Chapter I INTRODUCTION - shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in

Chapter I
INTRODUCTION
With the emergence of pre-Independence, Indo English novel comes out of its
early romantic phase into social realism and runs parallel to the gradual intensification
of the national movement. For the freedom, socio-political situation existing in the
country is faithfully mirrored right from the early phase of the reformist exuberance to
the growth of revolutionary consciousness among the common masses of India. The
common masses had to wage a two - pronged battle - one for their emancipation
from the politic-economic exploitation by the foreign rulers and the other against the
colossal weight of out dated traditions, casticism, and blind conformation to religious
dogmas and other social ills. The First World War also had its impact on the writers.
It brought them face to face with actual reality. This impact on Indo-English writers
was two-fold. They now sought to portray a more realistic, idealized and earthly
presentation of life in their works. The writers, under the impact of nationalism sought
to portray not only the national concerns but also the social conditions of their times.
The people felt that nationalism and liberty were prizes worth fighting for. The
struggle for Independence in India was not merely a political struggle but a pervasive
experience that became a part of the life of almost all the sensitive and enlightened
Indians. It is this co-incidence which is responsible for a flowering maturity of the
Indo-English fiction in the thirties during which period the freedom movement
percolated to the very grass-roots of Indian society. Parallel to this struggle for
political freedom was another one on the social plane.lt was a fight against
superstitions, caste system, poverty, illiteracy and many other social ills. No Indian
writer writing in that decade could avoid reflecting this upsurge in his work. The
socio-political movement, which had caught the imagination of the entire nation, also

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inspired the Indo-English writers. They had the added advantage of western liberal
education with the intensification of the struggle for freedom. The writers rightly
realized that they had a vital role to play in it. The constructive programmes launched
by Mahatma Gandhi and other national leaders deepened the political and social
consciousness of the writers. Along with the nationalistic fervour the other
movements like socialism, communism, fascism, etc. also became an obsession with
the angry young intelligence of the times. These political ideologies, already popular
in Europe and China, emerged in the country in the thirties as a reaction to the
prevailing conditions, oppression and tyranny of the British imperialism. Gross
futility and waste brought by the world war burst into economic exploitation of the
poor and under -privileged class, illiteracy and evils of the caste system. Besides this,
the visit of Tagore and Nehru to the Soviet land and the formation of 'All India
Progress Writer's Association' in the thirties made the writers portray the Indian
peasantry in the hope that social transformation of society could be feasible only
through mobilizing the opinion of the under-privileged classes, the economically
exploited, politically subjugated and socially oppressed Indian people.

Fiction has come to be the most popular medium of expression today. Though
fiction writing began in the 19th century, the significant era began with writers like
Mulk Raj Anand, R.K. Narayan and RajaRao. Of the three great names that had left
an impact on the 20th century writers- Gandhi, Marx and Freud- Gandhi's impact on
Indian writers is obviously more direct and wide spread. Moral and intellectual in its
nature, it worked as a liberating force and it not only widened the range of the writer's
sympathy but also heightened its intensity. The Indo-English novelist receiving a
powerful ethical stimuli began to see his country not in terms of self-analysis of
facing the reality but of being actually aware of the problems that beset his country:

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The impact of Gandhi on the Indo -English. novelists on the pre
independence era can be noticed not only by their selection of themes
but also in their presentations (J.D. Gupta).
No more attracted by high-flown, artificial, oratorical style, they now sought to
write in a direct and compact manner, devoid of all superfluities. Mulk Raj Anand ,
for example, writing out of sincerity and austerity:
Exercised so much influence on Anand that he started weaving home-
spun clothes, found himself transformed from a blooms burry
intellectual to a more emphatically, self confident writer and decided
writing only about the poorest of the poor. whom he had known
specially and was inspired to brood on the last always and Gandhi
also exhorted devotion to the poor (Gupta 152).
Dividing the history of Indo-English literature into five periods, Iyanger
Characterises the period between 1920- 1947 as the era of the Gandhi revolution and
the modem heroic age. Not that the Indo-English novelist was doing something
heroic on selecting a theme and narrating it against its contemporary social
background. Against the contemporary social background, almost the singular attempt
was made by writers in regional languages of the country as well. Further it was not a
sudden and overnight break from the old tendencies, old themes, and old techniques.
Traditional, sentimental didactic novels continued to exist but the appearance of the
realistic novel with this purpose is what identifies the thirties during which the Indo-
English writer like his counter- parts in the regional language soon realized that his
salvation lay not in reproducing the imitative voices of his colonial masters, but in
seeking the strength, fertility of his cultural similarities and social cultural experience.

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This resulted in the creation of socially meaningful literature but remarkable for its
intellectual maturity, technical sophistication and artistic vision.

This decade of the thirties was indeed a blooming period for the Indo-English
fiction. It saw the appearance of the first novel by the big three -Anand's
Untouchable (1935), R.K.Narayan's,'Swami and Friends' ~a Rao's)
'Kanthapura'(l938). In them can be seen a marked improvement on their
predecessors in technical form and style. Anand moddled his novel on the
contemporary European and American novelists, borrowing the stream of
consciousness' technique of James Joyce and D. H. Lawrence and psychological
analysis and social realism from Zola, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. Naryran sought to
deal almost exclusively with the middle class family of Southern India in sympathetic
irony, in tragic, comic mood whereas; Raja Rao dwells on the puranic, Hari katha
tradition of story telling and makes an old village granny unfold the narrative in
autobiographical form. This form of narration, as, has been effectively useful in
analyzing a situation and unfolding the multi - faceted personality of a character.

With the appearance of the first novel of these three eminent writers in the
thirties .The Indo-English novelist, may be said to have ripened, in to maturity. These
writers brought in focus new themes, new technique, new style and new approach to
the novel on the strength of achievement of the Indo-English novelist. The opinion
can be well quoted here:

It was in the thirties that the Indian began what has now turned out to
be a very substantial contribution to the novel in English, and one
peculiarly suited to their talents (Shasi).
Tagore,Premchand and Sarat Chandra seem to have influenced Mulk Raj
Anand directly. Tagore's universal humanism and ideal ofbrother-hood,Premchand's

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sympathy for the under-dog and Sara! Chandra's deep understanding of the heroic
suflering and essentially noble heart of the humble- folk all these seem to have
influenced the artist in Anand and this influence can be traced through out his creative
work by portraying the rural India's poverty, ignorance, privation and perpetual
suffering on one hand and its enduring heroism, purity of heart and fellow- feeling on
the other, Anand can be said to have achieved in artistic terms . Infact, what Premched
could not encompass should give the credit of furthering the humanistic tradition of
Tagore, Premchandra and Sarat Chandra and bringing the form of the novel with the
contemporary developments in Britain and France. In his novels one can see an
oriental manner of story telling being replaced by western dramatic technique.
Coming to Nayantara Sahgal, one can find that works of fiction and non-fiction the
impact of Gandhian ideals and value is clearly seen, especially that of the cult of non-
violence. And his clarion call to the Indian women to participate actively in the
freedom movement made them conscious of the much needed liberation and equality
of opportunity in social, political and personal life. This need for women's liberation
and their urge to be considered as equal and honourable partners of men seems to be
one of the central concerns ofNayantara Sahgal's novels. Gandhi's compaign for Quit
India movement, Tagor's views on universal brother hood appear to have influenced
Bhawani Bhattacharya, also and these influences are clearly evident in his writing.
With these writers, the novel can be said to have struck deep roots in the Indian soil
by imaginatively treating the contemporary themes. These novelists have sought to
explore and interpret India significantly in its various aspects - social, economic and
political. One can level the charge that such novels neglect the fate of individuals in a
particular -human-situation that they do not deal with personal, private predicament
but it must be remembered that dealing with a social theme such novels are more

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concerned with in presenting the entire picture of society rather than with individual
personal history. The characters in these novels tend to be, therefore, types rather than
individuals as it is true of the 19~ century socio political novels of India. The Indo-
English. novelist like any good creative writer, with a social conscience born of the
phenomena enacted around him is essentially a realist who moves around the society
and experiences the crisis and tensions of the struggling classes. It is this that arouses
his deep creative impulses and ultimately makes him a writer. Critics may argue that
since the Indo-English novel is mainly concerned with the temporary or topical events
in life, his work ceases to have a universal appeal but this is hardly as what, Rama
Murti observes, in this connection and is quite significant:

In the literature of the age, its conflicts, tendencies and obsessions are
uncovered and made manifest to a degree which is continuely,
astonishing good writers are capable of stirring the feelings and
emotions of the people they deal with. Contemporary novels are the
mirror of the age, but a very special kind of mirror, a mirror that
reflects not merely the external feature of the age but also its inner face
ever seen the debut of the big three during the thirties, novel as a form
has continued to dominate the literary scene (RamaMurti).
The Indo-English novelists have produced a considerable body of fiction-from the
point of view of both quantity and quality. The Second World War, the independence
and the partition of the country were other historical forces that gave further impetus
to the Indo-English novelists. There was enough material in the society tom by
communal frenzy, political manipulations, social disparities and corruption for the
thematic treatment by the novelist to stir the imagination of the countryman to a new
awakening. And this could best be done through the medium of the novel. The Indo-

7

English novelists well realised that so long as the imagination of the people is not
aroused the seeds of reform will keep lying on the road to be trodden upon by the
unweary traveller.

The classic period of Indian writing in English is from about 1930 to the
present. There has been a remarkable continuity of aims and procedures of Indian
literature in English during the last two centuries. Since 1835 when English displaced
Persian as the official language of Government, English has been the essential
medium of educated Indians- Raja Ram Mohan Roy, is the father of Indian literature
in English. As propagandist, reformer, thinker, master of the written word his
influence extends through writers like Torudutt, Tagore, Sarojani Naidu and on to
Shri Arvindo Ghosh, Gandhi, Nehru, Neerad Chaudhary and Khushwant Singh. This
continuity is related to the development, of India. Self-awareness and national
aspirations developed first in a cultural response to the challenge of the British rule
and thus a cultural nationalism arose. Then after the rising of the 1857, the political
nationalism developing articulately and literature in various forms in English explores
the nature of India and goes in quest offreedom.

The earliest literature in the form of essays and treaties as those of Ram Mohan
Roy, was infact, mainly humanist criticism of both of Indian society of Hinduism
itself and of Imperialism. To take one example, Roy was. Like Gandhi, a reformer, he
wished to purge Hinduism notably of tantrism which had gone largely in Bengal and
suggested that this be replaced by more robustly ethical Brahmanism of earlier times,
but he was equally critical of western contempt for Hinduism as a hold and his aim
was to show to the west to his English Master that Hinduism in its pure form was
viable and highly ethical .He made an assault on the orthodox tradition and
condemned the 'Sati-Pratha' and stimulated the British to bring about reforms which

were beneficial and made India a more human society. Thus, Roy can, therefore, be
seen as the first rationalistic liberal reformer. He was essentially a humanist and in
this respects as much a Hindu as Kabir, Gandhi and Nehru. R.K. Narayan has been
extravagantly praised by the western critic. He is essentially an excellent story teller
and through irony and humour is able to bring out the inner and outer fabric of life.
He can handle pathos well and sometimes tragedy also, but his finest talents are
reserved for the sympathetic, ironic, comedy of Indian Urban middle class life. He
deliberately avoids such themes as extreme poverty inequality of wealth,casticism and
religious fanaticism. He has, like many comic artists, created his own India in
Malgudi and filled it with mythical characters. It is Narayan's special quality to create
themes concerning social realism and present these problems and ills with which most
Indians belonging to the middle class family are infected.

Novelist Khushwant Singh has praised Narayan for his decision to steer clear
of political issues in his novels. Singh believes that Indian writers were inhibited in
colonial times from writing freely, not out of fear of superstition and punishment, but
on the contrary, because many of them felt that they had to use their books as
weapons in the freedom struggle. He welcomed Independence if only because it had
relieved Indian writers of their self-imposed moral necessity. Mulk Raj Anand, the
most committed of the Indian writers after 1930, deals with social and economic
problems in his novels. It is obvious that with the departure of the Britishers, the new
elected rulers and social classes of the country would come under scrutiny. Another
writer who sees violence as a key element in Indian life is Manohar Malgaonkar.

The English writing tradition has never been broadly representative of India,
though Tagore for one was deeply Indian and did not mind using popular idioms in
his poetry. A kind of conservative reaction is visible after 1947.While the new realism

9

grew widely popular in the fifties; the Indian seemed to be looking else where for
inspiration. Especially to Camous and Satre India has gone through violent and
traumatic experiences, which have reinforced the idea stressed by Gandhi and Tagore
and given new expression by RajaRao and Sudhin Ghosh. Among other novelists best
summed up perhaps by Ramaswami in, The Serpent and the Rope:

India is not a country like France is, or like England, India is an idea,
a Metaphor (Anuradha).
The Indian novel in English made its debut in the last two decades of the 19"'
century. In the beginning the main trends were historical and there was native crudity
and it remained so up to 1920 on the whole:
There were hardly a dozen Indian novels in English by this time.
Hence 1920 onwards may easily be regarded as the beginning of
serious effort in the field of Indo-English fiction (Asnani).
Indo English fiction has acquired certain distinctive features through a long
steady and slow process and experiments of technique of narration, concentration and
form called for new and proper themes and at the same time the problem of writing in
an alien language. Over a period of four decades notable achievements have been
made by writers like Mulk Raj Anand, R.K. Narayan, Raja Rao, G.V. Dasani, Anita
Desai, Manohar Malgaonkar, Kamla Markandey, Nayantara Sahagal, R.P. Jhabwala,
Sudhir Ghosh and Khuswant Singh.
The first striking feature is that the novel is the most dominant branch of Indo-
English literature as in the case of American Literature. Although Indo English
literature is in the novel form. Inspite of the fact that Indian writer who has to cater to
an average readership has a limited market and has to compete with others to publish
a book abroad, etc. Indians have come out to attempt the novel:

10

The genre of imaginative litemture which gives artistic form to the
relationship of men and society (Indian Novel 245).
It is perhaps because the novel form suits the Indian temperament. The Indo
English novel is not an imitation of the west. The novelists writing in English- R.K.
Narayan, Raja Rao and Mulk Raj Annand - who have of course imbibed the essential
lessons of the western novel, especially James Joyce,are no imitators of their western
counter parts. In his book, An Area ofDarkness, V.S.Naipal said that:
The Indo English novel is mimicry of the west-western novels depict
life here and now where as thoughtful men in India have preferred to satisfY
the basic hunger for the unseen, but the accusation is not true. Perhaps V.S.
Naipal has read only Narayan and Nirad Chaudhary, Malgaonkar, Jhabwala
and not RajaRao's "The Serpant ofRope (Alfered).
The Indo English novel is the product of the two-parent traditions- Indian and
Western. That is why Mrs. Meenaxi Mukhatjee, calls it the twice born-fiction:
The novel both in the west and east must trace its origin to a distant
past. In one sense India has a richer potential for the novel than the
west thanks to the Indian's gift for story telling which goes back to the
Rigved and the Upnishad.The Indo English novel depicts both the
social and the spiritual realities. These two things are present in ancient
Indian story (V.S.Naipal).
The Indo English novel has wider range and wider scope. It is far this reason
that Namyan's 'The Guide' is more engaging than Naipul's 'Mystic Masseur',
kipling's 'kim' and Raja Rao's 'The Serpant and the Rope' is more significant than
E.M. Forster's A passage to India:

II

llu: nuvd is h:mpcnunenullly suitc:d to lndillllS bccttusc: the story is 11
nwn: importunt part of u novel. India has 11 glorious heritage uf story
telling. RujuRao said in his prefoce to 'Kanthapura · "un episode
follows when our thought stops our breath stops and we move on to
another thought, there was and still is an extra-ordinary style of our
story telling (T.D.Brunton).
Indo English novel emerged as a distinct genre. Within a short period it
showed a lot of maturity and has established its separate identity. There are several
traces of this maturity. The writers were conscious about their technique. They were
inspired by varied creative impulses which have changed from period to period
because of the attempt made by the writers' choice for new themes and techniques.
Though there is not much scope for experimentation in fiction yet there have been
some successful experiments. Mulk Raj Anand makes use of the stream of
consciousness technique in 'Untouchlable ', which has a form and shape and
coherence not found elsewhere. In 'The Guide' Narayan by alternating the story of
Raju, the saint and the auto biographical of Raju, the tourist guide achieved an artistic
and technical triumph-Raja Rao made a successful attempt in 'The serpant and the
Rope ' by a combination of an autobiographical matter of narration and the flash back
jotting from diary and the chronicle method. Thus the maturity of Indo English fiction
is seen in attention paid to techniqu~ by Indian novelists. One of the main features of
Indo English fiction whether it be a merit or a defect, is awareness of the western
audience on the part of the novelists. An Indo English writer writes for the intellectual
elite in India who unfortunately are few and most of the reading public prefers sex or
spy - thrillers - hence he is faced with severely limited readership and has to cater to
an average readership. He surmounts this problem by catering to western audience.

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Most of the Indo English novels have been published abroad, Raja Rao, R.K Narayan,
Khushwant Singh's etc. have large western audience.

This awareness of western audience has influenced the subject matter of the
novel. Manohar Malgaonkar rightly said that writers like, Raja Rao and R.K.
Narayan, represent essentially the western idea of India. But this does not mean that
Indo English novel is purely meant for western readers, there are elements of India
ness brought into the novels by writers. Novels written in other countries have the
essence of their own nationalism. Indian novels in English are a vehicle of Indian
sensibility because of the operative sensibility of the Indo English novelist is local. It
therefore, makes Indo English fiction a part of Indian national literature. Another
outstanding feature of Indo English fiction is its variety of interests. Although it has
only three phases, the historical novel, the social and the political. There is enough
variety in Indian fiction. There were only scattered examples of social themes such as
Raj Laxmi and 'Devi' but with the passage of time emerged new themes and issues
and they were thus taken up by Indian writers. It is clear that Khushwant Singh in his
fiction has used social and moral issues in his novels and this shows clearly how
conscious he is of the burning issues confronting India today.

Khushwant Singh's is one of the greatest writers of Indo English Literature.
'Train to Pakistan' and'/ Shall Not Hear the Nightingale' are interesting novels and
both of them are historical in setting. Train to Pakistan is the first attempt at the
treatment of the theme of Indo Pak partition. This novel presents the very essence of
the partition. It is very difficult to resist the temptation of comparing the Train to
Pakistan with Malgaonkar's A Bend in the Ganges or with Chaman Nahal's 'Azadi'
or with Rushidie's Midnight's Children. Train to Pakistan has all the three unities-
unity of time, place and action. All other novels as mentioned above lack in these

13

unities. In Train to Pakistan, the intensity and the drama of action and passion can be
seen. The spread of the story is amazing. The novelist also takes an opportunity to
wmment on the corruption and inefficiency of the government love, lust, sex, bribery,
corruption, helplessness, murder and theft play their roles. Sacrifice and human
dignity have the pride of place. The occasion is that of Indo Pak partition.

Kushwant Singh who was born on February 2, 1915 at Hadali in West Punjab
(now in Pakistan.), ranks among India's most distinguished men of letters. He is
known as an essayist, short story writer, novelist, biographer, and editor, attaining an
international reputation for his superb writings. He has won numerous literary awards
and appreciations. He has published three collections of short stories. Singh's first
novel Train to Pakistan (1956), originally entitled Manomajra, is one of the finest
realistic novels of the post world war seventeen. The novel picturises a village called
Manornajra in Punjab and his real experiences in rural India .The background of
Punjabi lit also provides him essential style and time for exploration of the experience
of the rural area. The train symbolizes life and action, death and disaster. The scenes
of the train coming from Pakistan, which bring in countless dead bodies to
Manonamajra is aweful and heart-rending. The scene and setting of the train presents
a funeral atmosphere. Unlike a normal train, the train from Pakistan has no headlight
and it is like a ghost, symbolising darkness and death. The structure of the novel is
well knit and well regulated having a compact form of development of action and
character.

Kushwant Singh's second novel, I Shall Not Hear the Nightingale is
the story of two families,one Sikh's and the other Hindu's-set against the last period
of the British Raj in the Punjab province and just about five years before the
attainment of India's Independence .Although the novel substantially deals with

14

India's current political situation in Punjab, yet it is not a truly political novel since
the politics in it apparently lacks a deep involvement with the situation, interest and
commitment to the political motives, even the political philosophy. The novel has a
limited range and it does not go beyond an obvious limit of a socio political narrative
interest, though it has substantive elements of intensity and fullness of passion.
Kushwant Singh has no apparent political motive of involvement as can be found in
R.K.Narayan's 'Waiting for the Mahatma' and Raja Rao's Kanthapura.

Kushwant Singh's Delhi, is a queer blend of history, romance and sex. The
chapters of the novel contain the vivid picturisation of history commenting on the
Mughal Period of Babar and ending with assassination of Indira Ghandhi . The novel
sometimes appears to be a travelogue when Khushwant Singh' presents a vivid
picture of various modes of historical periods of Delhi with its real name and form.
The historical events narrated in different chapter of his novel are seen nicely
wrapped with sex and romance. The narrator, being himself the novelists, sexual
encounter with Bhagmati a hizra, creates a sinister feeling among the readers. The
novel begins with a vivid picturisation of Dehli. Kushwant Singh is keenly aware of
the fact that the sexual use of minor boys and girls by their relatives is becoming
increasingly common metro political cities and other parts of our country .He states as
to how a cabinet minister impregnated his daughter in law or an Indian staff of the
African embassy is sexually misused or a college lad writes a letter complains that his
step mother raped him while his father was out of station. The novelist further
highlights the social abuse ofhizra by different people. Some enjoy her like a woman
and some others enjoy like a boy unnaturally. The novel ends giving heart-rending
descriptions of Delhi's 1984 riot killing hundreds and wounding thousands of

15

innocent Sikhs. The novel has its peculiar style of its own in which Mr. Singh projects
history of India wrapped upon romance and sex.

Khushwant Singh's latest novel The Company of Women may be regarded as
the last great Indian lascivious novel giving the graphic view of male and female
anatomy and a titillating account of innumerably sexual encounters of his protagonist.
The author's narrative is so superb that the readers feel like watching a blue film
rather than reading a fictional novel. Some critics say that the novel is neither erotic
nor funny but it is infact a sad novel. Other critics condemn the novel for its peculiar
theme and say that the novel gives sex a bad name. The novel begins with its hero
Mohan Kumar, a sophisticated rich businessman living engaged in several sexual
encounters. Mohan Kumar does not see anything wrong in adultery as it has some
advantages also. After the enraged wife of Mohan, Sonu leaves home, he becomes
impatient for fulfillment of his sexual needs and his unlimited and unrestricted sexual
appetite over powers him. He starts his sexual encounter with Dhunno, who looks
bosomed having terrific hips. He feels like agreeing with the version of his college
mates who believed that sweeper women are the best lover and are also wild and hot.
In a bid to win her favour he gives her tips from wallet and speaks some symbolic
word, Dhunno shows her positive response and quietly allows Mohan to do what he
wants with her body but very soon he becomes fed up with the anatomy of the
sweepress and soon starts looking for an other opportunity of encounter.

The next woman he encounters is, Sarojani Bhardwaj, a doctorate in English
literature teaching under graduates in a college. She comes to Mohan's house and
starts living there being introduced as a distant relative. The purpose of the novelist is
to show how perverted Mohan Kumar is, how he conducts himself in an unnatural

16

way, thereby inviting disgrace tor the family to which he belongs as an honourable
and respectable man. Lite is to be lived according to the norms laid down by eminent
thinkers and philosophers from time to time. Unless life is lived in this way, there is
bound to be chaos and disorder in the life of a person. This is what exactly happens to
the protagonist of this novel. Another woman MohanLal comes in contact with is
Yasmeen, a Muslim student from Pakistan. Mohan La! is surprised to hear absurd
questions relating to Hinduism from her mouth. It is then that he takes liberties with
her by playing with her body and the response that he receives from her in this
connection is very positive. It is in this way that MohanLal comes in contact with
many other women and has sex with them. As a result of his frequent sexual
encounters with various women, he becomes a victim of the cruel disease called
AIDS. Thus Mohan's life comes to an end with his end.

As a writer Khushwant Singh's began his career with short stories. His first
collection of short stories is 'The Mark of Vishnu' and other stories (1950).1t can be
safely said that Khuswant Singh can be considered as a greater short story writer, than
as a novelist, though they happen to be the two related branches of literature. It is also
true that Singh as a novelist comes no where besides the 'Big Three' or even beside
such novelists as Kamla Markandey, Anita Desai, Shashi Deshpandey, Ruth Praver
Jhabwala, Bhawani Bhattarchaya, Mohan Malgaonkar and Arun Joshi. What makes
the difference is imaginative fervour and creative out put. Khushwant Singh with his
four novels seems to have run out of creative steam. One can notice a gradual decline
in the quality of his fictional works. Undoubtedly, Singh's first novel 'Train to
Pakistan' can be considered to be the best of the three. Singh may, otherwise, be
remembered as a fearless journalist, a candid historian, a staunch crusader of Sikhism,
a bold personality who can do away with the government awards and honour, but as a

17

novelist he has hardly shown signs of improvement. It is equally true that his down to
earth realism is beyond any question. With the publication of his novel 'Delhi' in
1989, Khushwant Singh established himself as a major English novelist.

The earlier novels of Khushwant Singh were accorded a warm welcome by the
reading public in India and abroad. Though the novelist has got recognisation in his
own right and few critical books have been written on him, he has not been able to
receive the kind of critical attention he deserves. Admittedly, Khushwant Singh is a
great story teller. His novels combine the narrative technique of the west and the
Punjabi fiction. He is full of anecdotes and they add a special flavour to his novels.
His sense of humour is rich and typically Punjabi. He makes jokes even at his own
cost and that of his community as well. He is good at presenting points of view with a
satirical tone. He makes liberal use of various Journalistic elements in order to make
his novel exciting and gripping.K.hushwant Singh's plain-speaking has not often been
safe for him as in the case of Tagore whom he under rated as a writer of eminence.
This gave rise to nation wide controversy and criticism:

I can not resist making fun of name droppers, calling liars to their
faces. And I love abusing the arrogant. I have been in trouble many
times because of my inability to resist mocking these types. And since
most name droppers self-praisers and arrogant men go from success to
success become ministers and governors and with awards, they don't
deserve 'my anger' often explodes into denouncing them in print
(Khushwant Singh).
What Singh has said in these lines is noticeable in the characters, plots and
stories of the novels. Train to Pakistan, I shall Not Hear the Nightingale and Delhi in
which he has not spared these types and developed the characters as representatives of

II!

the types. Singh believes in the essence of the religion and is very particular about his
own religion and language. Singh's art of story telling, his genuine interest in genuine
things and his frankness besides his love for both the ugly and the beautiful and his
down-to- earth realism are the qualities which call for a close study to understand the
man and his mission. Some critics of Singh's writings have been very generous in
their praise for him, while some others have not been so liberal. Those who have
praised him have gone to the extent of hailing him as an author of international repute,
a born story teller. While these criticizing him have held the view that the qualities,
which he has been hailed for, are either altogether absent in his work or have no
relevance to his creative talent and the progress of his art.

Shyam M. Ansari goes to the extent of conforming to the views of Khushwant
Singh who in his article has asserted:

Singh is a novelist without vision. In his article he writes: Since his
creative literary output is meager- a .couple of novels and three
collections of short stories - that too not of a very high order-one can
hardly assail Mr. Kulshresthra' s suspicion that critics of Kushwant

Singh seem to have been tempted to praise him for his possibilities and

immense promise without establishing any correlation with the work
he has actually produced so far (Shyam).
It is not true that Khushwant Singh is a novelist without vision and qualities of
head and heart. He does possess some qualities which carve out a place for him in the
Modern Indo Inglian writing and it would not be out of place to quote Ansari himself
who has identified Singh's qualities as an established writer in the following lines:
The comic spirit, exploration of the world around and presenting it in
all its nakedness and the truth and capacity to capture reality in all its

19

magnificence and horror, the felicity of expression, stark originality,
unique lightness of touch mingled wit a touch of fantasy are precisely
the qualities that are distinctly his own. He chooses only those areas
and aspects of lite which he knows best and successfully presents them
with sardonic with lively spirit, gentle jocularity and pricking prank
(Shyam 9-10)
In his literary writing Singh's is purposive and meaningful in the present
society and social and moral disintegration. He has a deep faith in religion, especially
Sikhism and embodies his faith in his novels. He has his own vision of courage and
action molding the moral design of his novels. It is his Jove for humanity that inspires
him to write. He has a keen eye for details and a vision of life, which has been
sustaining him and his work relentlessly.

20

WORKS CITED
I. A Writer and his Moves by Anuradha Chaupra, Times of India, 29 Oct., 1989,8
2. Among the Believers -New York :Aifered Kampf 1981,14
3. An Interview with V. S. Naipal(By Alison B. Carb),Literary Review 29, Nov.

1988,645
4. Asnani, Syam, World Litrature Written in English , Guelph University ,

Canada, 1987. 73
5. J.D.Gupta- Language, Conflict and National Development (Bombay: O.U.P.,

1970): 157
6. Khushwant Singh:Seeing Oneself in Not a Nice Man to Know ed.Nandini

Mehta, Viking, Penguin books India, 953, 14.3-5
7. K. S. Rama Murti-Rise of the Indian Novel in English, sterling Publication,

New Delhi, 1987. 91
8. Shasi Tharoor-The Great Indian Novel (New Delhi Penguin India, 1989): 6
9. Syam M Ansari: "A Study ofTrain to Pakistan appearing in Rajasthan Journal

ofEnglih Studies. Vol2, Jan.1976.9
10. T .D. Brunton -Indian Fiction: The Heritage of Indian ness -Critical Essays

on Indian Writing in English (E.D.M.K.NAik,S.K. Desai, G. S. Amuri,

1972):200
11. The Great Indian Novel. 245

21

Chapter II
ART AND TECHNIQUE WITH REFERENCE TO HIS NOVELS
The second chapter entitled Khushwant Singh's Art and Technique with
rciference to his novels brings out Singh's art and technique with particular reference
to his fiction. If Khushwant Singh is a great writer of Indian English, he is an ardent
lover of Urdu language also he is indeed among the very few whom, unmoved by the
linguistic clap trap, has introduced the richness and great variety of Urdu to Urdu and
English speaking readers. In the writing of creative works, Khushwant Singh finds
any Indian language a poor substitute for English. According to him English is a
hybrid language. Enriched by every language it has come into contact with, including
some ten thousand words from Indian languages. Indian languages Singh argues, Jack
a technical, political and commercial lexicon too. Singh does not favour a blind
bondage to the English language. He advocates a free adoption of this language for
own purposes. In fact, his use of Hindustani expressions, including abusive words and
phrases now and then adds to the typical technique of Khushwant Singh as a writer.
His novels combine the narrative technique of the West & the Punjabi fiction. He is
full of anecdotes and they add a special flavour to his novels. His sense of humour is
rich and typically Punjabi. He is good at manipulating his point of view and the use of
satire. He makes judicious use of various journalistic elements in order to make his
word exciting and interesting.
Khushwant Singh's art of story telling, his genuine interest in genuine things
and his frankness, besides his Jove for both the ugly and the beautiful and down-to-
earth realism are the qualities which need a close study to understand the man an his
mission as a writer. Edwin Muir makes a fine distinction between a dramatic novel
and a novel of character, saying that while dramatic novel is limited in time and free