COLONIALISM, IDENTITY AND POLITICAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN MULK RAJ ANAND’S ACROSS THE BLACK WATERS AND THE SWORD AND THE SICKLE

Abstract

Mulk Raj Anand’s Across the Black Waters (1940) portrays the trials of Indian soldiers in the First World War, whereas The Sword and the Sickle (1942) analyses the exploitation of the peasantry by imperialism and the rise of peasants against the same. Through the journey of Lalu Singh, both novels link personal tragedy to wider structures of imperialism and oppression. In Across the Black Waters, Lalu's experiences of war and military service, as well as racial discrimination, undermine his admiration of Europe and its civilisation. Similarly, in The Sword and the Sickle, Lalu’s coming back to his village demonstrates the ways in which the peasantry is exploited in terms of land dispossession, indebtedness and the imbalance of agricultural labour. This paper compares these two novels in order to explore how colonial oppression influences the formation of identity and transforms the disillusionment of an individual into political awareness. With the help of textual analysis and critical perspectives of Jonathan Highfield, Angela Eyre and Suresht Renjen Bald, the paper investigates Anand’s portrayal of resistance, the political agency of marginalised groups and the drawbacks of revolutionary leadership. It is found that Anand links military servitude to economic exploitation but questions the ability of political movements to bring about equality. Despite allowing an opportunity for the marginalised to articulate themselves against those in power through the novels, there is no clear resolution regarding the achievement of social harmony.