Mulk Raj Anand

Mulk Raj Anand Biography

Mulk Raj Anand was an Indian writer in English and he along with R. K. Narayan, Ahmad Ali and Raja Rao were regarded as the pioneers of Indo-Anglican fiction. His works emphasized on the lives of the poor castes in traditional Indian society. His published novels are Untouchable (1935), Coolie (1936), The Village (1939), Across the black waters (1939) and The Sword and the Sickle (1942). Seven Summers and The Morning Face are his autobiography works. The Morning Face (1968) won him Sahitya Academy Award. He associated with Communism and used his novels as weapons against India's social structure and British rule.

Anand was born on 12 December 1905 in Peshawar, British India. He studied at Khalsa College, Amritsar and later at University College London as an undergraduate. He graduated with PhD from Cambridge University in 1929. Anand’s literal career started with some shocking experiences that took place in his family and those incidents inspired him to write against the social evils of caste system and discrimination against poor sections of the society. His aunt committed suicide when she was excommunicated by her family for sharing a meal with a Muslim Woman. Broken over by this incident, he wrote his first book, Untouchable, published in 1935. This novel is the description of a single day in the life of a toilet-cleaner who accidentally bumps into a member of a higher caste. Anand won the reputation of being India's Charles Dickens after his first published novel.

He spent his time both in India and England and was attracted to the Indian independence movement. He was also a friend of Picasso and had Picasso paintings in his collection. He returned to India in 1946 and continued with his literary works. He died in Pune on 28 September 2004 aged 98.

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Updated: March 19, 2014