In his novels, Anand reveals himself as a true humanist, a champion of human rights, opposing the exploiters, tyrants and evil doers. He was always profoundly interested in human welfare. This influence made him a staunch Marxist and he advocated the dignity of man. It was because of his genuine and profound humanism that his early novels, Untouchable and Coolie were primarily the novels of protest against the miserable conditions of men like Bakha and Munoo. He describes the daily life of the oppressed.
 |
| Mulk Raj Anand As A Humanist with reference to Novel Coolie |
In novel after novel, he has given expression to his humanism through his portrayal of the victims of injustice and persecution. He has criticised the Hindu society which regards a particular class of human beings as untouchables. In fact, his humanism has been the inspiration and the driving force behind almost all his novels. He is a novelist in the Dickensian tradition with zeal to expose the injustice with a particular class of society. The portrayal of this oppression arouses in the readers and strong resentment against the Hindu caste system as well as the whole social system.
Coolie is one of the most outstanding novels of Anand's humanism. Though Untouchable is also a great protest, the Coolie is much more powerful portrayal of this great evil. It is through this novel that he did a great service to the country. It exposes not only the poverty but also the exploitation of the poor by the rich class and the industrialists. This novel is the exposure of the evil of poverty and their sufferings. The novel begins with the miserable life of the child Munoo. The whole novel is the unfortunate experience of his life in two years. He travels from place to place in quest of livelihood and happiness. We see him in his village where he is dependent upon the charity of his uncle and aunt. His parents had died when he was yet a child. He is sent away from the village because his uncle is not prepared to bear his burden any more.
Anand's humanism is revealed in the portrayal of the miserable life of Munoo in the home of Babu Nathoo Ram as a domestic servant. We witness his plight in a middle class household where Bibiji has made his life a hell. She is always harsh and abusive with him. Now for the first time, he realises that money is the most important thing in life. The tortures in that life in his home are so great that he finds no solace anywhere. He concludes that there are only two kinds of people in the world - the rich and the poor. He is frequently beaten both in the home of his uncle and that of Nathoo Ram. One day, he is very badly beaten and so he runs away and takes shelter in a railway train. There, by chance, he comes in contact with a kind hearted businessman Prabha. He takes him to his pickle factory and looks after him with great love. Munoo passes his life happily for some days. Here again he has to suffer at the hands of the partner of the factory. Ganpat proves to be a villain. He is cruel not only to Munoo but also to his partner Prabha. He deceives him and he is reduced to bankruptcy. Prabha fails to pay the debt and so he is arrested. At the police station, he is badly beaten, he falls ill and is thus compelled to leave Daulatpur. Munoo is now quite alone and decides to earn his livelihood. Anand presents a very miserable picture of the sufferings of the coolies and the labourers. Munoo fails to work in the grain market and earns very little in the vegetable market.
Anand's compassion for the poor is only because of his deep humanism. This feeling forces the novelist to give us a very moving account of the misery and wretchedness of Munoo in Sham Nagar and Daulatpur. It is again the same humanism that compels him to continue with the story of Munoo's life in Bombay and Simla. But we note that the novel is not merely the story of Munoo. We find the misery of many other workers in the pickle factory and in the market we witness the plight of a multitude of unemployed coolies who run to get a work as soon as a shop opens and are ready to work on very low wages. There are Tulsi, Maharaj, and Bonga who are ill-treated by Ganpat. At the police station there is the scene of great inhumanity. In the grain market the coolies are lying restlessly in the most inhuman conditions. Munoo's predicament is only a small part of the general misery of the poor and unemployed people in Daulatpur. It is the scene of great exploitation.
The picture of the textile industry in Bombay is a powerful example of the humanism of Anand. Though the city is glamorous, thousands of coolies and labourers are sleeping on the pavements because they are homeless. It is with great difficulty that man earns his bread there. No man cares for the other in this large crowd of Bombay. It is with great difficulty that Hari, whose son Munoo has saved from being run over by the heavy traffic, gets a job in the cotton mill. They pass their life in great difficulties and live in a hut which is later damaged in the heavy rains. They are compelled to move to a chawl where so many other labourers like them are also living. The whole street is full of urine and dung because there are only seven latrines for two hundred people. Both Munoo and Hari are the victims of exploitation of Chimta Sahib, the head foreman of the mill. The shopkeeper also exploits the poor workers who sells things on very high rate and weighs less. The whole picture of the mill is very miserable and depressing.
Even in the mill, where Munoo, Hari and others are working, the atmosphere and working conditions are quite inhuman. The management makes them work for eleven hours in that suffocating condition. There is only one hand pump for so large number of workers to drink and wash. To add to their misery, the management announces the curtailment of the working days at the mill and thus their wages are reduced all the more which are already very low. The management is greedy and always cares for its profits. They are dominated by commercial motives. They are mischievous and can take any step in their own interest. Under the influence of the Red Flag Union, the workers go on strike. The management spreads the rumour that some Hindu children have been kidnapped by the Muhammadans. This leads to fierce communal riots among the workers. It spreads all over the city and many people are killed and wounded. Munoo himself narrowly escapes being killed and thus the whole atmosphere of the society is spoiled.
Anand has painted this life of the Indian society in this novel. In fact, need and poverty is the root cause of all these miseries. The poor are badly exploited everywhere. Very small money is paid to the domestic servants and they are not given even full food to eat. In the market there are no jobs. They have to struggle very hard for their livelihood. They are ill-treated everywhere and are even badly beaten. Even the police ill-treat the poor for simple faults. The son of Todar Mal who has become a sub - inspector beats innocent Prabha only because he has a grudge against him. In Bombay, the biggest city in India, there is no end to the troubles of the poor. They have neither roof over their heads nor employment to ensure regular income. They cannot fulfill the necessities of their life. At every step, they are faced with exploitation during their miserable existence. In Simla he is exploited both physically and sexually. Consequently, he suffers from -consumption and tragically dies at the age of sixteen. On the other hand, the political leaders misuse these poor people for their own ends. Sauda and other communist leaders lead them to strike and they have to face miseries. The rich earn a lot of money and live comfortably while the poor do not have even two times meals. On the one hand are industrialists in their palatial buildings and on the other hand are poor coolies and rickshaw pullers who are humiliated and exploited everywhere.
This aspect of humanism in the novels of Anand has been variously and widely praised all around. This humanism prevails right through Coolie and he shows himself as one of the first Indian writers to look on the savagely neglected and maltreated poor people. This novel is the combination of indignation at the condition of the poor. It portrays the delicate sense of the psychology of Munoo. The vivid and faithful account of the life of Munoo and of many others like him has been written by a great humanist with deep compassion for the poor and the oppressed. Anand is a novelist with a purpose, and his purpose was to bring about a social awakening for the reform in the living conditions of the backward villagers. He is a novelist who depicts wretchedness and misery in order that something may be done by the society for their good. In this sense, Anand is a true benefactor of the nation and a thorough going humanist in reality.