Mulk Raj Anand’s Shorter Fiction: A Study of His Social Vision

Mulk Raj Anand is a versatile genius. He is not only a writer but also a political and philosophical thinker, and an active humanist dedicated to the cause of world peace and universal brotherhood. In his shorter fiction he condemns some of the social, political, ethical and moral practices which result in the oppression of the poor and down-trodden and also injustices against women. He is for the emancipation of the women. The present book makes a critical study of the major themes in his shorter fiction with a view to presenting his social vision. In his short stories he draws our attention to the plight of the poor, the ignorant and the illiterate. He is in deep sympathy with them, and in his typical half-humorous and half-ironic way he present their hard experiences of life. The author of this book has tried to capture the social vision of Anand by focusing on these experiences of the poor, and for this purpose he has profusely quoted from the text to enable the reader to read for himself the mind of Anand and form his own opinion.