The Great Indian Novel
Plot Summary
The novel’s sections and chapters are organized similarly to the Mahabharata, and the topics and events treated in each hint at themes and events in the mirrored sections of the epic. The story is divided into 18 “books,” exactly as the Mahabharata is divided into 18 books and the Battle of Kurukshetra lasted 18 days.
The Twice-Born Tale is the first book in the series. A counterpart to the Mahabharata’s “Book of the Beginning” in certain ways. The narrator, Ved Vyas, recounts his personal history in this section: the seduction of Satyavati by the Brahmin Parashar and his own birth; the origin of Dev Datta from the union of Shantanu and the now absent Maharanee (whom he met on the banks of the Ganga (Ganges) and who had had seven suspicious miscarriages); the marriage of Shantanu and Satyavati and Dev Datta.
The Duel with the Crown is the sequel to Mahabharata’s “Book of the Assembly Hall.” The title of this section is a reference to Paul Scott’s novel The Jewel in the Crown. Ved Vyas also links his memoir to Nirad Chaudhuri’s The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian. The equerry of the British resident is named “Heaslop,” a reference to a character in A Passage to India.
The figure of Sir Richard, a British resident of Hastinapur, is introduced, who is protesting about Ganga Datta, who is still serving as regent of Hastinapur. Ved Vyas narrates Dhritarashtra, Pandu, and Vidur Dharmaputra’s childhood under the care of the regent, Ganga Datta.
Ganga Datta launches his first protest effort after discovering the misery of the people of Motihari. Gangaji is apprehended and pleads guilty to violating a police order, yet his actions result in a triumph for the Motihari villagers.
The Rains Came is a sequel to the Mahabharata’s “Book of the Forest.” This section’s title alludes to Louis Bromfield’s The Rains Came.
Sir Richard is enraged by the Motihari occurrences, and Heaslop observes that Gangaji never properly resigned from the regency of Hastinapur. Hastinapur can now be annexed by British India due to the regent’s sedition.
The marriage of Dhritarashtra and Gandhari gets off to a fantastic start. The faithful young bride has determined to always wear a blindfold over her eyes, depriving herself of whatever her spouse is depriving herself of. Pandu also enjoys his two sexually skilled wives.
He develops a “massive coronary thrombosis” while having sexual congress with both at the same time and is barred from ever engaging in sexual intercourse again. Pandu joins Gangaji’s cause and encourages his wives to seek other sexual partners in order to continue bearing him heirs. Kunti explains that when she was younger, she bore Hyperion Helios’ child but sent him down the river in a basket. Gandhari the Grim has one daughter, Priya Duryodhani, who is to be the equivalent of a thousand sons, rather than a hundred sons.
The Fourth Book: A Raj Quartet Parody of the Mahabharata’s “Book of Virata” This section’s title relates to Paul Scott’s Raj Quartet.
Hastinapur is annexed to the British Marabar Presidency (an allusion to the “Marabar Caves,” which figure prominently in A Passage to India). Hastinapur residents are demonstrating in the streets, threatening to revolt. According to rumors, Gangaji will address a crowd at the Bibighar Gardens (an allusion to the “Bibighar,” which figures prominently in A Jewel in the Crown). Heaslop advises Sir Richard to let the passions die down on their own, but Sir Richard instead summons Colonel Rudyard and the Fifth Baluch, who open fire on the defenseless crowd in the Bibighar Gardens. Almost 400 people are killed, and thousands more are injured.
Colonel Rudyard has retired with a half-million-pound pension following the Bibighar Gardens Massacre. An unknown Nobel Prize-winning poet returns his knighthood (a reference to Rabindranath Tagore). Gangaji launches the Quit India Movement (an allusion to the Quit India Movement started by Mahatma Gandhi). Instead of Colonel Rudyard, bungling assassins murder Professor Kipling. This Professor Kipling was the racist teacher who had struck a young Pandu, therefore ending Pandu’s formal schooling.
Vidur resigns from the government service, but Gangaji and Dhritarashtra force him to reconsider. Dhritarashtra is appointed as the Kaurava Party’s leader, and Pandu is appointed as the party’s top organizer. Yudhistir, Bhim the Brave, and Arjun are the sons of Dharma (a youthful magistrate), Major Vayu of the palace guard, and Devendra Yogi. Kunti, exhausted, calls a halt to the cuckolding, and Madri asks to take up the torch. She had an affair with the twins Ashvin and Ashwin and has twin sons Nakul and Sahadev as a result of it.
The Fifth Book: The Silent Powers
The Mahabharata’s “Book of War Preparations” counterpart. The title of this section is a reference to Paul Scott’s novel The Towers of Silence.
During an outbreak, Sarah Moore convinces her brother, the manager of a jute mill in Budge Budge, near Calcutta, to give a bonus to the mill workers. Workers refuse to give up the bonus after the epidemic and are locked out. Sarahbehn enlists Gangaji’s assistance, and Gangaji begins his first protest fast. The British Raj orders the Mill Owners’ Association to capitulate.
Forbidden Fruit is the sixth book in the series.
A schism develops between Dhritarashtra and Pandu, who are both working inside the Kaurava Party to support the cause of Indian independence, with Pandu adopting a tougher stance than Gangaji and Dhritarashtra. Gangaji attends the British government’s Round Table Conference. Mahadeva Menon, a Kaurava Party official from Palghat, persuades Gangaji to act on the mango tax. Gangaji begins the Great Mango March, prompting Pandu to leave the Kaurava Party.
A Kaurava protest turns violent at Chaurasta, and Gangaji calls off the mango agitation. Gangaji is summoned to a meeting with the viceroy and tells an uneasy Sir Richard why he consumes goat’s milk instead of cow’s milk.
The Seventh Book: The Rise of the Son
A sequel to the Mahabharata’s “Book of Drona.” This section’s title references to Ernest Hemingway’s novel The Sun Also Rises.
Ved Vyas recounts the divides in Indian culture and how colonial practices exacerbated them, as well as the formation of the Muslim Group under the figurehead leadership of Gaga Shah, an “overweight sybarite.” Mohammed Ali Karna, the haughty and (literally) smart son of Kunti and Hyperion Helios, rises to fame as a lawyer and member of the Kaurava Party thanks to the generosity of Indra Deva, Karna’s adoptive father’s employer.
Dhritarashtra criticizes Karna after learning that his (adoptive) father works as a driver. When Kunti meets Karna, she realizes he is her eldest son. After circumcising himself with a knife, Indra Deva bestowed the surname “Karna,” the “Hacker-Off,” on him. Karna quits the cause for England, but Gaga Shah asks him back to India to command the Muslim Group.
The Eighth Book: Midnight’s Parents The Mahabharata’s “Book of Karna” counterpart. This section’s title references to Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children.
The five Pandavas and Priya Duryodhani mature, displaying their personalities. Priya unsuccessfully attempts to poison and drown her cousin Bhim. While playing cricket, the Pandavas meet the sage Jayaprakash Drona, who tells them of his son, Ashwathaman, and his disgrace at the hands of Ronald Heaslop, which drove him to his purpose of educating young Indians to help the British overthrow. Drona is chosen as the Pandavas’ tutor.
Pandu plans to run for the Kaurava Party president, and Dhritarashtra is concerned that he may lose the election to Pandu. Gangaji persuades Dhritarashtra to resign in favor of a less recognized and untouchable character. Thus, if Pandu wins the election, Gangaji and Dhritarashtra will not be considered defeated.
The Ninth Book: The Mahabharata’s “Book of Shalya” counterpart. This section’s title references to Rudyard Kipling’s Kim and M. M. Kaye’s The Far Pavilions.
Pandu is chosen president of the Kaurava Party, and a power struggle between him and Gangaji for control of the party’s direction begins. Gangaji outwits Pandu, who is defeated in a vote of confidence and resigns.
To convey Pandu’s story, Ved Vyas moves to verse. Pandu establishes the Onward Organization (the OO), an allusion to the All India Forward Bloc. Pandu joins up with the Germans and the Japanese against the British and establishes the Swatantra Sena (a reference to Subhas Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army) to battle British soldiers on the Burmese front.
Pandu summons Madri to accompany him, and the sight of her in a military uniform begins to erode his control over his sexual desires. Pandu and Madri surrender to their desire while fleeing defeat in Singapore via air. Pandu dies of a heart attack, and the jet is shot down, killing both him and Madri.
Darkness at Dawn is the tenth book in the series.
A sequel to the Mahabharata’s “Book of the Sleeping Warriors.” – The title may be a reference to Arthur Koestler’s Darkness at Noon. As a student of Drona in the military, terroristic, and patriotic arts, Ashwathaman joins the Pandavas. When Arjun is forced to split an academic prize with Ekalavya, the son of a maidservant, Ekalavya discloses that he has been listening in on the Pandavas’ teachings from outside the door. Drona asks that Ekalavya cut off his own right thumb and offer it to Drona in lieu of payment for his tuition. Tharoor’s Ekalavya, unlike in the original Mahabharata, rejects and runs in terror. Drona has a hearty laugh.
Karna mulls his options when the Muslim Group’s candidates are defeated in the elections by Muslim members of the Kaurava Party. Karna proposes a coalition government in the Northern Province’s legislative assembly. Vidur urges Dhritarashtra to accept Karna’s plan, despite the fact that the Kaurava Party has enough seats in the Northern Province to govern alone. Mohammed Rafi, a Muslim Kauravaman, advocates that Karna’s offer be rejected, and Dhritarashtra and Gangaji agree. Karna is determined to obtain power through other ways.
The viceroy and Sir Richard deliberate about what to do in response to the outbreak of World War II. Sir Richard tells the account of Sir Francis Younghusband, who seized Tibet accidentally really intended to merely see the tourist attractions and grab a few decent shots of the Potala Palace, but one of his rifles inadvertently went off, and when he saw all the notables on their knees trembling, he couldn’t really disappoint them by not conquering them.”) Sir Richard persuades the viceroy to declare war on Germany without consulting the provinces’ elected governments.
Legislators from the Kaurava Party quit in protest at the declaration of war. The Muslim Group benefits from the absence of the Kaurava Party in the administration, which takes over the government in three provinces. Gangaji launches the Quit India Movement, and the Kaurava Party’s leaders are imprisoned. The strengthened Muslim Group declares the establishment of a separate Muslim state to be known as Karnistan (the “Hacked-Off Land”).
Amba seeks a sex-change operation from a plastic surgeon in order to exact her revenge on Gangaji. Following the end of the conflict, the Kaurava Party does well in the election, but the Muslim Group retains its dominance. The British government accuses troops who joined Pandu’s Swatantra Sena with treason. The viceroy is Viscount Bertie Drewpad. Georgina, his wife, is ecstatic about the idea of dallying with lusty Indian guys.
While Dhritarashtra prepares to meet the new viceroy, his wife, Gandhari the Grim, is dying and refers to Priya Duryodhani as her “son.”
The Eleventh Book: Renunciation — Or, the Bed of Arrows’ Response to the Mahabharata’s “Book of the Women” Lord Drewpad informs Dhritarashtra, Mohammed Rafi, Ved Vyas, Sardar Khushkismat Singh, and Karna of the British intention to depart from India on August 15, 1947. Dhritarashtra and the Kaurava Party agree to India’s partition. To the chagrin of an experienced administrator named Basham, Mr. Niols is assigned to draw the border between the two new countries. Vidur supports the viceroy in making judgments regarding power transfers.
By inviting Sarah Behn to sleep in his bed, Gangaji begins an attempt to eliminate sexual desire. While violence shatters India, Dhritarashtra begins an affair with Lady Drewpad. While India is celebrating its independence, Amba, now Shikhandin the Godless, murders Gangaji.
The Twelfth Book: The King Who Couldn’t Be
The Mahabharata’s “Book of Peace” counterpart. This section’s title references to Rudyard Kipling’s The Man Who Would Be King. Ved Vyas mentions “Children were born at awkward times of the night who would go on to identify a generation and reinvigorate a literature,” a reference to Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children. Sir Beverley Twitty, K.C.M.G. is the name of Drona’s secretary.
Jayaprakash Drona, now Minister of State for Administrative Reform, is given the opportunity to exact vengeance on Ronald Heaslop, who has lost everything in the rioting. Instead of responding to Heaslop’s long-ago unwillingness to assist him with coordinated malice, Drona gives Heaslop a job.
Georgina Drewpad’s relationship with Dhritarashtra (now India’s Prime Minister) continues. She gives birth to a daughter on January 26, 1950, the day India becomes a republic, who is given up for adoption and given the name Draupadi Mokrasi.
The Maharaja of Manimir, Vyabhichar Singh (“Mr. Z”), strives to avoid acceding to either India or Karnistan. Mohammed Rafi encourages Dhritarashtra to keep Manimir as a part of India. Vidur, now the Principal Secretary for Integration, advises patience, expecting that Sheikh Azharuddin, a Kaurava friend, can depose Mr. Z. Dhritarashtra decides to allow Karna, now the governor-general of Karnistan, make the first move, which he does, providing the Indian government with a pretext to send in Khushkismat Singh, the Minister of Defense, with Indian troops.
Vidur travels to Devpur to urge Vyabhichar Singh to sign the document of accession and persuades Colonel Bewakuf Jan to interrupt the maharaja’s sports with a Frenchwoman. Vidur makes his case while the maharaja is under the influence of an “enormous silk razai.” The companion, “a steatopygous blonde wearing nothing but a look of terror,” finally persuades the maharaja to sign. Vidur assists the Maharaja in fleeing to Marmu, his winter residence.
Invading Pathans become inebriated, and the Indian Army parachutes into Devpur. Dhritarashtra takes victory from the jaws of defeat by stopping the Indian Army’s march and summoning the United Nations. Professor Jennings criticizes his student, D. Mokrasi.
The Thirteenth Book: India Passages
The Mahabharata’s “Book of Bhishma’s Final Instructions” counterpart. This section’s title alludes to E. M. Forster’s A Passage to India.
Drona decides to leave government and do “productive work” in rural areas, bringing Ashwathaman with him. The five Pandavas want to go along with it and inform Kunti, their chain-smoking but still attractive mother. Yudhishtir swears never to disobey his mother in exchange for her blessing.
Dhritarashtra consults Kanika about what he should do about Drona and the Pandavas’ growing popularity. Kanika advises Dhritarashtra not to give the Pandavas too much political power, but Dhritarashtra is too idealistic to listen. Priya Duryodhani, on the other hand, is paying attention and takes Kanika’s advice seriously.
Vidur, now the Secretary of the Home Ministry and the chief of the Central Bureau of Intelligence, attends a land reform rally in Drona to warn the Pandavas that Priya Duryodhani is scheming against them. Vidur arranges for the Pandavas to hide out with Kunti in Varanavata.
Karna, who had been sick, died while attempting to pull a car out of the mud with his own hands. Hearing the news, Kunti mimics her firstborn son’s final move by shaking her fist toward the sun.
The Fourteenth Book: The Rigged Veda’s response to the Mahabharata’s “Book of Horse Sacrifice.” This section’s title alludes to the Hindu religious text the Rig Veda.
Priya Duryodhani’s representative is Purochan Lal, the proprietor of the hotel where Kunti is staying. Vidur intercepts the wires and sends a coded message stating that the house is lac-coated and will be set on fire. The building is on fire, but Vidur arranges their escape while pretending they died in the fire.
Vidur tells Dhritarashtra about a Winston Churchill joke that Khushkismat Singh botches. Dhritarashtra picks Kanika to replace Singh as Minister of Defense after addressing the Manimir crisis.
The Pandavas roam India, fighting for the rights of the oppressed. They refuse to support either of two corrupt landlords, Pinaka or Saranga (whose men attacked a man named Hangari Das).
The “non-aligned” movement is founded by Dhritarashtra and Kanika. They make the decision to annex the Portuguese colony of Comea. Bhim rescues and marries a beautiful girl from her cruel brother, Hidimba (“a huge man with a little goatee”).
While witnessing India capture Comea, the Chairman of the People’s Republic of Chakra orders the Chakar People’s Liberation Army to cross the Big Mac Line and annex the nation of Tibia on the Indian border. Chakar forces must cross into Indian territory to enter Tibia from the region of Drowniang.
Ghatotkach, Bhim’s son, is born in the town of Ekachakra. Sahadev takes on champion wrestler Bakasura and is defeated. Kunti is irritated with her other sons for allowing Sahadev to carry out his plan. The Chakars annex a section of Indian territory, which tears Dhritarashtra’s heart and causes him to die.
The Act of Free Choice, the Fifteenth Book
The Mahabharata’s “Book of the Hermitage” counterpart. Dhritarashtra leaves nothing to Draupadi Mokrasi in his will, and her adoptive father is concerned that he would be unable to find her a suitable marriage. The Working Committee of the Kaurava Party chooses Shishu Pal, who is “honest but restricted,” to succeed Dhritarashtra as Prime Minister.
Draupadi captivates the Pandavas at a training camp convened by Ved Vyas. Priya Duryodhani is irritated that Draupadi is diverting attention away from her lectures and orders Ved Vyas to marry Draupadi. Ved Vyas believes that only Arjun is suitable for Draupadi, but he realizes that Arjun would not be faithful to her.
Priya Duryodhani plans to pair her with Ekalavya, from whom Drona sought his right thumb and with whom Priya Duryodhani evidently had a juvenile romance. Draupadi chooses Arjun, but due to a misunderstanding, Kunti orders the Pandavas to divide the “gift” they brought home evenly. All five Pandavas married Draupadi, with Ved Vyas utilizing his father’s sorcery to keep her virgin for each of the five wedding nights. Bhim’s wife abandons him. Karnistan invades Manimir again, seeing India as weak after its loss at the hands of the Chakars. Shishu Pal successfully directs a counterattack. Shishu Pal dies of a heart attack shortly after signing a cease-fire agreement.
In the absence of a generally acceptable successor, Ved Vyas persuades the Working Committee to choose Priya Duryodhani. The Pandavas adhere to a tight schedule in order to share Draupadi’s bed. Arjun breaks the taboo by going to fetch a speech manuscript while Yudhishtir and Draupadi are there. Arjun’s conjugal privileges are suspended for a year under the guidelines. Arjun resolves to spend the year as a “roving reporter” for a newspaper, witnessing the state of the people and finding a new sexual companion in each location he visits.
Arjun eventually arrives in Gokarnam, where he meets Dwarakaveetile Krishnankutty Parthasarathi Menon (nicknamed “Krishna”), the local Kaurava Party secretary who recently deposed the local political machine chief, Kamsa. When Arjun first encounters Krishna, he is performing a traditional dance form called Ottamthullal as a sort of societal satire. Arjun and Krishna become friends, and Arjun develops feelings for Krishna’s sister, Subhadra. Arjun is advised by Krishna to woo her through abduction. Arjun, befuddled, abducts Kameswari by accident in the dark. A second effort succeeds, and the couple marries.
Arjun calls Draupadi and informs her that he is bringing home a new maid, making their eventual meeting awkward. Draupadi and Subhadra are as close as sisters by the time their sons, Prativindhya and Abhimanyu, are born.
The Bungle Book — Or, the Reign of Error’s Counterpart to the Mahabharata’s “Book of the Maces” This section’s title references to Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book.
The Kaurava Party suffers defeat in state and local elections, although maintaining a majority in the national Parliament. According to Yudhishtir, new leadership is required. Priya Duryodhani has agreed to hold a general election. Yudhishtir is named deputy prime minister, but Priya Duryodhani excludes him from the Cabinet, and Yudhishtir resigns.
Priya Duryodhani invites Ashwathaman, Drona’s son and the leader of a socialist splinter organization, to join the Kaurava Party Working Committee. Priya Duryodhani joins Ashwathaman in calling for the abolition of India’s previous princes’ secret purses. Yudhishtir leaves the Working Committee. The bill to nationalize the banks is then championed by Priya Duroydhani and Ashwathaman.
Dr. Mehrban Imandar, India’s president, has died. The Kaurava Old Guard defies Priya Duryodhani by nominating Ved Vyas as the Kaurava Party’s presidential candidate. As an independent candidate, Priya Duryodhani supports Ekalavya. Ekalavya is expelled from the Kaurava Party by the Working Committee for rejecting the party’s official candidate. Ekalavya narrowly wins the poll before the Working Committee can decide to remove Priya Duryodhani.
Priya Duryodhani divides the Kaurava Party, establishing the Kaurava Party (R) (“R” for “real”) to compete with the Kaurava Party (O) (“O” for “official” or “old guard”). Priya Duryodhani wins with the Left’s backing.
Jarasandha Khan, the military ruler who rules Karnistan, declares elections. The Gelabin People’s Party gains a majority in the Karnistani Parliament, representing the Gelabi people of East Karnistan. Zaleel Shah Jhoota convinces Jarashanda Khan to annul the election results and proclaim martial law in East Karnistan. Priya Duryodhani joins the Gelabins in the fight, and the Gelabi Desh War results in the formation of a new nation-state. Priya Duryodhani’s popularity grows as her victory over Karnataka grows, but her authority becomes increasingly repressive.
The Seventeenth Book: A Parable Counterpart to the Mahabharata’s “Book of the Great Journey”
Drona is the leader of the opposition to Mohammed Ijas’ rule. Priya Duryodhani has been found guilty of electoral malfeasance. Shakuni Shankar Dey, a Bengali lawyer and the president of the Kaurava (R) Party, advises her to declare siege and grab dictatorial powers. President Ekalavya agrees to the seizure of emergency powers. Priya Duryodhani orders the arrest of her political opponents.
The Eighteenth Book: The Path to Salvation \Counterpart to the Mahabharata’s “Book of the Ascent to Heaven.” Ved Vyas refers to the Kama Sutra as the “Great Indian Novelty.”
Priya Duryodhani calls elections. Ved Vyas appoints Krishna to lead the opposition campaign. Priya Duryodhani thus gets Krishna’s experienced Kaurava Party grassroots electoral machine. At a critical moment, Krishna persuades Arjun that he should criticize Duryodhani’s administration instead of remaining a disinterested reporter. Bhim, Nakul, and Sahadev stay out of the campaign, refraining from endorsing either party. The People’s Front defeats the Kaurava (R) Party.
Drona and Ved Vyas consult with the parties of the People’s Front coalition to choose the new prime minister. Their ultimately erroneous choice is Yudhishtir. Ashwathaman is appointed head of the party organization. People’s Front leadership gathers at the Taj Mahal for a ceremonial oath.
The return of Krishna to local politics marks the beginning of the failure of the People’s Front. Yudhishtir proves to be “as stiff and straight-backed and humorless as his critics had always portrayed him, and his colossal self-righteousness was not helped by his complete ability to judge the impression he made on others.” Yudhishtir becomes a target of fun in the national and international press when he admits to drinking his own urine. The “strongmen” of Yudhishtir’s cabinet are locked in squabbles and Yudhishtir “remained tightly self-obsessed, seemingly unaware that half of those who sat on the executive branch with him were busily engaged in sawing it off.”
Priya Duryodhani, labeling faltering government as the “Backward Front,” begins to gain political strength again. As Zaleel Shah Jhoota is toppled in another Karnistani military coup, Priya Duryodhani runs rings around her prosecutors while being tried for subverting the constitution.
Yudhishtir suffers another publicity blow when he attends a speech by a holy man who uses the word “Untouchables” instead of “Harijans.” Ashwathaman criticizes Yudhishtir and the party organization awaits word from an ailing Drona that it is time for Yudhishtir to go. Yudhishtir dispatches Sahadev to tell Drona that Ashwathaman’s plane has crashed. When asked Yudhishtir confirms that “Ashwathaman is dead” and Drona dies without throwing support to Yudhishtir’s opponents on People’s Front.
When Ved Vyas confronts Yudhishtir regarding his lie about Ashwathaman, Yudhishtir says that early that day he had caught a cockroach, named it Ashwathaman, and killed it; thus, his statement to Drona was not a lie. Ved Vyas refuses to accept Yudhishtir’s explanation and abandons him. In any case, Yudhishtir’s deception is ultimately pointless. The government falls and Priya Duryodhani is victorious in the next election.
Ved Vyas sees a vision in which the Pandavas, Draupadi, and Krishna hike up a mountain. One by one they are killed, except for Yudhishtir, who reaches the top. When Kalaam, the god of time, offers to bear Yudhishtir to the court of history, Yudhishtir refuses to leave his faithful dog behind. The dog reveals himself to be Dharma, Yudhishtir’s father, and the three board Kalaam’s chariot together. In the court of history, Yudhishtir is stunned to find a place of honor given to Priya Duryodhani.
Themes of the Great Indian Novel
The Great Indian Novel is a satirical commentary on Indian politics and society, and as such, it covers a wide range of themes. Some of the major themes explored in the novel include:
Politics and Power: The novel critically examines the Indian political landscape, with a particular focus on the actions and motives of the major political leaders of independent India. The book explores themes of corruption, ambition, and the abuse of power.
The Indian independence movement: The novel draws parallels between events and characters in Indian mythology and politics during the time of India’s independence movement and explores the sacrifices and struggles of the freedom fighters.
Caste and Religion: The novel comments on the role of caste and religion in Indian society and politics. The book highlights the difficulties faced by marginalized communities, such as the Dalits, and the ways in which the political and religious establishments have perpetuated social divisions.
Democracy and freedom: The novel is a commentary on the state of democracy in India and the challenges faced by the country in preserving the values of freedom and equality.
The influence of Western culture: The novel explores the impact of Western culture and colonialism on India and its people, and the ways in which India has tried to preserve its own cultural heritage.
The role of the media: The novel examines the role of the media in shaping public opinion and influencing political outcomes, and the ways in which the media can be used to manipulate public opinion.
These themes are explored through the use of a rich tapestry of references to Indian mythology, history, and politics, and through the use of witty, irreverent, and insightful commentary. The Great Indian Novel is a thought-provoking and entertaining read that offers a unique perspective on the politics and society of modern India.
Characters in the Great Indian Novel
The Great Indian Novel is a novel by Shashi Tharoor, first published in 1989. The novel is a political satire that draws parallels between events and characters in Indian mythology and politics during the time of India’s independence movement and the first few decades after independence.
Some of the major characters in the novel include:
Mohandas K. Gandhi – A prominent leader of India’s independence movement and the novel’s central figure.
Jawaharlal Nehru – The first Prime Minister of India and a key figure in the Indian National Congress.
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel – One of the leaders of the Indian independence movement and India’s first Deputy Prime Minister.
B. R. Ambedkar – A social reformer who worked towards the rights of the Dalits, or the “untouchables,” and was the primary architect of the Indian constitution.
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad – A freedom fighter and the first education minister of independent India.
Rajendra Prasad – The first President of India and a key figure in the Indian independence movement.
Indira Gandhi – The daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru and India’s third Prime Minister.
Sanjay Gandhi – The younger son of Indira Gandhi and a controversial figure in Indian politics.
Lord Mountbatten – The last British viceroy of India and the first Governor-General of independent India.
These characters and their actions are used by the author to comment on the political and social issues of modern India.