Anand's Humanism in Coolie

 HUMANISM IN COOLIE

The word “Humanism” has a number of meanings and because authors and speakers do not clarify which meaning, they intend. There are different types of Humanism -- Literary Humanism, Renaissance Humanism, Cultural Humanism, Philosophical Humanism, Christian Humanism, Modern Humanism, Secular Humanism, Religious Humanism etc.

The best fictional treatment of Anand’s humanism can be seen in his first novel Untouchable and in the second novel Coolie. Coolie is a proletarian novel depicting the tragic plight of the millions of coolies who are landless and run away from hunger and starvation of villages. Thus driven by poverty, they become coolies and laborers only to be victimized by the social forces of exploitation, Capitalism and Industrialism and then die somewhere in a corner, unknown and unwept.

Coolie is the narrative of life and death of a coolie, Munoo, over a period of two years. In Coolie as in other novels, Anand is not only a realist but a social reformer also. Naturally, he preaches for the betterment of the lot of persons like Munoo. His tragedy is Anand’s passionate plea for reform. Humanism is his answer to this problem. This is expressed through typical situations and characters.

Coolie expresses his belief in the essential dignity of man whether he belongs to the rich or the poor class. In this novel, he selects a poor boy, Munoo, as the hero, and he dominates this novel from the beginning to the end. To Anand the pain and suffering from universal brotherhood, love and compassion. His life is full of sufferings and in the beginning of the novel itself; we can see how his aunt Gujri ill-treats him.

‘Munoo Ohe Munooa!’, she called again, exasperated and raising her voice, this time, to the highest pitch to which, in her anger and hate, she could carry it: ‘where have you died? Where have you gone, you ominous orphan? Come back and begone!’ the piercing soprano resounded through the valley and fell on Munoo’s ears with the dreadening effect of all its bitter content (1).

If his aunt Gujri and his Bibi Uttam Kaur treated him with love and compassion, his tragedy would have been avoided. In his adventure, Munoo meets not only cruel and bad people but also kind and good fellows like Prabha Dayal and his wife in Daulatpur, Chota Babu in Sham Nagar and Ratan in Bombay. For example, when he first met Prabha Dayal, by neglecting the advice of his partner, Ganesh, he patted the boy on his back and said, “Come, come now, be a brave lad. Wipe your eyes. We will take care of you. Look we are almost nearing Daulatpur” (64).

Anand’s philosophy of humanism rejected fatalism and it gives importance to man and his ability. According to Anand, Munoo suffers not because of fate but because of society. It is the society, which leads him to his tragic end.

There seemed to be only two kinds of people in the world. Caste did not matter. ‘I am a Kshatriya and I am poor. No, caste does not matter. The Babus are like the sahib-dogs, and all servants look alike. There must only be two kinds of people in the world: the rich and the poor’ (55-56).

Anand clearly shows that he had met more persons like Dr.Prem Chand, Seth Prabha, Ratan and they considered him as a human being, an object of pity and love. But social forces of capitalism and industrialism are stronger than the stray individuals. They victimize Munoo, as he has no economic freedom or prosperity. He allows himself to be exploited because of his hunger and poverty.

As a consequence of the growing rural indebtedness and unemployment, Munoo is forced to migrate to the town in search of employment. When Munoo first enters to the market in Daulatpur, he is baffled by the maddening competition in the labor market. He is amazed to see so wild “a rush for the jobs by the fall and hefty and coolies” (138). It is this insecurity and uncertainty of employment that forces Munoo to come to Bombay. Even here, they are exploited by the indigenous as well as foreign capitalists.

Humanism as a philosophy runs as red thread throughout Coolie. Compassion for the poor is the major strain in his treatment of his themes. This is his message to the suffering humanity. Munoo’s tragedy is universalized and the human element in men of low class is brought out by showing their essential dignity and innocence. Coolieis a novel of social protest. The anger with which he has portrayed Munoo’s sufferings and exploitation is a direct expression of love of man, a basic tenet of his humanism.

Although all his novels present him as a humanist, his earlier novels including Coolie revealed what may be called proletarian humanism. As he observed, “it is true that my humanism seems to be biased in favor of the poor and the oppressed, but, then is there not the example of the man who turned towards the woman taken adultery away from those who sought to condemn her”.                                                 [BY: BIKASH MAITY]