Impact of Gandhian Thought on Indian Writers in English

The life and philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi dominated India throughout the twentieth century. His ideals of truth, non-violence, simplicity, and social justice have taken into account not only political movements but literature in India particularly that was written in English. Gandhian ideas began to dawn upon the literary landscape as a moral and social force which motivated the writers to rise against untouchability, poverty, colonial subjection and inward rebirth. This paper analyses the role of Gandhian philosophy in the major Indian English writers like Mulk Raj Anand, R.K.Narayan and Raja Rao. Sharma’s social novels are the revealing mirror of Gandhi’s ideals in terms of social reconstruction, national impersonation ethical and moral life and fight against unjustice. The article also touches briefly on the effect of Gandhian thought on Indian regional writers. The paper argues that Gandhian vision had indeed acted as an influential factor in the making of Indian English literature as a conscious literature with socialism and moral obligation.