Chapter - VII

THE GREAT INDIAN

NOVEL
 Chapter - VII
THE GREAT INDIAN NOVEL

Shashi Tharoor is one of the prominent writers of the recent

generation. He has been regarded as a post-modernist. Shashi Tharoor

has grown up in Indian cities like Bombay and Calcutta. He has been

involved in the field of journalism since his college days. He has also

won the Rajika Kripalani Young Journalist Award for Indian journalist

under the thirty. He is graduate from St. Stephen's College, Delhi and

Doctorate from USA. Shashi Tharoor has worked for the United

Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. He has written several

stories, articles and commentaries in the newspaper and magazines.

The Great Indian Novel is his first novel and masterpiece.

The Great India Novel (1989) is a two in one narrative. The

Mahabharata story and the History of India are interwine in the

narrative. The characters from Mahabharata are recast by inducting the

national leaders. This is first of the its kind in the history of Indian

English Fiction. The Author himself states that The Great Indian Novel as

: "an attempt to retell the political history of 20th century India through

a fictional recasting of events, episodes and characters from the

Mahabharata".1

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Portrayal of Freedom Struggle and. its Consequences in The Great
Indian Novel

The Great Indian Novel is rewriting of the Indian History from the

national movement under the leadership Mahatma Gandhi to the

regime of Mrs. Indira Gandhi. It is endorsed by Meenakshi Sharma in

the following:

The historical account of India, which Tharoor

presents in The Great Indian Novel covers a much

longer time-period-from the nationalist movement

to the assassination of Indira Gandhi in 1984. a host

of important historical figures from the pre-and

post-independence eras. Gandhi, Nehru, Jinnah,

Patel, Indira Gandhi, Krishna Menon, Sam

Manekshwa, Arun Shourie - as well as major

historical events such as the Salt March, Jallianwalla

Bagh, the assassination of Gandhi, the Emergency

the General Elections of 1982, appear in the

narrative.2

Yet the major thrust is upon the history of Gandhian movement in the

mock epic mode. In this part an attempt is made to account for the

portrayal of Indian freedom struggle and India after Independence to

expose how the freedom struggle has been portrayed in periodic mode.

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Caricature in characterization: Many prominent freedom fighters are

used as characters in the novel. But they are not presented with their

original identities. They are recast in the characters of Mahabharata,

which is the first evidence of parody. Rajagopalachari is recast in the

character of Vyasa. It is well a known fact that Rajagopalachari is not

only a major freedom fighter but also one of the confidants of Mahatma

Gandhi. He has worked in the Gandhian campaign ever since its

beginning. Such a freedom fighter has been depicted as Vyasa in The

Great Indian Novel. But the parody lies in the ironical portrayal of

Vyasa-Rajaji. Rajaji is a conservative Brahmin and has had an image of

a man of morality. But in the narrative he is a bastard son of Parashar

and Satyavati. Besides, he is depicted as a polygamy by impregnating

Ambika and Ambalika. Hence the portrayal of Rajaji as a bastard son

and polygamy amounts to a parody.

Mahatma Gandhi needs no any proof for the claim of Mahatma.

He has been inversely acknowledged as a Mahatma universally for his

saintly qualities. But the portrayal of Gandhi in The Great Indian Novel is

contradictory to that image. He is portrayed as Gangaputra-Bhisma in

Tlie Great Indian Novel. His contribution to the freedom of India is

greatest of all the freedom fighters. It has been duly recognized by

calling him the father of the nation. But in the novel his struggle

through various campaign for freedom have been neglected. He is

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projected as a matchmaker, a vile brahmachari and political schemer.

This adds the character of parody to the greatest nationalist Gandhi.

Subhas Chandra Bose has an image of martyr in the history of

freedom struggle. He is an ardent fighter for the freedom of India. His

fame as a freedom fighter is next only to that of Tilak. Parting ways

with the mode of Gandhian freedom struggle it is he who has given

momentum to the militant and extremist way of fighting for freedom,

which was introduced by Tilak. He has escaped from the prison and

gone to Japan where he has established an army of Indian's under the

banner called 'Indian National Army' to win freedom for India not

through non-violence but through war. Such a personality as Subhas

Chandra Bose has been depicted as Pandu in the novel. The feature of

parody in the characterization of Subhas Chandra Bose is found in

showing him as an impotent. Further, he is portrayal to die not in his

endeavour in organizing Indian National Army but while copulating

with Madri.

Jawaharlal Nehru is also recast in the epic character

Dharitarashtra. The image of Jawaharlal Nehru in freedom struggle is a

popular one. He has been associate with Mahatma Gandhi for several

years and fought for freedom struggle relentlessly. His father Motilal

Nehru also is a great freedom fighter. Jawaharlal Nehru has gone to jail

several times during the struggle for the freedom. On the merit of his

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contribution to the freedom struggle he has become a very favourable

person of not only the people of India but also Mahatma Gandhi. To

honour him for his sacrifices Mahatma Gandhi has chosen him to lead

the free nation has the first Prime Minister of India. In the narrative

these qualities of Nehru have been ignored. He has been projected not

as a freedom fighter but as an eminent Prime Minister of India but as a

womanizer. He is portrayed to have neglected his own wife and be in

the company of Jarjan Mountbatten. While Indira Priyadarshani is his

daughter through his union with his wife, Draupadi is a daughter

through his union with lady Mountbatten. By deviating the focus from

the life of Jawaharlal Nehru in the freedom movement to his private life

the narrative emerges as a parody.

Jayaprakash Narayan appears as Dronacharya in the novel.

Morarji Desai appears as Yudhishtir. Indira Gandhi represents

Duryodhani in narrative. K. Parthasarathi Manen stands for Lord

Krishna in the narrative. These national leaders belong to the younger

generation of freedom struggle which participated in the Gandhian

movement actively they are well known followers. Though they have

not contributed so much the freedom struggle as their elders have done,

they are still our national leaders. But the narrative has not paid any

head to their roles in freedom struggle at all. On the other hand they

are portrayed as petty politicians. Therefore it may be considered that

206
the narrative distorts the history of freedom struggle by deploying

caricature in creating the characters.

Parody of National Movement in The Great Indian Novel

The narrative distrusts the belief that the national movement

under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi has genuinely strived to fight

against the British rule for the freedom. This distrust is expressed

through the distortion of some of the important programmes and

campaigns undertaken by Gandhi and other nationalists.

Gandhi is not presented as a national leader but has been

ridiculed in various manners in the narrative. His sense of modesty by

traveling in the third class train carriages is depicted with pinck of

irony:

Ganga Datta didn't travel alone either. In later

years he would be accompanied by a non-violent

army of Satyagrahis, so that the third-class train

carriage he always insisted on traveling in were

filled with the elegantly sacrificing elite of his

followers, rather than the sweat-stained poor, but

on this occasion it was a band of ministers and

courtiers he took with him to see Satyavati's father.

Ganga D. would always have a penchant for

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 making his most dramatic gestures before a sizeable

audience.3

Gandhi has been identified as Mahatma, as sage, the father of

nation across the world. There is a great sense of reverence for Gandhi

among the people of world. But his image is ridiculed by reference to

him a "Porbandar Baniya merchant."4-

Mahatma Gandhi is best known for die doctrine of non-violence

it is believed that Gandhi could win freedom without any bloodshed.

His advocation of non-violence has been presented with a strong note of

satire:

Shall I tell of the strange weapon of disobedience,

which Ganga, with all his experience of insisting

upon disobedience and obtaining it toward himself,

developed into an arm of moral war against the

foreigner? Shall I sing the praises of the mysterious

ammunition of truth-force; the strength of unarmed

slogan-chanting demonstrators falling defenseless

under the hail of police lathis; the power of wave

after wave of Khadi-dad men and women, arms and

voices raised, marching handcuffed to their

imprisonment?5

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 Gandhi is known to the whole world as a man who has devoted

his entire life for the freedom of India. He conceived the new

programmes like 'Quit India', 'Salt Satyagraha Movement' etc., to get

rid of the British rule in India. But the novel has not paid attention to

these events. Instead, he is presented to be busy with experiments in

celibacy, cow protection and practicing austerity. Mahatma Gandhi's

movements are made fun of by coining new terms for his programmes:

We Indians have a great talent for deriving

positives from negatives non-violence, no­

cooperation, non-alignment, all mean more, much

more, than the concepts they negate.6

Gandhi's Dandi March is fabricated in this novel. The reality of

the Salt-satyagraha in history of freedom struggle is landmarks. It

began on 12th March 1930 with historic Dandi march from Sabarmati to

Dandi coast. On 6th April Mahatma Gandhi violated the salt laws and

salt was manufactured all over the country as a revolt against the legal

prohibition. Nehru was arrested on 14th April and picketing of foreign

goods commenced intensively. The participation of woman was an

unprecedent scale. The salt-satyagraha made a tremendous influence

on Indians. Salt-Satyagraha upheld ideology of swaraj - by home made

salt. Such a historic event of Indian freedom struggle is fabricated as

the great Mango March in the novel. The satire on this Dandi March

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evident in portraying this as: "A low-risk strategy" as undertaken

Gandhi. The ironic dig at the image of Gandhi is explicit: "we are not

led by a saint with his head in the clouds, but by a master tactician with

his feet on the ground".7

Yet another stroke of satire on the image of Gandhi is traceable in

the ridicule of Gandhi's principle Brahmacharya. On the eve of

independence communal violence spreads like a wild fire across the

country. It shows the defeat of Gandhi's doctrine of non-violence while

the whole country witnesses violence Gandhi is bend upon proving his

Brahmacharya by sleeping with Sarah-behn. This is portray in novel as:

'Many of you', he said, with that combination

simplicity and shrewdness that was uniquely his,

'will notice a change in my sleeping arrangements

from tonight. Sarah-behn will sleep in my room

from now on-and in my bed'. He paused,

seemingly oblivious to the consternation his words

had engendered. 'Some of you may wonder what I

am doing. What has happened, you may ask, to

that terrible vow of old Bhishma, and the principles

of celibacy he has enjoined on all of us? Do not

fear, my children. Sarah-behn is like a younger

sister to me. But I have asked, her to join me in an

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 experiment that will be the ultimate test of my

training and self-restraint. She will lie with me,

unclad, and cradle me in her arms, and I shall not

be aroused. In that non-arousal I hope to satisfy

myself that I have remained pure and disciplined.

And not merely that. It is my prayer that this test

will help me to rediscover the moral and physical

strength that alone will enable me to defeat the evil

designs of that man Kama'.8

The evidence of parody is expressed in the remarks of Krishna Mohan

Pandey as "The way the whole description is given does injustice to the

father of the nation."9

Every one knows that Gandhi was assassinated by a Hindu

fanatic (Godse) while Mahatma Gandhi was in his prayer in Birla

House in Delhi. The death of Mahatma Gandhi has been regarded by

all as martyrdom. Gandhi has died for the cause of the nation. But his

death is portrayed with a great degree of irreverence in the narrative.

The death, which was considered by all of us a national tragedy is

presented in the most bitter manner:

'What a wreck you are, Bhishma!' the voice went

on. 'What a life you've led. Spouting on and on

about our great traditions and basic values, but I

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 don't see the old wife you ought to be honouring in

your dotage. Advising everyone about their sex

life, marrying people off, letting them call you the

Father of the Nation, but where is the son you need

to light your funeral pyre, the son of your own

loins? I've been looking everywhere, Bhishma, but

he's nowhere to be found!' The visitor spat redly

on the floor. 'You make me sick, Bhishma. You life

has been a waste, unproductive, barren. You are

nothing but an impotent old walrus sucking other

reptiles' eggs, an infertile old fool seeking solace

like a calf from the udders of foreign cows, a man

who is less than a woman. The tragedy of this

country springs from you - as nothing else could

after that stupid oath of which you are so

pathetically proud. Bhishma, the pyre has already

been it for you in the flames that are burning your

country. You have lived long enough!'.10

Gandhi is portrayed as having discriminated between Jawaharlal

Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose in their career in the Indian National

Congress. He prefers Jawaharlal Nehru to Subhas Chandra Bose in the

matter concerning to the opportunities of leadership in the Indian

212
National Congress. He misuses his authority in the Indian National

Congress only to rear Jawaharlal Nehru and deprives Subhas Chandra

Bose of the genuine rights to him. He sees to it that Subhas Chandra

Bose does not grow as a national leader. On the contrary he shows over

generosity to Jawaharlal Nehru. So that he enjoys higher position than

Subhas Chandra Bose.

Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, who have been held in

high esteem as nationalists, are recast in the mythical mould as Ganga

Datta and Dhritarashtra. But the reconstitution of their personalities is

characterized not by reverence but by its opposite. It is rightly noted by

A.S. Rao:

The Great Indian Novel is a reconstructed text

'yoking myth to history': Shashi Tharoor's

irreverence to the national leaders is deliberate and

a part of his new narrative technique and evolution

of a new political paradigm. Great personages like

Gandhi and Nehru identified with the achievement

and emergences of resurgent and independent

India searching the epithets of 'Father of India' and

'Architect of India' receive a total disregard at the

hands of Shashi Tharoor.11

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 Subhas Chandra Bose also does not escape from the bitter

criticism of the author. Subhas Chandra Bose is not projected as the one

who has disowned every thing for the cause of the nation. His

emigration to Japan for the formation of Indian National Army has

been distorted. On the other hand he is found in the company of two

wives in the forest. There he maintains celibacy in order to service from

curse. But at one juncture he loses self-control and is tempted to gratify

his lust with Madri:

Tow powerful beams of terrestrial light

Criss-crossed on the wings of Pandu's Zero;

Revealing to Madri a last vivid sight.

On her breast, the beatific head of her hero.

Then she knew; and she smiled, in the stillness that

followed.

The shell that was coming made scarcely a ripple.

She lifted his head, kissed him, slightly swallowed;

Then lowered him gently, his mouth to her nipple.

When the shell hit she could have sworn she felt.

A life-seeking tug at her soft swollen breast;

A split-second, perhaps, and then came a pelt

Of death-dealing shrapnel that tore open her chest.

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 For another split second the plane hung on there

Spotlit in the beams of the gunners below;

Then it burst into a flaming ball in the air

Burning crimson, consuming my son-and widow.12

In the description of Subhas Chandra Bose the struggle of Subhas

Chandra Bose for the formation of Indian National Army and the story

of Pandu are mixed. Though it does justice to the epic it fails to do the

same to the sacrifice of Subhas Chandra Bose as a freedom fighter. It is

so because the description contains voluptuousness, which is

unbecoming and unfair to describe the national hero like Subhas

Chandra Bose who has died in a foreign land during his endeavour to

organize an army to fight the British. It amounts to a bitter tribute to

Subhas Chandra Bose.

Gandhi's image in this novel is contrary to the traditional image

of Gandhi as found in the novels of Mulk Raj Anand, Raja Rao, R. K.

Narayan and others. From the beginning to the end Gandhi's

personality and ideology are satirized. The description of Gandhi is

characterized by vulgarity, irreverence and ruthlessness. Mahatma

Gandhi's merits have been ignored. It amounts to negating the popular

image of Gandhi as the leader of national movement.

215
 Then the focus of narrative is directed towards the state of India

under the leaders like Mrs. Indira Gandhi, Morarji Desai and

Jayaprakash Narayan. It aims at exposing how democracy has been

ruined during the tenures of these leaders. Draupadi represents

democracy. Morarji Desai is portrayed as Yudhishtir and Mrs. Indira

Gandhi stands for Duryodhana under the fictional name of Priya

Duryodhani. Jayaprakash Narayan is portrayed as Dronacharya. The

Pandavas and Kauravas are recast in the model of political parties such

as the Janta Party and Congress (I) respectively. Dronacharya -

Jayaprakash Narayan takes the sides with Yudhishtir - Morarji Desai.

The remaining brothers of Pandavas are the allegories for Army, Press,

and External Affairs etc. Bhima stands for Army, Arjun for Press and

Nakul and Sahadev for External Affairs.

Mrs. Indira Gandhi is portrayed to have been grappling with the

defence right from her younger days. This is shown in Priya

Duryodhani as distributing or conspiring the death of Bhima. The

rivalry gets intensified with the passage of time. Draupadi is married

to the Pandava brothers and she becomes the target of Priya

Duryodhani. Through the epic story Draupadi-Democracy lost by

Yudhishtir - Morarji Desai to Priya Duryodhani-Indira Gandhi. The set

back to Democracy through the declaration of emergency by Mrs.

Indira Gandhi is shown through the epic episode of stripping the saree

216
of Draupadi. It suggests that Indira Gandhi has been ritually

responsible for the ruin of Democracy in India.

Morarji Desai is also portrayed as a weak person of being unable

to restore the past glory of India. He is reduced to a mere political

opportunist. This shows that the national leaders have become corrupt

and hypocritic. By forgetting their lineage with die patriotic like

Gandhi, they are betrayers of our Indian Independence ideology.

Decadence of the Principles of Freedom during the Post-

Independence

While the narrative dwells upon the hypocracy of the freedom

fighters of the pre-independence period in the depiction of Gandhi,

Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhas Chandra Bose and Mohammed Ali Jinnah, it

reflects the betrayal of the principles of freedom, especially the doctrine

of Democracy, in the depiction of Morarji Desai, Jayaprakash Narayan

and Smt. Indira Gandhi who belong the next generation during the

post-Independence. A.S. Rao aptly notes this: "The hypocracy of the

living personalities of Post-Independence political history is exposed to

the core."13 In order to go about this, the novelist has adopted an

innovative method in the personification of democracy in the creation of

Draupati characterization and of Press in that of Arjun. In order words,

217
the epic characters Draupadi and Arjun stand for Democracy and Press

respectively in The Great Indian Novel

Morarji Desai who is recast as Yudhishtir in The Great Indian

Novel is portrayed as a weak and wicked character in the narrative. To

begin with, Morarji-Yudhishtir is made fun of when the Pandava

brothers seek the help of Drona-Jayaprakash to recover their ball, which

has slipped into a well:

'Our ball', replied Yudhishtir, the most direct. 'But

how do you know who we are?'

'I know a great deal, my boys', came the answer. 'A

ball, eh?' He looked with casual curiosity into the

well 'Is that all? You call yourselves Kshatriyas,

and you can't even recover a ball from a well?'14

On another occasion, Yudhishtir is portrayed as a coward. This is

shown in the recast of the Bakasura episode of the Mahabharata. When

the Pandava brothers along with their mother arrive at Ekchakra, they

are told that a wrestler by Bakasura has camped there for wrestle match.

Yudhishtir is asked to fight with him in the wrestling match but he

refuses to oblige due to fear which slyly described as: "'I'm planning to

attend a lecture on the dharma of non-violence', Yudhishtir said when

they looked at him instead.'Sorry.'"15

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 In the above instances, the emphasis is more on the epic and the

narrative turns to the state of affairs of modern India subsequently.

Now Morarji-Yudhishtir is shown to be in the Congress party. After

the death of Lai Bahadur Shastri, the Congress chooses Smt. Indira

Gandhi-Priya Duryodhani as the Prime Minister and Morarji-

Yudhishtir as the Deputy-Prime Minister. The latter observes that he is

ignored by the Prime Minister. He discloses how he has been subsided

himself: "'I'm Deputy Prime Minister but I know less about what's

going on than my own Chapmssi. Hardly any files reach me, and my

annotations on the ones that do are never acted upon."16 As a result he

resigns his position in the cabinet.

After his exit from the cabinet Smt. Indira becomes a dictator she

declares Emergency due to which many anti-Indira politicians are taken

into detention. In the ensuing election, Drona-Jayaprakash supports

election, Drona-Jayaprakash supports Morarji and the Janata Party

emerges as the single largest party. Morarji is chosen by the members

as the Prime Minister. Regarding this selection the narrative comments:

"the irony of beginning the era of the restoration of democracy with so

undemocratic a procedure."17

The tenure of Morarji Desai as the Prime Minister has been

satirized in the narrative. Though he was a freedom fighter, Gandhian

and a firm believer in democracy, he fails miserably to reconstitute the

219
country from the set back caused by his predecessor. He is portrayed to

be busy with his therapy in urine drinking about which A.S. Rao notes:

in die case of Dharmaja-Morarji, whose fads are

ruthlessly exposed, especially about his message to

the people about the utility of auto-urine therapy.

The funny coinage of 'Sharab Chodo, pishap peeyo'

became a national joke in those days.18

His wickedness is best exposed in the subsequent episode in the

narrative. Drona-Jayaprakash has become very weak in health owing

to his imprisonment during the Emergency. Now he is in a dilemma of

with drawing his support for the government under the Prime

Ministership of Morarji Desai. Consequently he betrays Jayaprakash

Narayan, which is depicted as:

T realize that. And if he add his voice to

Ashwathaman's I am finished Yudhishtir said

matter-of-factly. The time has come for me to act

as our ancestors would have done'. Without

responding to my raised eyebow, the Prime

Minister beckoned to his youngest brother.

'Sahadev, I want you to go to Drona's house now

and tell him Ashwathaman's plane back to Delhi

has crashed/

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 A look of genuine sadness appeared on the Prime

Minister's face. 'I am sorry, Dronaji', Yudhishtir

said. 'Ashwathaman is dead.'19

To sum up, the narrative clearly suggests that free India suffers at

the hand of the nationalists of the second generation in the episode of

Morarji-Yudhishtir. Obviously Morarji is the one who had participated

in the national movement led Mahatma Gandhi and who had

inculcated Gandhian principles in his life style. The country has vested

a lot of hopes in his leadership during the post-independence. On the

demise of Lai Bahadur Shastri, the influence of desire for power is

found on the mind set of Morarji Desai. This vested interest seems to

be in operation in him due to which he fails miserably to save the

democratic character of India.

Jayaprakash Narayan has been recast in two-in-one frame as

Drona-Jayaprakash. At the beginning, the narrative shows its

inclination towards the epic. Thus Jayaprakash Narayan-Drona along

with his Ashwathaman arrives at Hastinapur and becomes a tutor to

the Pandavas. He stays with them extending his full support.

Priya Duryodhani makes an invitation to Drona on the eve of

Morarji resignation. From here, the narrative moves towards the

politics of modern India. Again he is frustrated with Mrs. Indira's

dictatorial attitude, he comes away from her party: "Jayaprakash Drona

221
emerged from his retreat and called for a People's Uprising against

Priya Duryodhani."19 In the forthcoming election Janata Party which

was established by Morarji, and Jayaprakash Narayan wins the election.

At this juncture Jayaprakash Narayan-Drona plays a pivotal role to

choose the Prime Minister:

The two of us spoke individually with the leaders

of each of the political parties that made up the

Front. There were several of them, each with his

claims to overall leadership: political parties, after

all, Ganapathi, grow in our nation like mushrooms,

split like amoeba, and are as original and

productive as mules. Most of these leaders had at

one time or another been in the Kaurava Party, but

had left-or been pushed out-at various stages of the

party's takeover by Priya Duryodhani. Drona and I

surveyed the unprepossessing alternatives and

decided to go for the only one among them whose

honesty and sincerity was as unquestionable as his

seniority: Y udhishtir.21

Jayaprakash's conduct in this regard is governed by partiality. It

is so because, he misuses the power vested on him to do Morarji Desai

an undue favour. The narrative exposes this wickedness in

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Jayaprakash Narayan who had been a freedom fighter. Thus the

betrayal of the principles of Freedom Struggle by the very freedom

fighters has been exposed in the above instance.

While Mahatma Gandhi has been the target of the satire of the

narrative from among the celebrities belonging to the pre-

Independence era, Mrs. Indira Gandhi is from among those who belong

to the post-Independence period. Mrs. Indira Gandhi has been recast as

Priya Duryodhani who is an embodiment of the hundred brothers of

Kaurva's. In a way it suggests that Mrs. Indira is a culmination of all

tyrants and the greatest of enemy of nationalism.

Her role to jeopardize Democracy is depicted first in the attempt

to kill Bhima. In other words, she causes a set back to Democracy by

creating impediments to the defence. It is so because Bhima stands for

Defence in the narrative.

During her tenure, Press has been denied its free functioning.

This is portrayed in sending, Arjun who stands for Press, away from

Draupadi. Later, the declaration of Emergency by Indira Gandhi is

depicted through disrobing Draupadi. In this regard there is a strong

suggestion that Mrs. Indira Gandhi is a betrayer of Parliamentary

Democarcy in the post-Independence India. In a way The Great Indian

Novel prepares us for the negative depiction of Mrs. Gandhi through a

piece of well-conceived anticipation. The picture of Mrs. Indira Gandhi

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in The Great Indian Novel can be summed up with the observation T.N.

Dhar makes as:

At first, Mrs. Gandhi tried to entrench herself by

carrying out a series of populist measures, such as

the abolition of privy purses and the nationalization

of banks, which made hardly any difference to the

people in general. Later, she promoted the culture

of slogans, which replaced policies. Tharoor blames

the left and progressive forces in the country,

including recognized political parties, for being

taken in by her rhetoric and bluster. In her own

party, she reduced even cabinet ministers into non­

entities. Her return to power made her more

arrogant and dictatorial in her style of functioning.

She succeeded in arrogating to herself the power to

"prohibit, proscribe, profane, prolate, prosecute or

prostitute all the freedoms the national movement

had brought to attain...."(357). Events took on a

dizzy turn when, after the Allahabad High Court

judgment, she declared a state of emergency in the

country, which proved the most disastrous part of

her tenure. It is interesting as well as significant

224
 that the emergency has been considered by the

Indian English novelists as the most traumatic

event of post-independence India. Sahgal devotes a

whole novel to the emergency to dramatize its

effect on the general ethos of the country. In

Rushdie, it becomes the focal point of the

degradation in the political and secular character of

the country, which leads him to postulate two

different kinds of India's past. In Tharoor's

account, it is a part of the deteriorating democratic

culture of the country, because of which the blame

on Mrs. Gandhi is not as pronounced as in the other

two. Tharoor understands the emergency in its

very immediate context, when it was declared by

Mrs. Gandhi.22

Perspective of Freedom Struggle

The Great Indian Novel is identical with Midnight's Children in

more ways than one. Indeed the subject matter, and the attitude

towards Indian freedom struggle of these two novels are more or less

the same. Like midnight's children, The Great Indian Novel also dwells

upon the theme of the failure of freedom struggle to create a unified

225
nation. Again the stories of our Indian Independence, partition and the

Emergence in post-independent India are repeated. The attitude also is

satirical on the above themes.

The only difference between Midnight's Children and The Great

Indian Novel is that of the mode of narrating. While fantasy has been

used as a mode of narrative in Midnight's Children. The mock-epic is

mode of the narrative technique used in The Great Indian Novel. The

history of modern India from national movement to the Emergence is

narrated through the story of Mahabharatha.

The Great Indian Novel shares the post-modernist attitude towards

the notions of nationalism especially the ideology of Gandhi. This has

been reflected in various irreverent manners in which Mahatma Gandhi

and his ideology are described.

Gandhi is described as being more busy with his experiments

with brahmacharya, non-attachment, vegetarianism and Satyagraha etc.

Mahatma Gandhi who is in the mode of Bhishma takes a vow of

celibacy in order to help his father Vichitravira to marry Satyavati. It

clearly indicates the deviation from the fact. In reality Gandhi takes a

vow several years after his marriage and the birth of his children. But

in this novel Gandhi is portrayed as an unmarried man in order to be

faithful to the story of Mahabharatha. It shows an element of farce in

the description of the father of nation Mahatma-Gandhi.

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 While the narrative remains faithful to the story of Mahabharatha

with regard to the episodes of Bhishma it does not last long. Suddenly

Bhishma - Gandhi is portrayed to be experimenting with sex in the

company of Sarah-Behn. Though the narrative shows fidelity to the life

of Gandhi here the same is lost with regard to Bhishma for Bhishma has

had never such experiments at all. In a way it also amounts to

ridiculing Gandhi by making his private life public. The ideologies of

Mahatma Gandhi like non-attachment, vegetarianism and satyagraha

have been not only distorted in the description of Gandhi but also

portrayed as having failed in the post-independent India.

This echoes in the biographical sketch of Nehru by Frank Mores

Jawaharlal Nehru.

Mahatma Gandhi is chief principle-non-violence-which has stood

by and preached throughout his life has suffered a dead blow in the

post-independent India. The first evidence of this is reflecting in the

description of communal violence on the eve of partition. The second

and the most important instance of this are reflected in the description

of Mrs. Indira Gandhi's Emergence declaration. This has denied the

basic rights to the people of India and they are tortured under this act,

which is against the principle of Gandhi of tolerance, Love and Non­

violence.

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 On the whole one can infer that the perspective of Shashi Tharoor

on the notions of Freedom Struggle, Freedom and Democracy is

characterized by contradiction. Therefore, in The Great Indian Novel is

regarded as not only the child of Midnight's Children by also as a novel

protest against the conventional notions of such things.

Conclusion -1

The Great Indian Novel tells the history of Modem India through

the story of Mahabharata. The Mahabharata deals with the theme of

conflict between dharma and adharma. The Great Indian novel deals

with the theme of use and abuse of freedom. The narrative comes as a

vile review of the ethics of both the pre and post-Independence

nationalists.

In this regard, the narrative portrays such nationalists as

Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhas Chandra Bose,

Mohammed Ali Jinnah etc., as having been pseudo nationalists. During

the era of post-Independence the narrative views that all those who had

been associated with freedom struggle have become political power

mongers in free India with least bothered about the well being of the

nation. Rao notes the author's stand as: "He allegories the misrule of

Congress Party at the center, extending to and after the times of Mrs.

Indira Gandhi. He lambastes the policies and philosophies of Gandhiji

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and philosophies Jawaharlal Nehru who done the roles of Gangaji and

Dhritarastra Nehru in his mocks-serious methods of dramatization."22

Therefore, the perspective of the text amounts to saying that the notion

of freedom is dead.

Conclusion - II

In Chapter Six, the study reveals that Midnight's Children negates

the notion of nationalism. The narrative emerges as contrary to the

traditional prespect in respect of the freedom struggle in more ways

than one. First in the depiction of Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, the

narrative suggests that freedom struggle in the path of non-violence

ended up with violence only for several thousand people are killed in

the massacre. Secondly, in the depiction of the death of Mahatma

Gandhi and in the refusal to correct it purposefully the narrative

amounts not only to contradicting the popular knowledge but also to

disrespecting such nationalists as Gandhiji. Finally, in depicting Amina

to be in relief in knowing that the assassin of Gandhi is a non-Muslim,

the narrative suggests that the struggle for freedom has been forgotten

no sooner than is freedom gained.

In the episodes of the post-Independence India, there is vivid

account of the degradation of the ideology of freedom struggle in all

walks of life. Thus Midnight's Children's perspective on the theme of

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freedom struggle is post-realist or post-modernist because it regards

that the notion of freedom struggle is dead.

Tharoor's The Great Indian Novel is similar to Rushdie's Midnight's

Children in the perception of Modern India. While fancy has been

deployed in Midnight's Children, our epic Mahabharata has been used as

the framework to depict India from Gandhi's national movement to

Mrs. Gandhi's Emergency. The Great Indian Novel portrays such

nationalists as Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Mohammed

Ali Jinnah as pseudo freedom fighters. The depiction of Gandhi's death

shocks the readers' knowledge of- Gandhi's assassination. In the

depiction of the leaders during free India, The Great Indian Novel asserts

that the notion of freedom struggle and freedom has been exhausted.

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 REFERENCES

1. Shashi Tharoor, "Myth, History, and Fiction", Seminar 384

(August, 1991), 30.
2. Meenakshi Sharma, "Narrating India: Strategies of
Narrativisation and Histriography in Shashi Tharoor's The Great
Indian Novel and Vikram Seth's A Suitable Boy", Writing in a Post-

Colonial Space, (ed.) Surya Nath Pandey, New Delhi: Atlantic

Publishers and Distributors, 1999,135.

3. Shashi Tharoor, The Great Indian Novel, New Delhi: Penguin
Books, 1989,23.
4. Tharoor, The Great Indian Novel, 29.
5. Tharoor, The Great Indian Novel, 46.
6. Tharoor, The Great Indian Novel, 118.
7. Tharoor, The Great Indian Novel, 122.
8. Tharoor, The Great Indian Novel, 228.
9. Charu Sheel Singh, Response to Gandhi: Indian English Ficition of
the Nineties, New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers, 1997,248.

10. Tharoor, The Great Indian Novel, 232.

11. A.S. Rao, "Myth and History in Shashi Tharoor's The Great
Indian Novel", Myth and History in Contemporary Indian Novel in

English, New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers and Distributors, 2000,

66.
12. Tharoor, The Great Indian Novel, 190.
13. A.S. Rao, Loc. Cit., 83.
14. Tharoor, The Great Indian Novel, 156.
15. Tharoor, The Great Indian Novel, 303.
16. Tharoor, The Great Indian Novel, 343.
17. Tharoor, The Great Indian Novel, 403.

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18. A.S. Rao, Loc. Cit., 83.
19. Tharoor, The Great Indian Novel, 408-409.
20. Tharoor, The Great Indian Novel, 361.
21. Tharoor, The Great Indian Novel, 403.
22. T.N. Dhar, Entering History the Backdoor: Tharoor's The Great
Indian Novel, Commomvealth Novels in English, Vol. 788, 1967-99,

142-143.
23. A.S. Rao, Loc. Cit., 77-78.

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