Question

Novels were useful to different section of the society

Answer 1

(i) Colonial administrators found 'vernacular novels' a valuable source of information on native life and customs, i.e.,:

(a) how people were dressed

(b) their religious worship

(c) beliefs and practices

(d) about domestic life

Such information was valuable to them in order to govern the Indian society which had a wide cultural variety. The novels contains the well-described domestic life which helped the British administrators to understand the beliefs and practices.

(ii) The nationalists used novels as a powerful medium to criticize the defects of the society and suggested remedies. Many novels established links with the past. Glorified account of the past created a sense of material pride. Novels created a feeling of collective belongingness among the people from different walks of life speaking the same language.