Gandhian Ideology and Socio-Political Transformation in Pre-Independence India: R. K. Narayan’s Waiting for the Mahatma

R.K. Narayan, in Waiting for the Mahatma, renders a true and complete picture of pre Independence times. The novelist's major concern is with the common people of South India and how they reacted to the nationalist movement led by Gandhiji. In Waiting for the Mahatma, the proliferation of the Gandhian ideology in the deep interiors of South India is presented through trivial incidents that happen to the common citizens. The novel deals with the political conditions that existed in India between 1941 and 1948. Activities of the Indian people following Gandhiji's declaration of Quit India Movement are quite prominently mentioned. This paper attempts to study the impact of Gandhian Ideology on India’s struggle for freedom in Narayan's Waiting for the Mahatma. The nationalist movement is seen entirely in terms of small events and particular situations.