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@article{189904,
        author = {Dr. Noojilla Srinivas},
        title = {Re-envisioning Post-Independence Society: Politics, Culture, and Social Mobility in R. K. Narayan’s Select Novels},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2025},
        volume = {12},
        number = {8},
        pages = {54-58},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=189904},
        abstract = {Post-independence India witnessed profound transformations in its political structure, social fabric, and cultural consciousness. While national discourse focused on democracy, development, and modernization, these changes were experienced most deeply at the level of everyday life. R.K. Narayan’s novels written after 1947 provide a subtle yet powerful literary record of this transition. Set in the fictional town of Malgudi, his narratives capture the aspirations, anxieties, and moral negotiations of ordinary individuals navigating a newly independent nation.
This paper examines selected post-independence novels of R.K. Narayan The Financial Expert, The Guide, The Vendor of Sweets, The Painter of Signs, Talkative Man, and The World of Nagaraj to explore the interrelationship between politics, culture, and social mobility. Though Narayan avoids overt political commentary, his fiction reflects the realities of democratic governance, bureaucratic inefficiency, economic ambition, cultural conflict, and shifting class structures. Through satire, irony, and gentle humour, he critiques corruption, blind materialism, and passive citizenship while highlighting the enduring importance of ethical values and cultural continuity.
The study argues that Narayan’s Malgudi functions as a microcosm of postcolonial India, where national ideals are tested in the lived experiences of common people. His novels reveal that true nation-building depends not only on political institutions or economic growth but also on moral responsibility, cultural balance, and active citizen agency. By situating Narayan’s fiction within the broader framework of language, literature, and politics, this paper demonstrates the continuing relevance of his work in understanding India’s socio-political evolution from 1947 onwards.},
        keywords = {R.K. Narayan, Post-Independence India, Malgudi, Politics and Literature, Social Mobility, Cultural Transition, Middle Class, Bureaucracy, Modernity and Tradition, Indian English Fiction},
        month = {December},
        }