Religion and Nationalism in Raja Rao's Kanthapura

Abstract

The present paper is a modest attempt at exploring how the ideas of Religion and Nationalism form the warp and woof of a novel like Raja Rao's Kanthapura in a back-of-beyond village at a crucial moment in Indian history. That the launching of the National Movement under theleadership of Gandhi through the length and breadth of the countrycould not have been successful without the active participation ofmillions of anonymous people is a known fact, but how it is achieved isthe theme of this unique novel which has many firsts to its credit. A onemanmovement becomes a mass movement thanks to local heroes likeMoorthy “our Gandhi” and a few other prominent men and women ofthe village. How the national spirit percolates into the psyche of a wholevillage that represents a microcosmic picture of India on the whole is thenovelist's concern here. This gripping tale told by a simple villagewoman in rustic idiom exemplifies a fine fusion of Religion andNationalism.