkwo that his daughter Ezinmaought to have been born a male child.(Killam: 1975, Pp. 32-33)It should be stated to Achebe1s credit as a novelist thathe never once deviates from his central purpose of presentingforthrightly the clash of ideological beliefs and culturaltraditions between the two systems and pointing out unambiguouslythat the basic problem is the de facto divergence and disparityin terms of ideas and attitudes between the two sets of people.The image of the "iron horsett (bicycle) as used by Obierika inhis matter-of-fact narration of the story of the advent of theBritish administrators and missionaries serves to throw intorelief the two disparate worlds, these two categories of peoplebelong to. Even the casual and matter-of-fact manner ofannouncing the descent of the British missionaries,administrators and traders on the peaceful and self-sufficient

Igbo society is characteristic of Achebe's artistic approach. Hethus maintains a low key in terms of his narrative style in orderto forcefully bring out the conflict which is volcanic in itsemegence and subsequent manifestations.,*;- -- --"""."The characters in the novel are real and credible.central character, Okonkwo, displays inexhaustible energy andoptimism although plagued by a fear of failing in life like hisfather. He is highly individualistic but epitomizes the viewsand aspirations the entire community. ambitious,expansive, self-willed and self-opinionated and stronglyentrenched in the traditional beliefs of his people. It is thislack of a broad vision that finally brings about his own doom andsignifies the crumbling of the foundations of the Igbo society atthe impact of new doctrines, new structures, new government andnew ways of trade and commerce. He is in one sense a pre-eminentsymbol and embodiment of the Urnuofia community which races to itsdislocation and downfall as a result of its own internalinadequacies evidenced by disruptive trends and polarizationbased on some irrational rules and customs. That was acentrifugal impulse challenging the very idea of order. After allOkonkwo, his valour as a fighter, his wealth and his influencenotwithstanding, becomes a target of attack that comes in theform of a protest current that refuses to accept his physicalpower as the ultimate power granting stability to society. Thewhiteman could not have succeeded as they did if theseThe

disintegrating trends were not already discernible in the clan.Okonkwo was unable to understand or accept the writings on thewall forcefully signalled by his son Nwouye's desertion to thenew religion. His ultimate decision to commit suicide need notbe construed as an act of cowardice or aimlessness. His actionproceeds from a profound sense of loss of traditional values ascrystallised in his Kinsmen's betrayal of him. In other wordshe is not prepared to live an alien in his own land. There is acertain aura of pride and invincibility even about hisself-destruction.Prafulla C. Kar, says that Okonkwo, .... becomes a victimboth of an error of judgement and an unknown deterministic forceoperaring from outside.(Gowda; 1983 : P. 154)Okonkwofs friend Obierika has been portrayed by Achebe asa counterpoint to the former. He almost becomes Achebe'sspokesman in his realistic conception of the change overtakingAfrica, his philosophical approach to different issues and soberbut critical comments on customs, events and behaviour. Hissagacity is obvious when he comments on the irruption of thewhite administrators and missionaries into the Igbo heartland:The White man is very clever. He came quietlyand peacefully with his religion. We were

amused at his foolishness and allowed him tostay. Now he has won our brothers and ourclan can no longer act like one. He has puta knife on the thing that held us togetherand we have fallen apart. (PO 160)Achebe's third novel Arrow of God depictsthe state of shock and confusion experiencedby an Igbo clan living in Umuaro under theinescapable impact of the colonial religion,administration and trade. While ThingsFallApart and this novel have a similar backgroundof the Igbo people's daily routine, religiouspractices, rituals, festivals, and othercolourful celebrations, the situation is quitedifferent as the colonial power is we11entrenched in African soil with itsconcomitant erosion of the tribe's powercentres, It is clear that these two worlds orstructures are locked in an acrimonioustussle for supremacy. Hence this novel cannotbe called in any strict sense a continuationof Thinas Fall Anart, Moreover the protagonistsof the two novels have nothing in common.Achebe himself has endorsed this view in hisinterview in African Writers Talkins:

It is the same area - the supportingbackground and scenery are the same. I amwriting about the same people. But the storyitself is not - in fact I see it as the exactopposite. Ezulu the chief character in AOG isa different kind of man from Okonkwo.... Hesees the value of change and therefore hisreaction to Europe is completely differentfrom Okonkwols. He is ready to come to termswith it - up to a point - except where hisdignity is involved. This he could notaccept, he is very proud. So you see it isreally the other side of the coin, and thetragedy is that they come to the same stickyend.(Duerden and Pieterse: 1978, P.17)The situation gets complicated as Achebe introduces a thirdforce in the form of African missionaries who are converts to theWhite men's religion. The conflict in this group arises over themethod of proselytising and preaching, and advocating extremeintolerant approach and the other a less extreme form ofPeaceful, coexistence. Achebe allows these three groups eachwith its own intragroup conflict to interact. A series of

incidents occur, the Okperi war, Oduche's imprisoning the sacredpython and the whipping of the second son of Ezeulu by the Whiteman. These incidents further compound the already strainedrelations between the three worlds.In Ezeulu's own life there are a number of incidents which,beginning with his imprisonment by Winterbottom for no culpablefault of his, conspire to pit him against the entire community asa lonely adversary who is finally driven mad when his son Obikadies after performing as Ogbazulobodo. Achebe has masterfullyinterwoven these different strands and fashioned a plot that isquite well structured and relentlessly moving to the climax,In Ezeueluts character and behaviour Achebe had made a veryincisive analysis of power and power equations in the Igbo clan.It is his power-consciousness that blinds his eyes to see thetotal inhumanity and illegality of not announcing the New YamFestival. He contrives, to some extent, of course egged on byhis god Ulu, the final catastrophe. And Achebe uses hisinimitable ironic touch to give the climax a twist that is asbreath-taking as it is cataclysmic for the clan. The ChristianChurch's announcement of the festival and the immunity offered bythem draws the clansmen in large numbers. The Igbo saying thatno one ever won a judgement against his clan provides theenigmatic answer. In this case, the clan wins over its haughty

ut well-meaning high priest, no doubt. But at what cost? Thewhole cultural, social and religious fabric is lost in the exodusof clan's people to the Whiternen's religion. The last few linesof Achebe are masterstrokes, providing as it were the punchline tothe tragedy not merely of a single individual, but of a wholepeople, a civilization:If this was so then Ulu had chosen adangerous time to uphold his wisdom. Indestroying his priest, he had also broughtdisaster on himself like the lizard in thefable who ruined his mother's funeral by hisown hand.... the Christian harvest which tookplace a few days after Obika's death saw morepeople than even Goodcountry could havedreamed. In his extremity many an Umuaro manhad sent his son with a yam or two to offerto the new religion and to bring back thepromised immunity. Thereafter any yam thatwas harvested in the man's field washarvested in the name of the son.(Pp. 262-263)

Achebe has used a number of proverbs and stories in thenarrative that highlights the simmering tension between the oldreligion and the new and the eventual collapse of the old orderand the ascendancy of the new dispensation. This is one of thedevices by which Achebe sustains the ironic mode and underlinesthe ambiguous and ambivalent trend of the Umuaro dynamics. Inand through all these events, Achebe drives home his perceptionof the colonial encounter that a series of errors of judgementcommitted by the colonial rulers eventually culminated in thetotal rupture between the two realities. The worst evil thatbefell the clan, according to Achebe, is the supplanting of thespiritual and communitarian values of this society by materialismof the worst kind. Achebe regrets this loss more than all theothers.The criticism that Achebe's handling of the scenes devotedto Winterbottom amounts to a polemic attack on the Europeansfstyle of administering and their attitudes to the natives, seemsto be a little misplaced. While Achebe does strain to point outthe lack of apprehension of the Igbo customs on the part of theBritish rulers, it should be mentioned that he does not fail tolay the blame on the natives' squarely. Achebe endorses thetheory of Ezeulu who tells Akwebue that the white man has beenshown the way to their house and given a place to sit on. In

other words, the European colonisers could not make any headway intheir scheme to subjugate the Africans unless they are helped bythe Africans themselves.~rtistically this book is a masterpiece as Achebe seems torealize his goal as a writer to the full. He proceeded toinstruct through an imaginative recreation of the Igbo world soonafter the take-over by the British. The psychological trauma ofthe characters and social and cultural convulsions suffered bythe clan while encountering a hostile foreign power areclinically investigated by the author and convincingly presentedby evocation of the Igbo past in all its manifold forms,multifarious activities and rituals, not without its flaws andpeccadilloes. It is a marvellous portrayal of the diverse wayspower operates vis-a-vis the colonised. Through his judiciousand controlled use of ironies and ambiguities, Achebe hassucceeded in making "the tragic pathetic, the inevitableaccidental, the final relativeu.A glance through Achebe's latest novel Anthills ef &&Savannah published in 1987 impresses one by its extreme economy,novelty of narrative technique and of course the topicality ofits story and theme. It is a subtle indictment of the politicalsystem operating in Nigeria. The fictional locale is Kongan abackward West African state that replicates the politicalscenario of contemporary Nigeria. The satiric mode that Achebehas so appropriately adopted has paid him rich dividends.

This novel more than its predecessors, affirms ChinuaAchebefs predilection for the themes of power in humanrelationships and its pluriforrn manifestations, aberration,corruption, abuses and their tragic consequences. Hisperspective in all his novels seems to pertain to the conceptand functions of power in the context of the colonial oppressionof the natives in Nigeria. In Thinss Fall A~art and Arrow of GodAchebe has depicted the collapse and virtual liquidation ofnative power structures and the mounting of colonial power.Lonaer && Ease is a critique of the handling or mishandling ofpower by the native elite. & Man a of Peowle is a sadcommentary on the fiasco that was the first Republic. And now itis Anthills of && Savannah, a cryptic and crisp account of thevagaries and misadventures of the military junta in power.It is the story of three intimate but "connectedM friendsSam (His Excellency), Christopher Oriko (the Ninister forInformation) and Ikem Osidi (the editor of the NationalGazette) .The Sandhurst trained army officer Sam transmutes himselfinto a dictator overnight. The cabinet consists of officious andslavish sycophants who are lawyers, professors, universitygraduates, in short, the hope of the African nation. Fearappears to be the inseparable twin of power. The powerless fear"powerw while those in power fear losing it.

Chris, the commissioner for Information, turnssour andbecomes a critic of the projects and policies of His Excellency.Ikem, the editor of the National Gazette is wedded to action andturns anti-authority.He begins to articulate an alternativepolitical creed, I8a new radicalismtt. Ikem done to death by thegovernment attains a martyr's glory.Sam His Excellency iskidnapped and killed and his dead body abandoned even without afuneral. Chris gets killed in a bizarre incident wherein he wasrescuing a girl from a molesting cop.It is, however, Beatrice a spinster and a highly placedbureaucrat with an Honours Degreee in English literature from theLondon University, who comprehends the nuances of the presentsituation better than others.She is clearsighted and quiteobjective in her judgement. She becomes Achebef s image of thenew woman of Africa in the throes of becoming a modern nation.SheIbegins to articulate and synthesise their experiences by writing.She inhabits simultaneously the world of modern politics and thatof ancient myths.She is not a model woman in the sense of afeminist, but moulded after the Igbo tradition of "the villagepriestess who prophesies when her divinity rides hern.eatr riceputs on the mantle of a prophetess when she utters these words.It is on now and I see trouble building up for us. It willget to Ikem first. No joking, Chris, he will be the precursor to

make straight the way. But after him it will be you. We are allin it Ikem, you, me and even Himw.(Anthills, Pp. 114-115)The triumvirate is eliminated and only Beatrice is left toguide the future generation.Achebe is quite surely back again on his avowed goal ofreeducating and reorienting the intelligentsia, the writers andthe artists. They are at the centre as keepers and decoders ofideology. It is their responsibility to replace old hegemonicpattern with power structures more consistent with liberationand equality. This presupposes identification with thedisinherited masses. They should get to the core of theindigenous culture. Innes C.L. observes in her book ChinuaAchebe :The way in which the future role of women may be glimpsedis characteristic of Achebe; the intellectual debate is abondonedand the past is recovered.(Innes: 1990, P. 176)The myth of Idemili is abruptly introduced into thenarrative; Achebe elaborates the myth of Idemili thus:Idernili comes down as a pillar of water linking the earthand heaven. peop1e.i.n various parts of Africa worshipped her inthe form of "a dry stick". To this emblem of the Daughter ofAlmighty, any rich and powerful man to come and offer sacrifices

and seek blessing in order to gain nadmission into the powerfulhierarchy Of ozo". He must be accompanied as mediator, by hisdaughter or the daughter of some Kinsman. If Idenili finds theaspirant unfit, she sends death to smite him. If she approves ofthe plea Ithe will be alive in three years' time". The myth of1demili is an expression of the divine disapproval of man's"unquenchable thirst to sit in authority on his fellownt (p.104)This, according to some critics, is a very crucial momentin the novel when there is a shift from the realistic mode to themythic and AchebeCs prose is vested with poetic and oracularquality. The result seems to be to dismantle unilateral powerand the notion of 81centrality11.Even as Achebe condemns concentration of power, he feelsthe need for diffusion of narrative or narrational authority inthe text. He is so democratic that he desists from prescribingone way of seeing or one formulaic alternative. Hence he adoptsthe technique of multiple participant points of view. The authorintervenes occasionally. Thus the narration shifts from one tothe other signifying that the insignia of power should alsorotate without vesting or concentrating in one individual. Thereader is faced with a revolving narrational pattern andtherefore it is for him to reconstruct the text.The leader of the Abazonian delegation to meet theExcellency narrates the parables of the "tortoise and theleopardw. his parable serves as a metaphor for the framework of

the novel underlining the need for struggle even in the face of aformidable opposition to checkmate power.Achebe'sThe leopard is always on the lookout to killthe tortoise. When the latter is about to diehe pleads with his killer to give him a fewminutes for mentally preparing himself fordeath. The leopard granted the innocuous lastwish of the tortoise. The tortoise began tobehave crazily, scratching with hands and feetand throwing sand furiously in all directions.The leopard asked thetortoise what hiscurious behaviour meant. Pat came the reply:. . . . even after If m dead I would want anyonepassing by this spot to say, yes, a fellow andhis match struggled here1'(p.128)motif of the imperative of struggle is embodiedand forcefully expressed in this parable.As a matter of factthe final phases of the novel underscore the necessity and theinevitability of struggle, if justice, liberation and equalityhave to be realised.Another novelty of Achebe is when he makes Beatrice acceptAgatha a born-again Christian, and a "prophetess of Jehovaw and

when she herself is transformed into prophetess, a reincarnationof the priestess and prophetess of the hills and caves.motif of the apocalypse and eschatology isThewrit large rightthrough the novel. This has been a persistent strand in Achebefsfiction going by the title of the first two novels.Achebe has drawn with his own magic touch the culminatingincident where Beatrice comes forward to sponsor, conduct anddirect the naming ceremony of the child of Ikem and Elewa,ordinarily a man's privilege.The baby girl is given a boy'sname, Amaechina, meaning "May-the-path-never-close".this manner fathers the child.exclaims :Beatrice inThe overawed uncle of Elewa"...in you young people our world has met its matchu(P. 227)Thus Achebe articulates his own response to the problem,artistically told in the novel, particularly through the myth ofIdemili, of, who is to provide the alternative.The women nowleft with the charge of carrying on the task, so valiantly begunby Ikem, start the process in the naming ceremony. While Acheberefrains from naming the alternative, he certainly highlights theunique role of the women in the process of lire-formn, of societyaround its locore of reality". The celebration that follows is atribute to the potentialities of a community in solidarity not

only among themselves, but with the past precursors androad-makers, a people who can consciously transcend factors thatdivide and regroup to engage in our ongoing struggle.More than his multiple narrative technique, which iscertainly a laudable device to make his theme more powerful isthe mythic dimension of metamorphosis and reincarnation. Achebebecomes a master story-teller. One is reminded of the ringingline of Achebe "Stories create people create storiestt. The mythsand legends provide meaning and continuity amidst the anarchy ofpower. Innes, C.L. concludes her comprehensive study of thisnovel with the following words:... 'As Achebe writes in one of his recentessays: 'stories create people create storiesf.It is this universal "creative rondow that weexperience as the characters inform and areinformed by the myths and lengends which providemeaning and continuity amidst the anarchy ofpower. And for the novelist, it seems toprovide hope also. The despair at the end of .A mana the people has been replaced by abelief in some kind of renewal through anengagement with ,the oppressed. "At such

critical moments new versions of old storiesor entirely fresh ones tend to be brought intobeing to mediate the changes and sometimes toconsecrate opportunistic defections into morehonourable rites of passagef. In the story thepeople's 'struggle will stand reincarnatedbefore us; - like the scorched anthills of theSavannah, both as a warning and promise.(Innes C. L, : 2990, Pp. 184-185)The greatest merit of this novel is Achebef s evolving of anew fictional form dictated by the exigency of the theme of thenovel. Thus a transformative relationship is established betweenthe text and the ideology thereby allowing the reader to have aninsight into the ordinarily concealed aspects of ideology,This innovative exercise consists in the multipleprotagonism and the concomitant multiple narrational techniquewith everyone of the central characters taking on the narrativerole by turns. The message that his novel method conveys isAchebe's and in general people's disenchantment with the colonialmodel of governance which is unilateral and authoritarian aswell as the leader-centred despostic military regimes of theneo-colonial variety. Achebe has turned into an ideologue andtherefore evaluates and censures certain developments in ~igeriain the last two decades.

While Achebe1s attempt at providing re-education andregeneration to the intellectuals of present day Nigeria hasn'tbeen very convincing, he has certainly achieved a fantastic featin enriching his art by incorporating African myth and legend ina novel of contemporary politics, In other words, his strengthin this novel lies in his belief in story and its variousexpressions in myth, legend, parable and folk-tale, It is apioneering experiment that will stand the test of time as a modelfor relevant fiction in the context of not only Africansocio-political milieu but that of any third world country.It may be fruitful at this stage to compare these twowriters with reference to their mode of expressing their beliefsor stand point through the medium of the novel. While Anandand Achebe are committed to radical change of social structures,there are shades of variation of perception and point of view.The peculair individual, religious, educational, cultural andexperimental background of each writer accounts for this.Achebe has had his share of alienation as he grew up in anexclusively Christian milieu as his parents were converts ofChristianity and his father himself was a missionary. In Nigeirathose days the distinction between the natives and the Christianconverts was clear cut in terms of their style of life,habitstliving quarters, spiritual practices and even culture.

~ecessarily, as it is obvious to us, there was a degree ofalienataion that Achebe experienced from his own cultural roots,history and heritage. It is Achebef s unique merit that he hasovercome the enormous handicap and has on top of that acquirednot only valuable knowledge and insights in terms of Igbo historyand culture but a philosophical approach supported by ascientific, analytical mind.Anand by his own admission is a rationalist not believingin any established religion or a personal God. For him Iuman isthe measure of all thingstf as the Greek dictum goes, He hassummed up his credo as, "1 believe in manut. He formulated hisphilosophical system under the influence of Greek philosophy andmodern Western Philosophers. Nevertheless his comprehensivehistorical humanism reflects the influence of Karl Marxrstheories and hypotheses. Anand has no hesitation in declaringthat he has no faith in Gad and that he has no respect for thesocial customs and insitutions that oppress man in the name ofreligion, or caste or creed, He advocates a brand of humanismthat upholds the dignity and centrality of man historicallyconditioned and culturally circumscribed. He is not in love withman in the abstract but the human being in his precise historicaland existential context. In other words he is for comprehensivehistorical humanism. He is a humanist cozing love for the man inthe street.

Despite an alienated education in the West Anand has succeededin retaining a basic respect for his culture and people. All hisnovels and other writings demonstrate the deep interest he hascultivated in Indian history, culture, heritage andsocio-political situation. One finds a similar trait in Achebefspersonality. Both these writers deserve all praise for aconsistent involvement in the political and social upheavals anddevelopments of their countries. Achebets oeuvre is an eloquenttestimony to this unassailable pride in his countryrs past, itsphilosophy, poetry and dignity. Achebe and Anand have aremarkable grasp over their national history, culture andcontemporary problems. Achebefs re-creation of the Nigeria ahundred years ago is a veritable treat to any reader and offers arich multispangled panorama of the Igbo land, its people,customs, rituals, beliefs and folklore. Anand's commitment to theoppressed sons and daughters of India during and after thecolonial regime is so intense and overwhelming that his portrayalof culture, customs and institutions is, though colourful, not ofsuch epic dimension. While Achebe is committed to expose to theworld the glorious rituals and beliefs and thus bring out theessential antinomy between their world and the colonial world,Anand ruthlessly undercuts the British regime and exposes itschinks and fatal flaws.

Achebe as a novelist could not admit any dichotomy betweenart and social commitment. He however made a distinction betweenpure art and applied art and qualifies his own as applied art.Art and education, which in his concept of an aritist's role,need not be mutually exclusive. He insists that llsocial protestis not antithetical to art and that the best craftsmen are notthose who have turned their backs to the social problems of theirtime. For the African, 'the task of re-education andre-generationr, is by far more important than the bogus and idletheory of art for art's sake",Anand's(Madubuike in BW : 1974, 67).views on art or on his use of the novel as aliterary medium are available. Nevertheless it becomesdifficult to construct a coherent view of his literary creedgiven the fragmentary statements made by Anand, passim, in hiswritings and the gap between his statement and enactment.Achebe'sconcept of art, though mentioned in an equally scantymeasure, Can be constructed from his works in a very convincingmanner. Achebe is reputed to be a conscious artist and mastercraftsman, linguistically and materially equal to his task.One has only to glance through his novels from Shinus pall.- to Anthills of the Savannah to realise the almosteffortless and easy manner in which he usesthe art form for

producing convincing portrayals of the Igbo clansmen, be it intheir primitive egalitarianism and pristine glory or in theundivided social fabric being torn by divisive forces within andwithout or in the sense of self-defeat and discomfiture broughton by the leaders of the new independent Nigeria. The Igborituals, customs, beliefs, social and religious institutions thatAchebe so magnificently recreates conjure up the magic world ofthe Igbo clan in Things Fall Apart and in The Arrow of God-Achebefs way of recreating the Igbo past and heritage is sonatural that one need not be an Igbo to appreciate this rich andcolourful world. Of course, Achebe adopts different techniquesby which he is able to accomplish his task with an uncannyadowtness. He introduces into the narrative the folk language,the folk tales, myths, symbols, songs and proverbs that form apattern in the whole narrative. The plot sometimes appears weakor loose in structure probably because of the manifold events andincidents that Achebe piles up in order to make the story moretrue to life. Nevertheless it should be mentioned that his plotsare well-wrought with every event or incident moving the actionforward to a crisis or climax.Anandfs strength as an artist lies in his remarkablecommand over the language which he is able to manipulate. Thefluency of Anand is just proverbial. In novels like Coolie. Two

Leaves and 2 Bud and the Biq Heart, Anand has recreated the worldp-of the protagonists and the environments, be it rural or urbanwith such minute details of colour, sound, tone and atmosphere,that one wonders if he was an eye witness of all these scenes orevents. His descriptive style is sharp, rnelliffuous, meticulousand captivating.His style achieves the cutting edge when hewields his punitive pen to flay the colonial masters for theirinsolence and vanity as in Two Leaves and a Bud.While Achebe1s English is structurally faultless, he feelsfree to innovate structures by infusing Igbo cultural patternsinto the English linguistic structure.He transliterates theimagistic, symbolical and metaphorical views of the people of hiscountry into a foregn idiom. This is not to say his English isfaulty or that he is unconsciously influenced by the linguisticpatterns of his mother tongue. Without destroying the stru~turalpatterns of the English language, Achebe is creating a newEnglish, full of vitality and freshness, ~adubuike says in hisessay, "Achebe's Ideas on Literatures":The linguistic originality of Achebe, the pleasures hislanguage gives us when we read him, all derive from the effectiveand efficient use of ~gbo verbal style which is so evident in hiswritings.(Madtrbuike in Black World: 1974, 67)

Even Achebefs use of pidgin in novels like & of thePeople and Anthills of Savannah becomes a positive quality in himas Achebefs purpose seems to be only to convey the rhythm of thelanguage. And the reader does not have to continuously work toget meaning from context.Anand hardly innovates with his language. Hedoes notintroduce new linguistic structures. But there is a certainplasticity of his language which enables him to create thelanguage or idiom suited to the particular character or thespecific situation. He has been found fault with for using ~indior Punjabi words or expressions specially in conversations. Thereis also an abundance of swear words which although,are natural inthe mouths of the speakers sound offensive when repeatedly used.Some critics justify Anandfs use of the swear words and phrasesas suggestive of the situation and characters indulging in them.Nevertheless one can not legitimise a habitual use of suchoffensive expessions by a writer of the calibre of Anand. Anoverdose of even a good technique can vitiate anotherwise-well-written narative. Anandfs occasional display ofmetaphorical style and rhetoric gives one the proof of the masterwho is behind it. For instance, in the following passage froma Bils Heart Anand handles the language with a lyrical touch:

The fact about water like time is that it willflow; it may get choked up with the rubbishand debris of broken banks; it may be arrestedin stagnant pools for long years; but it willbegin to flow again as soon as the sky poursdown its blessings to make up for what theother elements have sucked up; and it willkeep flowing; now slowly, now like a rushingstream,(The Big Heart: p. 15)C.D. Narasimhaiah has pointed out that in contrast to theabove passage, Anand has overdone his rhetoric and it vitiatesthe portrait of Ananta, the protagonist in The Bis Heart. Thewriter ends by piling up the abstract adjectives to the neglectof the concrete:But all the moral condemnation of himself andothers and his attainment of the splendrousheights above the spurts of sulphurous regretsin him, did not prevent him from succumbing tothe abysses of delivery in the volcanoes belowthe stomach.(The Big Heart)C.D. Narasimahaiah further remarks that Anand at timesoffends by exuding sentimentality in his language, as forexample, in a sentence like this:

The incarcerated sorrow wellled up in hiseyes, the saliva gathered in his throat, andthe whole of his fluid nature slipped acrossthe rocks of principles and the drifts ofideas wept over all the languages, he spokeand understood, and flooded across the cheeksand his beard in hot scalding tears.(The Big Heart)It is when Anand the artist is overpowered by an onrush ofhis sensibility or the social impulse that he commits mistakes ofbecoming excessively sentimental or gushy and of packing too muchemotion into words and phrases or heightening the effect bypiling up adjectives. In fact there are numerous places whereAnand delights the reader by employing the right word or phraseor expression to highlight the action or emotion that isdepicted. He is further guilty of repeating expressions to thepoint of exasperation in a bid to reproduce sounds.It is from this perspective that Achebe who has his sightset on his goal as a novelist, comes across to us as a selfdisciplined artist and craftsman. Where Anand fails as aconsequence of his inability to restrain the flow of his fertileimagination or to hammer his raw material into an artistic whole,Achebe has his grip unrelawed over his creative mind even when

the story or theme he is treating is intrinsic to his worldvision or his stand vis-a vis the refashioning of the Africanstate.All said and done, Anand is predominantly a novelist ofcharacter, character as shaped by environment and strength ofwill. The individual, for Anand, is in the process of change orevaluation. He is not a plaything of the gods or Karma or anysort of predeterministic or mechanistic force. Life experiencesand confrontation of reality shape him, his personality. True tothis theory Anand has created characters who are drawn from reallife and from his intimate experience of such people in his life.After placing his Bakhas, Munoos, Gangus, Bikhus and Anantas insituations hostile to the destiny of society, Anand probes theirconsciousness at different levels. It is thus that his plotsevolve and create the type of catharsis that Anand as a novelistexpects to produce; compassion or karuna which is expiationthrough art.Anandfs success with character delineation is certainly of ahigh order. ~ost of his characters are convincing, real, and fitinto his pattern of the inter-relationship between art andvision, content and form.Achebe's characters, specially his protagonists such asOkonkwo, Ezeulu, Obi and Odili are really life-size charactersgiven the content of the pre-colonial or post colonial African or

~igerian predicament. Achebe does develop his stories and buildup his plots by allowing his central characters to interact amongthemselves, with their environment and with their fellow humanbeings. Nevertheless it must be said to the credit of Achebethat he maintains an emotional detachment from his charactersthat is extraordianry. Anand gets involved in his charactersand rightly so, but is loath to distance himself from them, thusinterfering with their individual development in some of hisnovels. Where he is able to maintain a posture of a detachedobserver his success is unprecedented. Certainly his delineationof Munoo, Bakha and Gauri is convincing and realistic as theomniscient author's interference is kept to the minimum. Thecharacterization of Ananta on the other hand is hampered becauseof Anand's frequent intrusions and sermonizing through him.Both Anand and Achebe are in the habit of intruding intothe narrative in order to preach or comment or probeconsciousne~s and events. While Achebeys authorial voice ismodukted or disguised by means of distancing techniques employedby him, Anand tends to be at times all too visible andrecognizable, through the prophetic frenzy of the tone of thespeeches.Althusser has struck the key note of this tantalizinglycomplex but inevitable relationship between form and ideology inthe following words in his book en in and ~hilosophvt

. . . . the peculiarity of art is to make ussee, make us perceive, make us feel somethingwhich alludes to reality ... What art makesus see is the ideology from which it is born,in which it bathes, from which it detachesitself as art and to which it alludes.(Althusser: 1971, Pp. 203-204. )Looked at from this perspective of a dialectical,transformative relationship between art and sensibility, Achebecomes through as a near perfect model while Anand, shorn of someof his glaring inconsistencies and imperfections, passes muster.

In the foregoing chapters we have sought to discover theliberationist outlook or impulse as manifested by both Anand andAchebe in their fictional works.For this purpose we selectedsix novels of Anand and all the five novels written by Achebetill date. The study has followed a logic and dynamic of itsown. After stating the hypothesis or the problem in the firstchapter, the study proceeds to examine the different contours ofthe problem by examining the artistic merits of the novelists andby analysing the techniques and methods by which they strive toachieve a perfect marriage between their political or socialcreed and literary aims. There is no pretension however that asatisfactory solution to the problem posed is found. Butcertainly both these writers provide space and scope for alibterationist interpretation and extrapolation in terms of thetype of fiction, novelistic techniques and themes. In otherwords, we are trying to define "litterature engaggw or politicalor protest novel in the context of today's third world situation."Commitmentt1 or 'Tommitted Writers" are terms used to connotewriters or writings with a social justice thrust. Liberation,being a more comprehensive term, implies commitment. As aConsequence, the question of the relationship of art tocommitment in the works of Anand and Achebe assumes great

importance. The classical pitfall of propagandism anddidacticism is to be consciously avoided by a committed writer ifhe has to be credible as an artist.Therefore we have examined both Anand and Achebe and theirworks of art from these criteria. To start with, we haveprovided a comprehensive review of almost all the literatureavailable on these writers in the introductory chapter. Scholarsboth Indian and foreign have written critical commentaries onAnandfs novels and merits as a writer. The foreign critics ingeneral are more positive and constructive, although they boldlypoint out his weaknesses and limitations as a writer. SomeIndian scholars and critics display sharper insight into Anandrspersonality and cultural background and therefore their analysesof individual novels are more revealing, enlightening andenhancing. On the other hand, there are Indian critics who havetaken it upon themselves to castigate and lambast Anand byexposing and exaggerating his stylistic deviations and inparticular his propagandist slant. However, there have been quitea few champions of Anand who have striven to exculpate Anand ofsuch gross or deliberate psopagandism and to defend him againstcaptious critics or overcensorious scholars who have passedstrictures on Anand's flaws as a writer. All said and done,Anandfs fluency and range as a powerful wielder of the Englishlanguage, his consistent and earnest pleas for eradication ofglaring inequalities, injustices and other social evils in India,

and his all-pervasive commitment stand out, And thus his narrowcanvas of characters specially the heroes and even the limitedconceptual framework and occasional propagandist forays areliable to be overlooked. His humanism has not degenerated intocorny sentimentalism or melodrama, thanks to his intellectual andphilosophic formation and convictions. The novles sigled out forcompact structure and well-knit plot are Untouchable. Coolie, TheBis Heart and Gauri.The last one has been hailed as afore-runner of feminist fiction in India.Achebe has had a more favourable and constructive review ascompared with Anand.Achebe has been complimented for his rangeof the English language, the creative variation he is capable ofand the manner in which he is able to innovate techniques.Hehas been hailed as a committed writer who has never sacrificedhis art for the sake of his convictions.is dominant theme hasbeen variously described as reconstruction of the Igbo past, asthe glorification of the tribe'straditions, conventions andbeliefs, as a critique of the misdeeds or the failure of thepresent day elite leaders to deliver the goods, as an open-endedexamination of the tragic consequences of the rapid change ofPower equations in Africa and as a study of the moral conflictthat surfaced in the wake of modernization and westernization.Some critics have been quick to point out that Achebers attack,albeit subtle, on the white colonialists and their allegedoppression and chicanery is not quite justifiable.It must be

orne in mind that Achebe has time and again affirmed that thecolonial past is not one of unrelieved gloom or series ofmisdeeds. Almost all the critics seem to agree that Achebersnostalgic retrospection into the Igbo history, is not prompted bya tendency to romanticize the past but by a desire to transformthe present in the light of the past. Achebe's latest novelAnthills of the Savannah is acclaimed as a pioneering andtrail blazing novel that uncterscores Achebefs predilection for thesubject or theme of power and its various manifestations andconstitutes an excellent demonstration of the power of storiesand story-telling and their interpretation.The purpose of this thesis is spelt out at this juncture.It emerges from the various critical studies that Anandadvocates, as a remedy to the social and economic ills and evilsthat afflict ~ndian society, personal self-awareness, compassianand bhakti and yoga. On the other hand Achebe's answerto the tragic consequences of colonial intrusion or thecatastrophic misrule of the native intelligentsia, is ongoingstruggle, self-sacrificing and people-centred leadership of theeducated elite.The specific purpose of this study is stated to be to probethe liberationist interpretation of the themes and stories of thenovels of both Anand and Achebe, Both are committed to the cause

of freedom of their countrymen.political vision.In other words, they have aAs enlightened thinkers with a well-thought-out weltanschauung, they are aware of the futility of anyreformist approach to transform society. Therefore they hint ata liberationist approach to transform structures. Achebe in hisinsistence on struggles of the masses animated by an enlightenedand committed leadership and Anand in his impassioned plea forsustained impatience, anger and discontent with the status quo onthe part of the victims of oppressions, and compassion and loveon the part of all.The abstract of the chapters is furnished at this stage.It is a very brief statement of what is going to be discussed inthe proceeding chapters.Having stated the scope and purpose of the thesis, we go onto furnish the conceptual framework necessary for this study inthe second chapter. The key concept of liberation is sought tobe contextualized and defined in this chapter.The termliberation, has come to be used largely in the context of socialinjustice and unjust and opppressive social and politicalstructures.While social justice was, for long, a term thatadequately expressed the massive injustice that marked society,it has been found lately in the context of third world, ati inAmerican, African and ~sian countries, that liberation is a morecomprehensive term that adequately captures the oppressive natureof society and the aspirations for emancipation af the victims.

The term wliberation" posits man as the subject of his owndestiny and history.Liberation as a universal aspiration of all oppressedpeoples, has found cultural and literary expression in all thirdworld countries, including India. Indian models of liberation ofold were culture specific and confined to particular groups orsections of society such as the higher echelons incaste-hierarchy-Withdrawals to solitude for pursuit ofphilosophic or religious studies and renunciation of mundane orworldly attachments or pleasures were two such expressions. Todayit is the religiousness or the divinely invested messianic powerof the poor that holds the key for human liberation. The Marxisttheory of societal transformation through class war and thedialectics of historical materialism that triggerit, was ahistoric landmark that brought under scientific scrutiny earliermodels of liberation.ttPraxis** as a combination of action forliberation and a relentless criticism of social conditions wasdefined by Marx.It has found its way into the theology ofliberation as propounded by the at in ~merican thinkers.Gandhifs concept of non-violence and non-cooperation isanother approach to liberation.Nevertheless it suffers from alack of a global or scientific and realistic analysis of societyor understanding of human nature.He had implicit faith in thegoodness of individuals and hoped social trnasformation to emergefrom a moral or spiritual conversion. The African liberation

312movement is more a cultural reality than a political or economicone. ~eo-colonialism or psychological subjugation that the~fricans are victims of today, are indicative of how theerstwhile colonial powers try to secure their grip overex-colonies indirectly. The liberation movement is a reality indifferent forms in the various African states. The oneoverriding and dominant mark of these movements is that they arefirmly rooted in the African culture and history and aim atrestoring pride, respect and dignity to the race, its culturehistory and heritage.Attempt is made in the next chapter to situate Mulk RajAnand and Achebe among the comtemporaries of their respectivelands. Anand is stated to be one of the pioneers in the world ofEnglish fiction in India, Together with R.K.Narayan and Raj Rao,he constitutes the formidable trio who revolutionized Indianwriting in English and earned for India a lasting and impregnableplace in the domain of English literature, specially of theEnglish novel. Anand however, has the distinction of publishingone of the earliest modern English novels which proved an instantsuccess, His Untouchable was published in the year 1935. Whilethe fictive matrix of Raja Rao is the 1ndian view of reality asperceived metaphyscially, Anand makes the humdrum and prosaiclives and struggles of the rank and file of India's masses thestuff of his plots. R.K. Naryana's fictional interest centresround the psychology and manners of the South 1ndian middle classgentry as contrasted with the deep compassion exuded by

ÿ nand for the underdogs. While Anand is not a consistent artist~aja Rao and R.K. Narayan are meticulous about details of style,language, structure, plot and characterization.Mulk Raj Anand is a prolific writer having authoredsixteen novels and more than halfstories and other non-fictional writings of merit.a dozen volumes of shor*Although hegrew up in Punjab and had his schooling and college studies inIndia,it should be mentioned that he spent several years inEurope and England mastering the classical works of Westernthought, philosophy and history. Thus while he derived his powerof observation, desire for novelty and adventure and hiscompassion for the poor and marginalised from his parents and theIndian cultural milieu, he owed his intellectual sophistication,cosmopolitan outlook and the streak of religious scepticism tohis Western academic formation and pursuits.Anand has moreover been a corntemporary of severalgenerations of Indian writers in ~nglish. The more popularnovelists of the sixties, seventies, eighties and nineties haveall been his contemporaries and have benefited from hispioneering and experimental novels. Anand has outlasted all ofthem in a sense and still holds his own as an artist with adefinite idological bias in favour of "the Wretched of theEarthu, to use the title of the terrific book of Frantz Fanon.The high regard which the African writers and readers have forChinua Achebeis an irrefutable testimony to the almost

314unparalleled reputation he enjoys as a novelist. Although he hasto his credit only five novels, and some collections ofshortstories, his impact and extent of influence as a frontlineAfrican writer are incredible. After a brilliant career in theNigerian Broadcasting Corporation and as a teacher in Americanuniversities, Achebe served a stint as editor of some journalsincluding Okike, a Nigerian journal of New Writing. Hisexperiences as the son of a Christian convert with all theprivileges and patronage that it implied and conferred and hisfairly long stint as an editor and teacher at Universities,eminently fitted and equipped him to be a writer steeped in hisculture and passionately attached to his people and theirhistory.He regarded the role of a writer as that of teaching andeducating not only the African readers but also the Europeans, toappreciate the wealth of civilization, philosophy, poetry andabove all, dignity that their race possessed even before thewhite men appeared on the scene.Achebe proceeded to achieve his fictive purpose by evokingin his novels the glorious past, traditions, beliefs, joys andsorrows of his tribe, called the Igbo. However , Achebe hasa keen sense of the havoc wrought by the colonial regime and itspolitical, administrative, economic and religious organisation ofsociety oblivious of the peoplefs traditional system ofgoverning and time-honoured religious practices. The colonizersoverran the local cultural manifestations and imposed alien formsof administration, education and religion. his sowed the seedof dislocation. division, dissension and even ultimate eob,pse

The novel of disillusionment came into being with Achebe's andSoyinka's novels. The rather stereo-typed inward-lookingexercise of the earlier novelists or contemporaries was abandonedby Achebe.He was a realist. He did not hesitate to boldlyindicate the failures, the mistakes and misrule of the indigenousleaders of independent Nigeria. Achebe's artistic recreation ofthe past is not aimed at a nostalgic glorification of all thatwas old but at proposing an affirmative action for transformingthe present. Achebe's penchant for myths, proverbs and stories,making his presentation more authentic and meaningful is his wayof conveying the message that the novel, although a westerngenre, can and should be effectively transformed by creativelyinfusing and introducing the local or native cultural flavour.Achebe has certainly created a unique model for a contextualisedthird world fiction.In his latest novel Anthills of theeSavannah he has demonstrated the possibility of new fictionalstrategies and of widening the scope of the subject matter ofnovels issuing from African countries.Both Anand and Achebe have broken new grounds with the artform. The creativity and originality of each of the writers aretremendous. he same can be said of their unflinching commitmentto the cause of liberation of the downtrodden.Both havepioneered a new brand of fiction, which takes the poor masses andtheir struggles seriously and conveys the hope that throughConscientization and education of the oppressed masses, societal

transformation could be achieved,prophetic voice of change.The writers become theFrom this point we proceed to investigate the presence ofliberation motif in Anand4s delineation of the protagonists inthe third chapter.A fundamental postulate of liberationthinkers is that man, specially the dispossessed and disiheritedman, is the subject of his destiny, history and emancipation. Ifthe poor of the third world are invested with the messianicpower, it follows that in novels that claim to mirror the lifeand struggles of th,e disadvantaged masses of the third worldcountries, the protagonists should be projected as champions whospearhead the protest movement. In the case of Anand and Achebethis becomes ineluctable given their avowed social and politicalpersuasion and literary creed.Herein lies a challenge as boththese writers have opted to portray, by and large, the simplefolks and others destined to be forerunners of the revolution orcatalysts of social change.In this crucial test, both Anand and Achebe haveestablished their credibility and craftsmanship beyond doubt.Anand has created a host of characters full of flesh and bloodmanifesting scars of the psychological wounds inflicted bycenturies of subjugation, subordination and starvation.eBakha,the sweeper-boy-hero of Untouchable, is not just anotheruntouchable scavenger of punjab. He is drawn on a rather*flamboyant scale. He has an insatiable thirst for the joys and

pleasures of life. He likes to dress like the sahibs and smoke acigarette, the symbol of a higher status according to his fancy.There are occasions when Bakha abandons himself to such flightsof fancy. The author obviously juxtaposes such scenes and themost pathetic and profoundly sorrowful experiences of Bakha, theuntouchable. In a short span of twenty four hours, Anand hasmasterfully handled these scenes and explored most adroitly theinner reactions of anger, revulsion and loathing that Bakhaexperiences. Anand builds up the crescendo of Bakha'sdeep-felt-resentment upto the point when he launches into ameditative and discursive interospection. He is determined todiscover the reason for his inferiority or his being treated likedirt. It dawns on him that for no fault of his he was born anuntouchable. The caste is the ultimate villain. Now it is forhim to search for a solution, a viable alternative, be it inGandhism or in mechanisation or socialism. He is thus presentedas a messenger, an ambassador, shall we say, a prophet of a newsocial order built on equality of castes and races.The central character of Coolie Munoo, belongs to theKshatryia caste, but still is hounded by society as he hails froma poverty-stricken family. He is at the mercy of a heartlessworld, He is presented by Anand as a picaresque hero, of coursewith a difference. Munoo is no roguish hero, but a victim ofcircumstances, a waif of a hero whose fortunes fluctuate as heswims along the current. There is a certain streak of fatalism

in the treatment of Munoofs character, specially as we watchMunoo die of tuberculosis. Nevertheless the satiric pen of Anandhas not spared the perpetrators of such kinds of exploitation andsubjection. He exposes the basic insecurity, cunning, egotismand inhumanity of all the other characters of this novel, withthe only exception of characters such as, Prabha in the Daulatpurphase and Ratan in the Bombay phase. Before Munoo could bringhimself to achieve something concrete in his life, his life isbeing terminated, as if to convey the message of his role as amartyr for the cause of the exploited coolies and labourers.The protagonist of The Biq Heart is Ananta, who is cast byAnand in the role of an evangelist, a man with a mission, amessianic hero. Of course, there are certain contradictions inhis life. His liaison with Janki his mistress is a perennialstigma attaching to Ananta. He summons his thathiar brethren tosink their differences and unite in the cause of facing thechallenge of mechanisation of the factory. His rhetoric is of noavail as the coppersmiths are divided and are far too immersed inorthodoxy and antiquated beliefs, and superstitions. The paradoxof such a hero's life is poignantly underlined when he dies aviolent death assailed by Ralia, in the very act of preventingmindless violence and vandalism. AnantaOs death is a triumph offaith in ongoing struggle for freedom. And the first convert he

makes is Janki who becomes a symbol of new Indian womanhood. Sheresolves to carry on the fight started by Ananta, The thathiarsare stricken by a remorse and guilt that is an expression oftheir willingness to further promote the cause of liberation.Achebets protagonists are authentic and realistic. Theyare drawn from real life situations. In fact heroes like Okonkwoof Thinss Fall Apart, Ezeulu of Arrow of God and Obi ofLonser & Ease bring out the symbiotic relationship of theindividuals with the tribal community or clan. The eventualdownfall of any one of these characters signals or symbolisesthe disintegration of the clan. Okonkwots characterization isquite complex and rich, making it difficult for us to go to theroot of his tragic flaw. Okonkwo's death is an assertion of someabsolute values when relativising values became the hall mark ofthe clan. The irony in this depiction is unmistakable that thesame attitude is a denial of the basic tenet of Igbo realitywhich finds stability in flexibility and relatedness,Obi Okonkwo is the grandson of Okonkwo and is theprotagonist in NLAE. Achebe presents him as an idealist whosemoral determination is no match for his moral consciousness~ Hefails when the chips are down and is framed for taking bribe anddeclared guilty. Achebe, while not absolving Obi of his moralculpability, does, however, attenuate his guilt by pointing a

finger at his village leaders, his parents, who prevented himfrom marrying an "OsuH and the whole political systemtransplanted by the colonial masters that engendered corruptionand moral depravity.Ezeulu of is also an interesting character. Achebe hasbestowed on him a dual personality as the priest of Ulu, the godof the clan. He is human and divine. Therefore his role andfunctions, though monotonous, become quite involved andproblematic in the context of the clan's tie up with itsreligious rituals and practices. The god Ulu's hold over theclan as much as over the high priest, is unparalleled. Theconflict in the life of Ezeulu consists in his loyalty to Ulu andhis commitment to his clan. He commits several mistakes as hebecomes overtly conscious of his power and position. Thus hebecomes a victim of his awn excessive power-consciousness. Thepower of the people in liberative praxis is effectively broughtout. The people's power or the grassroot struggle holds, in thefinal analysis, the key to success of all liberation struggles.In Anthills of the Savannah Achebe has no single hero but anumber of them. He has tried out a new technique incharacterization and narrative pattern. The ruling trio ofSam,lkem and Chris holds the centre stage in the first half ofthe novel. Even so, it is difficult to pinpoint one of them as

the principal character- Achebe has employed multiple narrativetechnique, thus not allowing any one person to hold the reins ofpower for too long- In the second phase of the novel, it is thewomen who hold the fort. Achebe has turned this novel into avehicle for defining and clarifying his political ideology,specially for spelling out his perceptions of the functions ofpower. Decentring and pluralism seem to be Achebe's two dominant'impulses in the novel. Similarly Beatrice and the women takeon the mantle of leadership and the role of narrators. The namingceremony of Elewa's daughter is a modern christening ritual shornof all the conventions surrounding it. It is the beginning of anew order. It is a recreation and regeneration. The role playedby Beatrice in the story and plot is crucial, She seems to tieup all the different strands and kinds of approaches and link thenew synthesis to the lives of the struggling masses. Beatricebecomes the sign of the new African wornan and signifies thebeginning of a new era of wornenls liberation. lkem and Chris, intheir own way, are forerunners of the movement or new alliancefor a people-centred and culturally-rooted politics.Both Anand and Achebe use the main characters as their~pokespersons. Sometimes this degenerates into preaching orsermonising. But it should be added that the didactic vein ismore in evidence in Anand than in Achebe. The latter uses subtledevices to cummunicate his strong views and critiques. Hissatiric or ironic mode of writing veils his authorial voice or

presence in most novels. While Anandts characters get stunted ortruncated in growth as a consequence of his frequent intrusions,~chebe's protagonists are allowed to grow organically. ThusAnand's treatment of protagonists and other characters is marredby ideological biases. Achebe's treatment is realistic andwithin limits of authorial intervention or presence.In chapter five, an attempt is made to examine the novelsof Anand and Achebe from the perspective of tradition versusmodernity. This question has exercised the minds of sociologistsever since modernity became a reality with the advent ofindustrialisation, science and technology. As far as India andNigeria are concerned, it was the colonial encounter that firmlyplanted modernity in the native soil. Thus modern outlook,views, attitudes, approaches associated with science andtechnology and western civilization have become a challenge tonative traditions and local culture- The dichotomy in this wayof thinking is obvious. Nevertheless the problem is real andneeds to be faced squarely.The novel as a literary genre came to 1ndia and ~igeria asa byproduct of colonialism. And it is a proven fact thatcolonial writers have evinced an extraordinary interest inexposing and depicting the vast disparities between the twoopposite cultures and systems and the sad consequences of thishistoric confrontation. The novels of Anand and Achebe closelyresemble the social process that they seek to describe. And in

fact the novel assumes greater vigour and verve as it becomes, inthe hands of the novelists, an instrument for expressing theinner dynamics and contradictions apparent or hidden in socialstructures or social relationships, We are reminded ofGoldmann's concept of whomology of structure^^^.Anand and Achebe present the conflict that took place whenthe alien cultural, political, economic and religious structurescame face to face with their native counterpart. The termtradition signifies the latter and the term modernity is used todenote the former. While this is a recurring theme or motif inmost of the novels of Anand and Achebe, they have addressed thisproblem more explicitly and powerfully in some novels than in theothers. This motif is seen to be part of the liberation dynamicsof any colonised country, The post-colonial reality of any thirdworld country is marked by the consequences of this conflict.Thus the resolution of this conflict becomes a must for suchcountries. Anand treats this in a convincing manner in hisBia Heart. Ananta the protagonist is Anand's own alter ego in sofar as the former professes a pragmatic approach to mechanisationand modernity and virtually lays down his life in the cause ofpromoting the spirit of modernism. Through Anantags frequentharangues and the rhetorical exercises of Puran Singh Bhagat,Anand has powerfully projected the importance and inevitabilityOf the machines and exposed the shortsightedness and myopicapproach of those who blindly adhere to time-honoured and

outmoded beliefs. The lron Mongers bazar and bazar Kaserian arecertain symbols of the new and old world views respectively.Moreover Anand has meticulously painted the Billimaran Lane wheremost of the action of the novel is set. The choice of symbols ofancient times and modern spirit that dot the lane at both ends isevidently Anand'sstrategy to underline the conflictual butineluctable nature of such a situation. Anand has not extolledeverything that is old or obsolete, but has advised moderationwhile following the path of modernity and progressivism.philosophy as verbalised by Ananta is that machines arenecessary,need a big heart.into a martyr'ssolidarity.Hisbut we must master the machines and above a11 weAnanta's violent death is, in fact, turnedsacrificial offering on the altar of humanNotwithstanding Anantafs ~lscandalous~ cohabitationwith janki, he is elevated as a model of such heroic living. Inotherwords, Anandfs apotheosis of Ananta and Janki is his fictivetribute paid to all forms of struggle based on self-effacementand self-giving without counting the cost or minding the wounds.As a strategy for struggle geared to liberation Anandperceptively points out a few indispensable ingredients. While aradical structural approach to social injustice and disparitiesis ideal it must go hand in hand with a practical down-to-earthconcern for the immediate material needs of the underprivileged.He condemns the attitude that compartmentalises these two relatedaspects of the liberationist struggle. Ananta fails as he is

unable to concretely translate his high ideals and gooodintentions in terms of actions here and now. High soundingradical rhetoric alone cannot satisfy the hunger of the masses.The hunger for ultimate freedom cannot be satisfied withoutfeeding their physical hunger. The second ingredient of aliberation struggle according to Anand is the need forcomplenentarty. The presence of the poet Puran Singh Bhagat isAnand's assertion of the need for an ideologue, a visionary, aprophet in a programme for liberation. Ananta stands for gritand determination, conviction and action. The poet articulates,clarifies and encourages. Both the types of people are necessaryif a struggle has to succeed in India. The role of theenlightened and educated individuals in a democratic country likeours cannot be overemphasised.In Gauri Anand has highlighted this problem, albeit in anindirect or, implicit manner. Although the protagonist Gauri iscast in the mould of a conformist, tradition-bound, self-effacingrural girl and wife, there is a dramatic change towards the endof the novel. Her sufferings and humiliations havemellowed her and facilitated her maturation. But the realexposure to modern values and habits occurs in the hospital ofDr. Mahindra and thanks to his example and efforts. There is asharp contrast between the Gauri that meekly accepts her unhappymarried life with panchi and her being sold to a rich merchantand the Gauri of the last pages who stages a walk out on her

husband who refuses to acknowledge her fidelity or regard herchanged modes of thinking and behaving as indicative of herpersonal growth as a working woman. Anand condemns the habit ofmudslinging and character assassination so rampant in Indiansociety, as detrimental to the cause of liberation. In thisnovel Dr. Mahindra becomes the spokesperson of Anand forexpounding his humanistic philosophy. Mahindra proposes theantidote to fear and recommends a fearless and indomitablespirit. Gauri carves out for herself a path and follows it withdevotion and conviction, whatever the maligning tongues of herkith and kin may pronounce. She becomes the subject of herdestiny. She is the model of the new woman as perceived andrepresented by Anand. ~auri is as much a creature of traditionsas a product of modern ethos and values. She is a symbol of theintegration of the traditional spirit and the modern scientific orrational temper. For Anand, adherence to truth, sincerity andhuman values is as important as scientific and rational outlook,if Indian society should march towards progress and emancipation.Achebefs fictional matrix is the colourful and gloriousIgbo past and culture. His first novels depict the tribalsociety in its pristine beauty and simplicity, thus setting thestage for the eventual catastrophe brought about by the onset ofthe values, administration, political, economic and religiousstructures of the British. Nevertheless more than in hisThinss Fall A~art and Arrow of a, Achebe addresses tbe problem

of tradition versus modernity in his No Lonser & Ease. Thecentral chracter Obi Okonkwo has the stuff in him for a moderntragic hero. In fact his discomfiture is announced at thebeginning of the novel as he is convicted of corruption. It is asevere blow to the ego not only of Obi but of the entire villagecommunity that expects much from him. But Obi's failure ortragedy is the result of the convergence of many extraneousfactors and his own lack of will. His indebtedness as a resultof his yielding to pressures and demands both real and imaginary,becomes unbearable and therefore he resorts to the unethicalpractice of accepting bribes. Obits perversion is only thesymbol of the general moral corruption and decadence that rocksthe whole of Nigeria. Achebe reproves the moral depravity of thepeople of ~muofia and in a subtle manner attributes theresponsibility for Obits failure to the corrupt ethos anddecadent milieu and his parent for repudiating Clarajust because she belongs to the outcast group known as Osu.Achebe exposes the hypocrisy and double-. standard of Obi'sparents and village people and the lack of grit on the partObi.Obits tragedy underlines the uneasy situation that prevailsin Nigeria in the wake of colonial confrontation. On the otherhand Achebe doesnf t fail to point out the woeful lack ofawareness on the part of the Nigerians who still cling to some'I

traditional beliefs, practices and prejudices. While blaming thepresent moral crisis on the white man's subterfuges andimperialist arrogance, Achebe finds the acquisitiveness and greedof the people quite reprehensible and unacceptable. While notnpproving of Obi's moral deviations, Achebe provides hints to showthat he sympathises with the young, educated, elite leaders likeObi who are caught in a bind, a dilemma wrought by the historicclash of two opposite cultures and societies. While Anandbecomes on occasions didactic and preachy in achieving hisartistic end, Achebe does it by means of subtle devices ofcharcterization, plot and structures and narrative techniques.Achebe maintains a rational and emotional distance from the storyand action of the novel that makes its message credible.From an examination of how the theme of "tradition versusmodernity11 & expressed in the novels of Anand and Achebe, weproceeded to investigate in the next chapter another importantissue in the whole gamut of liberation, and that is, I1Class Warand Caste politic^^^. Class war obviously recalls the Marxiandialectics of how class war will eventually yield or lead to aclassless society, the withering of the state, and statelsssocialism. ~hus we are faced with the most serious modernproblem of exploitation that make the poor poorer and the richricher. rt is peculiarly capitalistic problem and one that has

een sharpened and made more contentious in the third worldcountries after the imposition of colonial rules, The gapalready existing between the haves and the havenots began towiden as the British introduced commerce and trade based on mereprofit-seeking and cut-throat competition.It is this aspect of Indian economy that Anand explores inhis novels specially in Coolie, The Big Heart and Two Leaves and-- a Bud. Munoo the central character of Coolie and Gangu the maincharacter of Two Leaves and a Bud are both kshatriyas the secondhighest in caste hierarchy and still are exploited because theycome from an indigent background. They both are coolies who selltheir labour for making a livelihood. Money is the main objectiveor goal of all their hard labour and inhuman sufferings at thehands of their employers.Munoo is barely past his childhood and the experience hegoes through in order to eke out an existence are beyond, the paleof even an adult labourer, He is driven from place to place,ill-treated, poorly paid and finally becomes a victim of awasting disease and dies, Exploitation is written large in hislife and predicament as the system he is trapped in, mercilesslysaps his life, energy, enthusiasm and idealism.. He is a merepuppet in the capitalist system and is buffeted by allanti-worker and anti-human forces. Nevertheless Munoo cherishesan unquenchable thirst for the good things of life, for love andfriendship. In the last stages of his life he desires to rejoinRatan in Bombay to work for his trade union.

Anand's Gangu in Two Leaves and g Bud is another exploitedhero, a victim of circumstances and the glib talk and fraudulentpromises of brokers.He is drafted like thousands of otherlabourers into the Assam tea-gardens. He like his otherfellow-labourers, is a clasic case of bonded labourers whosechances of liberation are remote and virtually nil.Anand'ssympathies are quite obvious as he portrays the inhumanity of theBritish overlords who are out to fleece the workers and enhancethe profit for the empire. The portrayal of some of the Britishcharacters, specially the one of Reggie Hunt, the assistantplanter, is, though exaggerated, Anand'sperception of thecruelty and inhumanity of the system. Gangu nearly lost hisdaughter as a victim of Reggie Hunt's lust, watched his wifesuccumb to cholera and fell victim to Reggie Hunt's rage.Anandfs portrayal which is grim, is also a vehement plea for thesubverting of the system so that the working class will not onlyget adequate wages but will eventually come in possession of themeans of production.- The Bis Heart is another novel where Anand has addressedthe question of class struggle and its subtle relationship tocaste. The thathiars are traditional coppersmiths. The startingof a large scale factory hits their business badly.Anantastands for a rational approach to the machines while a bulk ofthe thathiars oppose the move. ~urli Dhar, who has joined the

factory management as a partner, tries to form a new alliancewith the upper class kinsmen and ignores his poor kinsfolks andtreats them with contempt. The latter however teach him a lessonby boycotting his sons's betrothal and thus causing himembarrassment in front of his business partners.Class mayeventually triumph over caste. Nevertheless Anand seems toassert that caste as a reality has came to stay and may not beeasily obliterated.Anand, however, advocates a moderate andrational approach to mechanisation and industrialisation withouttrampling, in the process, human values of unity, solidarity,compassion, equality, brotherhood and justice. The title of thenovel "The Big Heart" is Anantaf s oft-repeated refrain andencapsulates Anandfs version of humanness and humanism.Achebefs fictional world does not allow of treatmentpertaining to class or caste. The tribal society was a cohesiveone and the problem that is directly addressed by Achebe is theunsettling effect of the colonial presence and domination on thetraditional society.In this process, very seldom does Achebedwell on class reality and obviously never on caste, as it is nota reality in ~frican society. Nevertheless he does allude to theemergence of trade and business based on cash in Thinss FalLA~art and Arrow of a, He does not develop this idea at lengthexcept inLonser & Ease and A Man of the Peo~le. In aslightly varied manner he treatsclass conflict in Anthills 9f

- the Savannah. In these three novels the class character of therelationships prevailing between the principal characte*clearly brought out. The conflict between them is more often thannot reducible to money competition and profit making. One commondenominator of the presence of capitalist form of economy is theisubiquitous presence of corruption.In No Lonser & Ease, it iscorruption of Obi that spells his disaster and throws upquestions regarding the system whose product and victim Obihappens to be. corruption in high places is being studied in AMan ofPeople, where the chief Nanga is a personification ofcorruption- The powerful influence of corruption is projected byAchebe as he points out that even Odili's father or his greatcomrade Max is not free from this virus,Achebe effectivelypresents the moral degradation and erosion of values that are thelogical corollary of the capitalistic mode of production andbusiness centred on profit-making and self-seeking.The rulingtriumvirate of Kangan in Anthills of the Savannah gets divided onaccount of warring perceptions on the nature of the state and ofgovernance. The radical element and protest spearheaded by Chrisand Ikem cost them their lives, but not before igniting therevolutionary spark in Beatrice, a well-placed and educatedwoman.She and her other companions vow to continue thestruggle. Achebe subtlely points to the dictator's subservienceto foreign manipulations and neocolonial mentality.

Achebers analysis of the tragic consequences of theintroduction of the capitalist mode of production and trade is aperspicacious commentary on the ethical crisis and politicalinstability that are the order of the day in independent Nigeria.He regrets that values of sharing, giving, equality andbrotherhood that were part of their heritage have been lost inthe aftermath of colonization.Anand has dwelt on the problem or the social evil of castein a profound manner in his Untouchable, The Road and The BiqHeart. Bakha the protagonist of Untouchable and Bhikhu thecentral chracter of The Road are both sweeper boys, the lowestamong the untouchables. Casteism and untouchability are depictedin their worst and most despicable forms in Untouchable. Bakhais a type of the sweeper caste but is possessed of a keen senseof his own lowliness and the impossility of his breaking out ofthis rut, The conflict is portrayed powerfully as Bakhagoesthrough the notions of his daily chores of sweeping andcleaning and begging his food. The climax occurs when he touchesa Brahmin unwittingly and he is made a laughing stock ofall-This incident however, opens his eyes to the injusticeand sinfulness of the system of caste hierarchy anduntouchability. Bakha's spark of revolt is smothered bythe futility of his rage and protest. Nevertheless Anandoffers him three different alternatives, that of Gandhi, thatof Jesus and that of the poet proposing a scientific and

modern solution to this vexatious question. AnandJs ownsolution probably lies in a combination of all the threealternatives. Of course his scientific, historical andcomprehensive humanism is his answer to the social evil ofcasteism and untouchability.Anand probes the psychological hang-ups and fears thatoperate in the minds of the highcaste Hindus and theuntouchables in their inter-relationships in his novel The Road.As the title implies there are government-sponsored programmesand activities that help the low caste or the so called scheduledcaste people to ameliorate their lot economically.Now they canwork and earn money, This has given them independence.~conomicfreedom from their traditional caste masters is a boon to them ifthey are prepared to work out their own course of action.Ananduncovers the hypocrisy and double standards involved in the highcaste Hindu's attitude to Bhikhu the central character who leadsthe road-building operation and the other untouchables. Heasserts the so-called caste dharma often proclaimed by PanditSuraj Mani and Thakur Singh.Anand also takes up the cudgelagainst the chamars who wilt under pressure from the high casteleaders. They are defeated by their own sense of inadequacy andinferiority. Dhooli Singh is a very credible creation of Anandand represents AnandJs vision of transforming the caste-riddensociety into an egalitarian one.Anand completes his analysis of caste and casteism byexposing in The Bis Heart yet another aspect of the class-caste

equation. The richer thathiars represented by Murlidhar and hiscoterie are trying to dissociate themselves from their caste byforming a new class alliance with Gokul Chand, a kasera. Economicprosperity enables some to move upwardly and in the process todeclass themselves and join the ranks of a rich dominant class.Anand might be putting forth his hope that class formation andflexibility may be one way of liquidating the caste hierarchy orat least casteism in Indian society. But it will be a long andarduous road for the untouchables to shake off the stigma andenter the heaven of equality and brotherhood built on humandignity and personhood.Achebe has not addressed himself explicitly to caste orcasteism in any of his novels simply because caste is non-existentin Africa in the form or in the virulent degree that it is presentin India. The only instance of discrimination that we find is inLonser & Ease where the parents and village people stoutlyobject to Obi marrying Clara, as she is an Osu which signifiesher belonging to a slave community or an outcaste group among theIgbos. Achebe is highly critical of this discirminator attitudeand tradition among the Igbos and disapproves obi's repudiationof the girl.Both Anand and Achebe are not obscurantists, They believein the full and regulated spread of the scientific andtechnological culture. Education as a means of widespread

conscientization is advocated by them. What is essential is theright mixture of the modern spirit or modern scientific valuesand the old human values. Person should be at the heart of anyprogramme of liberation.If liberation has, as its objective, the installation ofthe human person at the centre of world reality and as thesubject of his own destiny, it follows that the woman, as hisequal partner cannot be ignored. In fact women's liberation orfeminism has today won tremendous prestige amidst socialscientists, educationists, social reformers and literary artists.Hence, it becomes imperative to examine Anand and Achebe andtheir writings from the feminist perspective.Anand has created a number of women characters. But most ofthem are cast in the conventional mould of housewife-mother.Only in Gauri we come across a woman known by the same name, whoflouts all conventional female roles and norms and comraences alife of her own. She determines her own future and courageouslywalks out on her husband who is a personfication of feelings ofinadequacy, inferiority and fear of blame. Panchi, the husbandof Gauri fails to resonate with an awakened Gauri. Hence, ~auridecides to leave him and shape her life and that of her childwhom she is carrying. This novel is a powerful indictment of theheartlessness and lack of understanding of menfolk while dealingwith women.d

Achebe examines this question in Anthills of the savannah,while laying bare the different nuances and contours of power andpower relationships in the polity. Achebe makes women, thesuccessors to the legacy of liberative struggles. eat rice isthe lone survivor, having imbibed the spirit and daring of Ikemand Chris who have died as martyrs of the cause. The feminineelement so essential and intrinsic a part of all human activitiesis being emphasised by Achebe once the men quit the scene.Beatrice, Elewa and other men and women enact the christeningceremony of the child of Elewa, a traditionally male prerogativein the tribal dispensation. The stage is set in a mythical andapocalyptic fashion for the liberation struggle to be carried on.Here is the biblical remnant seized with a profound sense of theurgency of the cause and deeply linked to the past in the livingmemories of Chris and Ikem. Achebe has masterfully interwovenmyriad strands drawn from history, mythology, culture, language,literature, politics and society to fashion this novel which bothexpresses an ideology and is its product and ends on a certainnote of hope, wiping out all the sorrowful and gloomy events ofthe story.While Anand's humanistic concern for the woman stops atrevolt and defiance at the personal and domestic levels ~chebe'sperspective on women prefers a larger stage or arena wherein themain actors will be women spearheading the struggle, possessed of

a clear-cut agenda for liberation.While women like Gauri arenot easy to come by, the fire that is kindled in them can catchand ignite more women in a similar travail or predicament.Probabaly Anand sustains such a hope for womankind and society asa whole.Achebe leaves no doubt about his intention andobjective of making women play a crucial role in the drama ofhuman liberation.Having examined the perspective of liberation from variousangles in the works of Anand and Achebe, we proceeded in thepenultimate chapter to tackle the very problematic question ofthe relationship between art and commitment.It is quiteappropriate and in a way essential that this queston was faced,as "commitmentl~ can justifiably and meaningfully be applied tothe writings of both Anand and Achebe. From a critical analysisof selected novels of Achebe and Anand, it emerges that they bothare committed writers with a definte purpose and goal, workingwithin a well though-out ideological framework. while affirmingthat there is no doubt at all about the commitment of Anand andAchebe,it, however, remains to be estblished that theircommitment to a cause, in this case, the cause of liberation ofthe peoples, does not in any way mar their artistic integrity.In other words, it has to be shown that both Anand and Acheberemain faithful to the logic, inner dynamics and basic principlesof the art they are working with. As novelists, they are bound

y certain laws of the art or genre they are enegaged upon.Hence it is expected that they strike a balance or the goldenmean between their ideological convictions or ideas orfelt-experiences and the form through which these are expressed.Art-commitment controversy is as old as literature. FromHorace, Plato and Aristotle down to many British writersincluding Spenser and Johnson have all spelt out the aim ofliterature in terms of effecting a moral or intellectual orbehavioural change in the huamn person. The Romantics and theVictorians wrote with a passionate attachment to a vision,political or social or spiritual. Dickens was certainly atrend-setter in realistic portrayal of social realities. Thepolitical novel of the Victorian Age was probably an offshoot ofthis trend. The aesthetic doctrine of art for art's sake wasalso a product of this age.The Marxian appraoch to literature was based on mode ofproduction which in turn conditions the social, political andintellectual life. Marx averred that it was necessary to changethe world and therefore proposed a critical framework with whichto analyse reality. Jean-Paul Sartre made a vehement plea forengaged or committed literature (litterature engage'). ForSartre, freedom is the only subject of writing for any writer andthis freedom or liberation has to be specific, appropriate to aparticular context or situation.

There has been a controversy as to whether a committedwriter or a political writer is, by the very fact, apropagandist. This confusion has to be clarified or else it willhave far-reaching consequences in respect of writers like Anandand Achebe. The criticism that a committed writer always has anideological viewpoint which he tries to impose on an uninitiatedor unwary reader, is false and seems to be politically motivated.Instead, one needs to frame the question this way. "Is not awholly uncommitted art a contradiction in terms?lq. Thuscommitment is viewed as a moral need, not to be equated withpropaganda. If this is progaganda, then we are going to have italways and in all committed or engaged writing. Nevertheless itis possible and important that a good artist avoids theimpression of being propagandist.As an artificial separation of politics from human life isat the bottom of this dichotomy, it may be useful to trace thehistorical evolution of this relationship from ~ristotle down.Neither the ancient Greeks nor even Marx propounded any dichotomybetween politics or society and literature. And still theyupheld the autonomy of a work of art.1.A. Richards has written exensively on this question- Hehas asserted that the manner of saying the truth is crucial inany art form, T. S, Eliot has expressed a profound insight whenhe suggested that the content of a work of art and its form areclosely related to each other and that this relationship is

~tuauy enriching and transforming. Hence, Eliot saw nodisjunction and much less contradiction between art andcommitment.Thus it becomes intelligible to us that any third worldwriter worth his name should be a committed writer. And thiscommitment, to be real and meaningful, we may infer, has toreflect the reality of poverty, illiteracy the gap between therich and the poor, exploitation and oppression, both colonial andneocolonial. The works of Anand and Achebe need to beinvestigated against this background. Of course, Anand has comeunder heavy flak from critics within the country and occasionallyfr0m abroad for being overtly propagandist. There are howevermore objective scholars and critics who have held a brief forAnand and exonerated him by pointing out that Anand is genuinelysearching fox fictional forms that will suit his social impulsesor desire images. He has succeeded in finding the right form toa large extent. Nevertheless it should be conceded that by andlarge in Anand the form is always subservient to the content.It should however be said in Anand's favour that out ofthe works that we have examined in this study, Untouchable,Coolie and The Biq Heafi are superb creations of his artisticPen. fired by a creative mind and powerful imagination of a rarequality. His novelistic techniques are quite variegated- Hetries the stream of consciouness and psychological probing of the

minds of characters in Untouchable and Coolie. It should beconceded that Anand, more than any Indian novelist, hassuccessfully employed this technique and in a sense has improvedupon it by adapting it to the peculiar cultural variables ofIndia. He has moreover made use of the interior monologue rathereffectively in order to circumvent the much too obviousaberration of the authorial intrusion, a defect commonly found inAnand's novels.Anand's technqiue of expressing the general or theuniversal through the experiences or reflections of a singlecharacter like Munoo in Coolie, Bakha in Untouchable or evenAnanta in The Bis Heart, Gauri in The Old Woman and thespeaks volumes for his artistic temper and commitment. Anand iscapabale of adapting his language and style to suit the mode andtone of the narrative or story. His artistic detachment from thestory or plot or the characters in some of his novels is worthyof commendation, His objectivity in these novels ispraiseworthy. It is true that the endings of coolie andUntouchable are not in keeping with the tenor of the action andplot of the novel and perhaps it is Anand's artistic faux pas.Nevertheless, it has a legitimacy of its own, viewed within thelarger reality of helplessness and hopelessness that the presentsituation of mass poverty and exploitation consistently projects.The prophetic dimension underpinning such situations could havebeen effectively tapped by Anand for rallying and mobilising allliberationist forces of the world.

Achebe has time and again proclaimed his commitment to thecause of exposing the tragic consequences of the colonialencounter and of educating the masses of his people and thecolonial countries to perceive the beauty and grandeur of thetribal society and culture. He has styled himself as a protestwriter, a teacher and an educationist. is technique of doingthis is by reconstructing the Igbo past and analysing the presentcolonial and postcolonial reality in the light of the past. Heis neither a blind romanticizer of the past nor a jaundicedcritic of the activities of the colonizers. He is able tocommand a respectable distance from the events portrayed oraction or the characters of his novels. while one senses theauthor's pervasive presence in his novels, it is the greatestmerit of Achebe that his charcters are life-like and credible,his situations realistic and plots extremely well constructed andarchitectonic.His use of the folklore and folk-traditions, stories,tales, songs and proverbs, is a marvellous achievement on thepart of Achebe the masterful artist. These provide a frameworkto Achebe for expressing reality. They in fact afford answers tocertain practical questions. These stories or tales invariablyconvey a moral. Achebe has pioneered the skilful use of the folksong in the narrative, that heightens the evocative power andsometimes the suspense and pathos of the action. Achebefs range

of language, variation of style, adaption of different modessuited to the paxticualr theme, his characterization andcraftmanship are all points that go to make up his profile as anartist and a novelist. His early novels Thinss Fall Apart, Arrow-- of God and No LonserEase show forth his power for nostalgicreconstruction of the past in an effort to contrast it with thehavoc wrought by the colonial intrusion. & man of the Peoule isa fictional presentaion of the disillusionment that gripped thepeople after the native elite took over the reins of governmentin the aftermath of independence, His latest novel Anthills of- the Savannah is an artistic landmark in Achebefs career as anovelist in that he has successfully experimented with newtechniques and a new novel form. While maintaining his realistictenor and the satirical mode, Achebe introduces a mythical modein order to show the need for multilateral power.He hasdiscovered a multiple narrative scheme that shifts the focus ofaction on different individual leaders. Change of leadership ormultiple leadership style is in other words a decentring ofpower.Achebe's form in this novel enhances the power of thenarrative and transforms the content even as the content providesshape and thrust to the form.In other words, there is adialectical relationship between the form of the novel and thecontent emphasising the dialectics that should underlie the

elationship between the leaders among themselves and the leadersand the masses. It is an absorbing novel that brings out thepower struggle and the tussle between power equations and powercentres in the new Nigerian political dispensation. The uniquefeature of this novel is Achebe's portrayal of the crucial rolewomen have to or can play in liberation struggles. He hasmoreover underscored the vital and indispensable realtionshipbetween story-telling and people.In short, Achebe believes in the distinction of art intopure art and applied art and qualifies his as applied art. Whilebeing quite clear that there is no dichotomy between art andpolitical commitment, he insists on the educative andregenerative values of any art, specially of writing.Neverthelss it is meritorious on Achebe's part to have achieved anear toal correlation between form and content, a perfect unisonbetween art and commitment.While the same cannot be said of Anand's record as anovelist, he has certainly been a trail-blazer and pioneer withthe teething problems associated with such a task. While some ofhis novels are perfect pieces of art, he has not been consistentin this commitment to the novel as an art form. His social,political and moral convictions get the better of his aestheticor artistic impulse on occasions. This tendency has flawed orvitiated not only his language and style but also the action,plot and characterization of some of his otherwise well-conceivednovels.

POSSIBLE AREAS FOR FURTHER RESEARCHThe foregoing study had the burden of examining theliberationist potential or thrust in Anand and Achebe asnovelists of the third world. The underlying assumption in thisstudy was that the perspective of liberation should permeate thestories and themes of a third world novelist who professescommitment to the people whose lives and struggles, he claims toportray. It was therefore a search or investigation based on thehypothesis that liberation or people's perspective should colourthe approaches, content, texture and message of such novels. Asa result of a deep study, analysis and interpretation of selectnovels of Anand and Achebe, it has been possible for us todiscover elements of liberative urge, sentiments, themes, vision,approaches, outlook and pedagogy in both the authors. In otherwords, the commitment of these two writers as novelists hasredoubtably established their wroks as pertaining to the realm ofliberation of people as a whole, from subjugation, slavery andOppression of all kinds. Now the onus is on us to makeprojections for future research possibilities. We shall examinethis possibility keeping the paradigms created by Anand andAchebe in mind,In Anand the subject matter or the fictional matrix .isalmost always the life and fortunes of the under-privilegedworking classes, the untouchables or women. These people mahe up

the fictional world of Anand. He hardly ever describes thereality of an alien or foreign world, He has carried on, with acrusader's zeal, the fight for making the underdog in society,the eccentrics and the marginalised, the central characters andsubject matter of his stories. He has succeeded after a game andrelentles struggle to give legitimacy to the admission of suchcharacters into the elite society of the fictional world. Thusthe problems, concerns, aspirations, alienations and disabilitiesat all levels experienced by the under-priveleged masses becomethe very substance of his novels. Anand makes even childrenheroes of his novels, Thus the stigma attached to such people inthe world of letters specially in the novel, has been removed.They have been, in one sense, liberated by Anand from thealienation or marginalisation committed on them by novelists witha bourgeois bent or class orientation.Achebe too has emphatically established the relevance andimportance of making the African society, African people'scultural, social and political relaity the subject matter offiction in Africa. He has not only proclaimed it as anineluctable option for all writers, but has also createdsuccessful models in his novels.The objection of sameness, staleness or monotony can beabviated by the fact the both Achebe and Anand have created awhole gamut of stories and themes and have not suffered from a

dearth of material. It should be remembered that there arenumerous writers in various Indian languages, who, like Prernchandin Hindi, Jeyakantan in Tamil, and Thakazhi Sivasankaran inMalayalam, have espoused the cause of the downtrodden and haveused the lives and problems of these people as the rawmaterial for their novels with unprecedented succees and readersfresponse.Given the fact that there are quite a few novelists invarious Indian languages who are "Committedw in the sense Anandand Achebe are, it should be fascinating to make a comparativestudy of Anand and any other Indian novelist writing in an Indianlanguage. Such an investigation is bound to yield rare andprecious insights that will enrich reading of such novelists andprovide new avenues and areas to critics and comparatists.Both Anand and Achebe have demonstrated not only thepossibility, but the inevitiability and necessity of depicting orportraying characters who represent the larger reality ofsuffering, deprivation and alienation as it exists in one'scountry. The novelists should however guard against the pitfallof becoming stereotypical or monotonous in characterization.Novelistic techniques have to be adapted or innovated accordingto the demands of the existential situation enacted and the plotof the novel. Anand and Achebe have quite successfully done it.

If there is a specific area for further research, it is thenovelist's ability to make an absorbing story out of the humdrumexistential struggle of the oppressed masses. The works of Achebeand Anand could be further explored from this perspective. Inother words the relative innovative and creative potential ofthese writers could be assessed and compared with the novelistsof other Indian languages. Moreover it may be legitimate toexpect that any relevant third world fiction should reflectrealistically the existential angst and struggles of themaginalised sections. To judge the relevance of a novel or anovelist from this critical standpoint becomes necessary in thecontext of the universal phenomenon of liberation movements inthe countries of the third world.In Achebe the folk elements, particularly folktales,proverbs and myths find a place in the story quite naturallyperforming a specific function in the narrative and in thestructure of the novel. A special mention should be made ofAchebe's use of folktales in and AOG as paradigmatic.Sometimes these tales serve a multiple purpose of revealing thehidden conflict of a character, of teaching a universal moralprinciple to one and all and of throwing light on the centralconflict or message or theme of the novel.Anand has established a unique novelistic technique ofinvesting a novel with the qualities of a fable, of a folktale.His Untouchable and Coolie read like tales and their structure

has all the ingredients of a fairy tale. This explains why thesenovels have perennial appeal, to both young and old, to Indiansand foreigners.A critical study of Achebefs and Anandfs use of nationalcultural symbols such as folk tales, stories, songs, rituals,beliefs, myths or puranas in their novels can by itselfconstitute a veritable research subject. There is a differencein the manner both Achebe and Anand exploit this rich culturalheritage for making their novels more rooted and appealing asliberative tools. Achebefs model in this regard is highlyoriginal and variegated. Indian or African novels can becomeonce charming and educative if the cultural aspect is enriched byincorporation of elements from national or racial repertoire offolklore and myths or puranas and proverbs. his culturaldimension of a novel should be interwoven into the very structureand fabric of the work.It may be appropriate to note here that the folk characterof the form of the novel or in other words, the mass culturalforms or technqiues are different from the transmuted or imitatedWestern form or technqiues. Such a practice will be in itself anaffirmation of the culture and traditions of the masses. It isby means of the magnificent array of oral traditions that Achebehas infused a special quality into the texture and fabric of his

narrative.As a result of this a blurring of all cultural,racial and geographic dividing lines occurs and the message isdriven home powerfully.The novel is a popular and powerful medium with a universalappeal. Depending on the personal vision and creed of the thirdworld novelist, it can either become a vehicle for conveyingpersonal epxeriences or for communication of knowledge to awestern audience.It should be conceded that in the masterlyhands of Achebe the novel has become a potent vehicle ofself-expression, that is, for expressing his perception and hispeople's perception of their collective identity, consciousness,aspirations, frustrations, past glories, traditions, successesand failures. Anand too has demonstrated this dimension offiction with his relentleks portrayals of the underprivilegedmasses of our country. In other words Achebers ideal of a writerbeing a teacher or Anand's objective of a writer being the fieryvoice of the people becomes a critical yardstick for assessingthe worth of glcammitted'r third world writers.The committedartists are fearless in voicing the injustice and inequity of thecontemporrary reality, be it colonial orwriters, who have the western readers in view, maylegitimate to temporize or compromise,neocolonial. Thefind itAnother fruitful area of further investigation may be acomparative study af Anand and Achebe using Marxism or ~andhismas the focal point.In as much as these two historical

phenomena have influenced and shaped Indian and Africanthought-patterns, attitudes and practices, in one way or another,it will be a valid starting point for a fruitful research work.~eedless to say that Gandhi and his teachings played a crucialrole in reorienting Anandfs ideology in favour of the poor of1ndia. And it is not difficult to discover Marxist overtones inAnandfs fury and fulmination against exploitation andinequalities. Explicit references to his knowledge of Marxianapproaches, pedagogy and categories abound in his non-fictionalwritings. Achebe, like many other African writers, should havecome under the influence of Gandhi at some time in his life, Itmay be more difficult to discern Marxian influence in Achebe1spassionate plea for change of socio-political and economicstructures and his vehement outcry against colonial plunder andinhuman attitudes towards the Africans.The novel as the most flexible literary genre lends itselfto multiple manipulations, as demonstrated by Anand and Achebeeach in his own peculiar, personal and typical fashion. Such anovel has a dual role of entertaining and instructing at the sametime. The novelist has the unenviable task of combining the roleof a committed pedagogue and that of an artist, In other wordshe is faced with the paradox of producing a fictional work thatconstitutes a veritable photograph of the social dynamics andstructural mechanics that form the human drama that willdetermine the ultimate shape of human civilization and thedestiny of the nations,

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The Big Heart. London : Hutchinson, 1945 ; revisededition, edited by Saros Cowasjee, New Delhi:Arnold-Heinernann, 1980.The Old Woman and the Cow, Bombay : Kutub, 1960 ; asGauri , New Delhi: Orient, 1976,The Road. Bombay : Kutub, 1961,Reflections on the Golden Bed. BombayHouse, 1947.: Current BookApology for ~eroism: An Essay in Search of Faith- London :Drummond, 1946.Roots and Flowers : Two Lectures on the Metamorphosis ofTechnqiue and Content in the Indian-English Novel. Dharwar: Karnatak University, 1971."Pigeon Indian : Some Notes on Indian-English WritingRt.Karnatak University - Journal (Humanities); 1972-Author To Critic : The Letters of Mulk Raj Anand. editedby Saros Cowasjee, Calcutta : Writers Workshop, 1973-"Trends in the Modern Indian NovelN- JIWE 1.1 (3an. 1973):1-6.The Humanism of Jawaharlal Nehru. Calcutta : Visva-Bharati, 1978.Conversations in Bloomsbury (reminiscences),, New Delhi :Arnold-Heinemann, and London : Wildwood House, 1981."The Changeling: Indian English Literature: Its Relevance,"LHY XXX. 1 (Jan.1989) : 26-32.

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