Describe the important usage of the novel to India.

Usage of the novels to India:

(i)Colonial administrators found novels a valuable source of information on native life and customs. Such information was useful for them in governing Indian society, with its large variety of communities and castes.

(ii)As outsiders, the British knew little about life inside Indian households. The new novels in Indian languages often had descriptions of domestic life. They showed how people dressed, their forms of religious worship, their beliefs and practices, and so on.

(iii)Indians used the novel as a powerful medium to criticise what they considered defects in their society and to suggest remedies.

(iv)Novels also helped in establishing a relationship with the past. Many of them told thrilling stories of adventures and intrigues set in the past. Through glorified accounts of the past, these novels helped in creating a sense of national pride among their readers.

(v)At the same time, people from all walks of life could read novels so long as they shared a common language. This helped in creating a sense of collective belonging on the basis of one’s language.