Question

How did novels fulfill the task of nation building in india

Answer 1

Social issues were the underlying theme of many novelists in India. They tried to create social awareness on the prevalence of backward social customs which were exploitative in nature. As early as 1857,Baba Padmanji’s Yamuna Paryatan , used a simple style of storytelling to speak about the plight of widows. Similarly, in Indirabai, a Kannada novel written by Gulavadi Venkata Rao in 1899, the heroine is given away in marriage at a very young age to an elderly man. Her husband dies soon after, and she is forced to lead the life of a widow. In spite of opposition from her family and society, Indirabai succeeds in continuing her education. Eventually she marries again, this time a progressive, English educated man. In Sewasadan, Premchand deals mainly with the poor condition of women in society. Issues like child marriage and dowry are woven into the story of the novel. Social evils like caste oppression was highlighted by Potheri Kunjambu, a ‘lower-caste’ writer from north Kerala who wrote a novel called Saraswativijayam in 1892, mounting a strong attack on caste oppression. This novel shows a young man from an ‘untouchable’ caste, leaving his village to escape the cruelty of his Brahmin landlord. He converts to Christianity, obtains modern education and leads a respectable life with his family. Hence issues like women’s education, the plight of widows, problems created by the early marriage of girls and caste oppression  were important social issues which were highlighted through novel