Volume II Issue X February 2015- ISSN 2321-7065 The Political Novels of

Dr.Sonia Fernandes Da Costa Assistant Professor Parvatibai Chowgule College,

Abstract Lambert Mascarenhas is one of the most significant novelists of Goan Fiction in English. Published criticism on Lambert Mascarenhas is not substantial. A glance at the history of Indian Fiction in English reveals that it has had bonds with the socio- political milieu of its times. Like R.K. Narayan, Nayantara Sahgal, Kushwant Singh and Manohar Malgaonkar, Lambert Mascarenhas also has contributed to the development of Political Novel in India. This article takes into consideration the two novels of Lambert Mascarenhas, Sorrowing Lies My Land (1955) and HeartBreak Passage (2009). These novels exhibit his love of histories. They are stuck to the verity of annals to a great extent. In Sorrowing Lies My Land, Lambert Mascarenhas has covered the period of the Portuguese rule in Goa from 1910 to 1955. The novel focuses on the freedom struggle in Goa and also depicts economic, social and psychological consequences of colonization through the strategic treatment of individual and family relationship. HeartBreak Passage deals with the last phase of freedom struggle of the British India. In this article an attempt is made, after close reading of the novels, to map Mascarenhas‘ appeal and to assess the extent to which the novels explore the political position he espouses. The article illustrates Mascarenhas‘ combination of global and local themes on a political literary spectrum. His writing is a form of political activism in itself. He claims to advocate political activism for his readers. Key words — Political novel, Social milieu, freedom struggle, non-violence, Mascarenhas.

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INTRODUCTION Lambert Mascarenhas is a pioneering novelist in Goan Fiction in English. He was born in Goa in 1914. After receiving Bachelor‘s Degree from St. Xavier‘s college, Bombay, he began his career as a journalist before joining The Goan Tribune as Editor from 1956-61. While in Bombay he became involved in the freedom struggle and was an ardent advocate for the liberation of Goa from the Portuguese rule, a cause that enforced upon him a life in virtual exile in the years preceding Goa‘s liberation. He was the editor of the first English Daily published in the state. He founded the magazine Goa Today in 1965 and edited it for the next twenty years. His works include: his first novel The First City (1943), second novel Sorrowing Lies My Land (1955), The Womb of Suadade, a collection of short stories (1994) and The Greater Tragedy a play (1998). HeartBreak Passage – a novel (2009). His novel Sorrowing Lies My Land won the critical acclaim immediately after its publication and has been translated into Marathi, Telegu, Konkani and Portuguese and reprinted four times. He has been awarded the Gomant Sharda Puraskar for his lifelong contribution to the field of literature by the Kala Academy, Goa.(HeartBreak Passage, blurb )

METHODOLOGY There are many definitions of a political novel. It is difficult to attempt an exact and exclusive definition of a political novel. According to Irving Howe ―a political novel is a novel in which political ideas play a dominant role or in which the political milieu is the dominant setting‖.i Roger D Speagale, Professor of Political Science, Weslyan University Middlieton, observes: ―…..The best political novelists have significantly enriched our understanding of the ideas and impulses that enter into political behaviour.‖ii According to Dr. M. K. Naik : ―Political novel may denote either (a) ―a piece of fiction devoted to a presentation of political ideas‖ or (b) ―a species of fiction in which action, characters and setting are all firmly grounded in Politics.‖iii We may conclude from the various definitions that the following are the essential characteristics of a political novel: a ) it presents political ideas, b) it ‘s action, characters and setting are all firmly grounded in politics,

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Volume II Issue X February 2015- ISSN 2321-7065 c) it propagates political values, d) it articulates political concerns, e) it embodies political consciousness, f) it is a criticism of political history and events of the times, g) it persuasively espouses a particular political view point, In view of these constituents of a political novel, the novels under study are analysed. Goan struggle for liberation stirred the imagination of Lambert Mascarenhas to write a political novel. Sorrowing Lies My Land is the first novel written in English in Goa. It is a significant contribution not only to Goan literature in English but also to Indian writing in English. This novel had a great impact on the political activities at the time. Lambert Mascarenhas is himself a witness to the freedom struggle in Goa. He was imprisoned for a few years by the Portuguese. He has experienced the ruthless rule of Salazar in Goa. In this novel Lambert Mascarenhas articulates his political agenda. Sorrowing Lies My Land is a poignant tragedy of a peasant family in Goa. Its protagonist is Tobias Costa. He is patriotic, farsighted and condemns the attitude of the Portuguese rulers in Goa. He is a landlord yet he believes in cultivating his own field. He is God fearing but he hates the excess of religious practices and superstitions. Tobias feels, ―Christianity does not only mean going to church and saying one‘s prayers‖ (Sorrowing Lies My Land, 22). He has faith in education. He has educated his children. He does not want his children to go away. He would have them to help him in agricultural tasks. He is broad minded. He feels unbounded sympathy for the farmers who are underprivileged and afflicted with poverty since the economic conditions detoriated under the Portuguese rule. In his domestic life there are problems. His youngest son is crippled –struck down by polio. His family suffers setbacks one after another. His daughter-Ruth dies on the eve of her marriage. Maria‘s engagement is cancelled and she takes to veil. His elder son who studied in Bombay marries a Hindu convert of low caste. The girl is adopted by the family when she lost her parents. This hurts Tobias‘ wife Ema. Consequently she becomes unhappy. She cannot bear the loss of Ruth and becomes ill and dies. Tobias faces two tragedies in a short time. He does not lose his heart but still fights against the Portuguese rule by participating in the freedom struggle. Roberto, his son turns against him, betrays him and denounces him to the police. Tobias is shocked at this revelation. Tobias‗life is full of despair and later he dies.

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Volume II Issue X February 2015- ISSN 2321-7065 In Sorrowing Lies My Land the personal and domestic problems of Tobias are interwoven with the larger perspectives of the politics of contemporary times in Goa. Lambert Mascarenhas makes use of geographic and social backgrounds with great skill to make the foreground action more dramatic. The novel may be divided into two parts. The first part mainly describes the social and economic conditions under the Portuguese rule. It also highlights certain social issues such as education system under the Portuguese rule and excess of religious rituals, economic problems, malnutrition, corruption and language issue etc. The second part describes Tobias‘ struggle for freedom –especially for civil rights. In May, 1926 the revolution took place in Portugal. The army had revolted under the leadership of Marechal Gomes de Costa—the Government was overthrown and Marechal assumed power. Tobias is affected by the news. ―Dictatorships are not pleasant things; I want this land of my father to be free of the Portuguese pest‖ (SLML, 59). Tobias‘ utterances show contempt for Portuguese rulers. He tells his wife in despair:

Sick indeed I am Emma, not sick with any physical ailment but sick to see our people so emasculated, so complacent, so devoid of self respect and political consciousness… These damned Portuguese have been ruling over us for the last four hundred odd years……and what they have done for us? Not a damn thing…‖(SLML,60-61).

Early in the novel, the author has depicted his indignation against Portuguese through the utterances of Tobias. The overthrow of the Republican Government appeared to have made Tobias sour. It was also for the people in the village a period of great sorrow and misfortune. The author provides glimpses of the atrocities and other varied inhumanities, the Portuguese conquerors perpetrated in the name of love and Christianity from 1510, when Albuquerque landed on the shores until 1814. ―The ghosts of narrative ancestors haunted his feverish brain, crying for vengeance, imploring him to right the wrong‖ (SLML,66). The narrator says ―Dictatorial regime was implanted in Portugal with Dr. Oliveiro Salazar as the Prime Minister. Portugal introduced in the Parliament a bill:

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Volume II Issue X February 2015- ISSN 2321-7065 The Act O Colonial to put the last nail in the coffin of the slavery in Goa. It was the charter of Goa‘s subservience to imperial Portugal. It was undoing all the freedom that the Republic had given since1910 (SLML, 86). Tobias‘ agony is that people in Goa are deprived the freedom of press, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. The poor farmers and labourers are not bothered about the political changes. The rich and well-to-do people are not only politically unconscious, they are unworried, powerless and accept Portugal as their ‗patria‘ hoping for the best. Tobias utters in disgust ―….colonial oppression have made us foreign in our own country‖ (SLML, 67 ). He considers it as a great national dishonour. He listens to the voices of patriotic people –the voice of Luis de Menezes Braganza who openly denounces the humiliations, and who speaks of values of renaissance, humanism and rationalism. When the economic conditions deteriorate, the landlords reduce the wages of the labourers. Tobias opposes the cut. The landlords oppose him. Even the vicar of the church pleads that labourers should obey their landlord. The labourers leave the village to go to Bombay in search of job. The landlords forgive the labourers but they do not forgive Tobias. They look upon him ―as a renegade and a sediment, they avoided him like the plague‖ (SLML, 70). The narrator says, his father was hurt by the manner in which Portuguese now was treating them, like cruel executioners. Tobias is disheartened to know: Dictatorship was slowly but surely tightening the noose around our necks in an attempt completely to destroy whatever was left of our individuality, self-respect and dignity (Lambert, SLML,71). Tobias feels like the farmers and the labourers that the only way to restrict Portugal from growing into a monster is by terrorising the Portuguese officials in Goa and instilling fear in them to make them quit the land. He wants to inform Senhor Braganza that he has hundred able bodied men ready to do or die. But Braganza dies before he could reach Chandor. The Second World War paralyses Goa. Economy collapses in Goa. People begin to leave Goa for British India. With Quit India movement in India on 8th August, the people in Goa become more alert and more interested in the mighty mass revolt against the British in the British India and want to start it in Goa to end the Portuguese regime. India‘s

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Volume II Issue X February 2015- ISSN 2321-7065 nonviolent war inspires the people in Goa. Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia , one of the leaders of 1942 movement, arrive and starts a struggle to bring about the repeal of the cruel laws imposed by the Portuguese on . Lohia addresses a public meeting challenging the validity of ban imposed by the Portuguese on the People‘s inherent right of free speech and assembly. Dr. Lohia is arrested. The crowd becomes violent; in the police lathi charge Tobias gets wounded. The next day Lohia is released. But the public comes out in large number with courage to defy the Government. ―Jai Hind becomes anathema to the Colonialists, and the white Gandhi cap like the red flag to a bull‖ (SLML, 152). Tobias goes from door to door requesting the village people to attend the meeting in the village to record the protest of the villagers against the highhandedness of the Portuguese, as well as demand civil liberties. However the landlords and the Regedor threaten the people against attending the meeting. Tobias becomes downcast. T. B. Cunha is charged with attacking the Government and instigating the masses to revolt. Dr. Lohia returns to Goa to take up the challenge thrown to him by the Government. Once again he is arrested and released. Many are sentenced to long terms of imprisonment like--Purshotam Kakodkar, Laxmikant Bhembre, Ram Hegade and Joe Ignacio Loyala. The European and Negro Troops specially sent by the Portuguese to handle ―political terrorism are seen parading the streets in Goa. Tobias is betrayed by his son, Roberto who is in favour of the Portuguese. Roberto‘s treachery hurts him deeply. Soon after his release, the Regedor threatens the labourers with dire consequences if they work for Tobias. The villagers treated him ―like a mangy cur, shunning him and avoiding him completely‖(SLML,162). At the behest of the Regedor stones were thrown on the roof of Tobias‘ home. He suffers ostracism. He dies in despair. Some Goans leave for India from where they hoped to wage a war against the Portuguese. Lambert Mascarenhas has employed his characters less as individuals than as representatives of Goa which was under the Portuguese rule. He has depicted the character of Tobias with astonishing skill. The family issues along with the political situation drive him to despair. He does not lose his heart but fights against the Portuguese rule with dogged determination and finally he dies. Lambert Mascarenhas explores the social exploitation and the slavish adherence to the Portuguese. He abhors the denial of freedom. He has lived through the traumatic experience of restrictions on Civil Rights imposed by Salazar‘s regime in Goa and closely witnessed

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Volume II Issue X February 2015- ISSN 2321-7065 and participated in the struggle for liberation. He has provided authentic details of Quit India movement and the arrival of Dr. Ram Mohan Lohia in Goa. The events and places are real. The description of the events of Goan political history is reflective of Lambert Mascarenhas‘ deep perception into the immediate social realities of history. There is a fine blending of fact and fiction in the novel. Political concerns are paramount in the novel. It is evident that action, characters and setting are all firmly grounded in politics. In Heart Break Passage also political and national passions prevail over all other human emotions and feelings. Novelists such as R. K. Narayan, Mulk Raj Anand and Raja Rao have incorporated Gandhian ideology in to their narrative patterns. Lambert Mascarenhas also has done the same thing in this novel. The novel illustrates the impact of Gandhi on Lambert Mascarenhas. The protagonist of this novel is Ram, son of a farmer from a village in the vicinity of Hubli. He studies in the village school. He impresses his school teacher by his intelligence and diligence. He being a sweet and obedient child is much liked in the village. Ram comes to Hubli for his high school. Later he joins St. Xavier‘s college in Bombay. He finds the subject of History very interesting. He attends the meeting organised by the Indian national Congress since he is fascinated by nationalism. He listens to the speeches of Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Patel. The discord between Hindus and Muslims upsets him. While in Bombay he stays with his uncle. In order to help his uncle, he seeks a job. He accepts tutoring to the children of Mrs Hussain. They become intimate friends. She tells him to call her Vera. When he finishes graduation he gets a good job in a pharmaceutical company. After sometime, one day she narrates her real feelings that she loves him. She is already married to a Muslim and having three children. Her marriage had ended since she did not accept Islam. He stays with her. He develops physical intimacy with her. Lambert Mascarenhas has interwoven the romantic episode of Ram and Vera early in the novel. But when he ruminates over the political events of India he is upset. The declaration of India‗s independence on the 15th of August 1947 does not give him enough delight since the other reality hurts him. One day Vera tells him ―We must get married.‖ He is ready to marry. In the meanwhile he receives a letter from his childhood friend Fatma - now Mrs Rafiq. She writes to him about the recent developments in India and Pakistan which sadden her. She instructs him that he must do something for Hindu-Muslim Unity in India

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Volume II Issue X February 2015- ISSN 2321-7065 .He leaves Vera and her children and starts his mission of destroying the hatred between religious groups. As in Sorrowing Lies My Land, in this novel also the entire action is rooted in a set of real historical incident which constitutes its framework. The novel may be divided into three parts. The first dealing with the protagonist‘s inability to understand the political and social realities, the second about his political involvement and the third his disillusionment and will, to do some courageous act for his country. In the school Ram‘s teacher does not admit his friend Balla who belongs to lower caste. Later when he is in the college in Bombay, while exploring the city he is taken aback to see extraordinary buildings conceptualised by the British rulers. He feels ―he must not blindly condemn the British as he heard the freedom activist do, but also appreciate the heritage they had created‖ (HBP,41). He listens to the speeches of the leaders like Gandhi, Nehru. The doctrine of nonviolence makes a great impression on him. One day he learns about the riots in Bhendi Bazar. Earlier he had read about Hindu- Muslim clashes. But he fails to understand all the happenings. In the college days his main goal is to do well in the examination. But deep in his heart he is interested in the freedom movement and the congress strategies to drive the British from India. “Bombay had become a cauldron of political activity and that was something he could take part in‖ (HBP,45). He comes to know about the mass satyagraha, led by Gandhi. Gandhi publically declared that it was wrong for India to help the British war effort with men or money. Ram consolidates his friends support to attend such meetings. He listens to the mantra, ―DO or Die. We shall either free India or die in the attempt. We shall not live to see the perpetuation of our slavery‖ (HBP, 48). He is also touched by Gandhi‘s aura and the power of his message. He learns that from the beginning India was opposed to the British policy of interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, and the use of the Indian Army and India‘s resources to promote, extend and defend British imperialism in Asia and Africa. He is saddened to know that the Indian Congress leaders have proposed act of ripping apart Mother India to form another country for the Muslims, called Pakistan. In the meanwhile when some people go to Delhi to attend the Indian National Army trials Ram also goes

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Volume II Issue X February 2015- ISSN 2321-7065 to Delhi without informing Vera. He gets arrested in Delhi. They detain him with others all for three days. He somehow returns to Bombay. His studies and his deep interest in the nation‘s fortunes are Vera‘s rivals for his attention. He secures first class in the examination. He gets disappointed with Gandhi for he could not hold Mother India together. He turns his mind to building a career. He works in a pharmaceutical company. He ruminates over the political events. He comes to know that Mr Jinnah is adamant in his stance that the Muslims would settle for nothing less than a sovereign state. Viceroy Lord Mountbatten realises that keeping India one country would be next to impossible. Ram‘s conviction and hope that congress leaders would not accept the division of the country are dashed when he comes to know that Nehru and Patel have agreed to it and that the congress Working Committee favoured partition. ―Jinnah now insisted on the formation of Pakistan. Ram asks himself why, and finds answer in the proclaimed objective of the Hindu Mahasabha, the Responsivists, and eventually the Rashtriya Seva Sangh to protect and promote the Hindu race and culture in a Hindu Rashtra or nation‖(HBP, 130). Ram understands why Muslim leaders felt compelled to form their own home. The declaration of India‘s independence on the fifteenth of August 1947 does not give enough delight to Ram since the other reality of the partition hurts him. ―He felt battered by sorrow and anger at the Partition‘‘ (HBP,136). He decides to take refuge in his job instead. Lambert Mascarenhas has introduced another episode of Fatma and Ram later in the novel. In fact it appears that through Fatma the author is voicing his views. He gets letters from Fatma, his childhood friend after regular intervals. He is torn between love for Vera and love for Fatma, his childhood friend who is already married to wealthy business man from Hyderabad. She writes to him how peacefully Hindus and Muslims stay in Hyderabad. Ram reads in the newspapers that the Indian Army has invaded Hyderabad but gives a sigh of relief to know that all are safe over there. In the letter Fatma informs Ram that Muslims who have gone to settle in Pakistan are not happy. ―They consider these Indian Muslims interlopers‖(HBP,168-169). She writes about the pain caused by the unrequited love. However, she respects her husband for his decision to live in India as a true citizen but the developments in India with the formation of Pakistan saddens her.

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Volume II Issue X February 2015- ISSN 2321-7065 She expects from Ram some significant action for the unity of Hindu and Muslim. He decides to save his country from the disastrous route chosen by the Hindu fanatics. He decides to part from Vera. ―His heart was breaking as was Vera‘s.‘‘ But he is touched by Gandhi‘s aura and the power of his message. One day he bids good bye to Vera and her children. According to Ram the congress leaders should have first enlightened the people- particularly the Hindus who are the majority in the country-that all people living in India are one, that the different religions‘ worship is to the one and same God, and religion is to make those who profess it better human beings. He visits schools in the vicinity of Hubli and other cities, as part of his mission. Fatma reads the report about his public addresses in the newspapers. She for a while ―fantasises about running away from home, of leaving her husband and children and of joining Ram in his quest‖ (HBP, 192). At Secundrabad he gets much help from the local workers of the Indian National Congress. He clarifies his position. ―……….They should have created a tolerant and friendly climate to combat the two –nation theory‖ (HBP, 193). He exhorts the people: Let us agree that what was done in the past was a mistake and let us correct that mistake. We, the people of India, must join hands with our brothers and sisters in Pakistan to make this our country a wondrous whole (HBP, 194). He collapses on the stage as the bullet hits him. He was given medical attention in the Hospital. Four days later doctors declare the patient out of danger. Fatma , who visits him in the Hospital, gives a sigh of relief. And so do his supporters. The nurse informs Ram about the visit of a burka clad lady and passes her instructions to him ―….. He must go back to Bombay for his own sake and mine‖ (HBP, 194). Fatma realizes she is wrong to let Ram alone take on the burden of this mission. She is convinced that the mistake of Partition would be corrected eventually by the dissolution of hatred between Muslims and Hindus. Need of the hour is will of common people like Ram, people like herself. Ordinary people should see that unity among the two communities –Hindus and Muslims is maintained. Lambert Mascarenhas has woven into the fabric of the novel romance and political situation at the time of partition of India. A careful reading of the novel convinces that Lambert Mascarenhas is more interested in the evolution of the character and concerned with the fictionalization of his thesis of nonviolence and unity of Hindu and Muslim

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Volume II Issue X February 2015- ISSN 2321-7065 community. It also illustrates the impact of Gandhi on Lambert Mascarenhas. In the protagonist‘s village there is peaceful co existence. Ram does not make any distinction on the basis of caste. Balla who belongs to low caste is his best friend. He argues with his master in the school for his admission though in vain. The novel deals with an adolescent boy‘s maturation into experience and his attempts to grapple with the intricacies of political reality. Ram‘s first awareness of the political reality was precociously nebulous. He understands the broader issues of the ideals which Gandhi stood for only when he blooms into maturity. The whole action of the novel is appropriated by the two pivotal characters. These two characters are Ram and Fatma, though she is shown in action late in the novel. She motivates him to act. Both believe in the Gandhian ideology and tenets of ahimasa. The author does not depict the surcharged atmosphere and the chilling experience of the partition days but he only mentions the troubles caused to Hindu and Muslim by the fanatics and discusses the role played by Jinnah, Gandhi, Nehru, Patel and Congress committee and blames both Hindus and Muslims for breaking of the riots. The projection is more on the Gandhian values. The novelist suggests that the people have forgotten the Gandhian values when they indulged in all kinds of heinous and nefarious activities, thus heaping humiliations and hardships on one another. This is attributed to the needless suspicion of each other. The influence of the political motif on the thematic construct of this novel is Gandhian ideology and the partition of India. The novel in its narrative structure reveals the social and cultural milieu of 1940s. The two nation theory as propagated by the politicians was the subject matter for some of the novelists such as-Khushwant Singh, Manohar Malgonkar, Balachandra Rajan and Chaman Nahal. Heart Break Passage is basically extended exploration into the quintessential of Gandhism, with the details of the freedom struggle. In Heart Break Passage there are a good number of incidents touching in struggle for India‘s freedom and an account of all the stawarts who plunged headlong into India ‗s freedom struggle Gandhi, Nehru, Vallab bhai Patel and a host of other patriotic nationalists, make their way into the story. But they have been dealt briefly.

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Volume II Issue X February 2015- ISSN 2321-7065 Ram‘s character is delineated vividly but the sudden rise of Fatma and her missionary zeal to propagate non violence for the Hindu Muslim unity appears unconvincing. In the end of the novel it appears the protagonist Ram indulges in the clichéd –ridden sentimentality. Both are political novels in which the personal and domestic problems are interwoven with the larger perspectives of the politics of contemporary times. Sorrowing Lies My Land has a well –conceived plot, perfectly done characterisation, punctuated through and through with humour and lyricism. Whereas, in HeartBreak Passage only the character of Ram –the protagonist is drawn vividly. Most of the events are documented, they are not fully dramatised. In the later part, the novel is in the nature of reportage which is flat. A political novel does present the social milieu. The novels under discussion have realistically presented the social activities of the contemporary times. Lambert Mascarenhas, a social critic and exponent of the promotion of culture, exposes all evils in human society. In Sorrowing Lies My Land the author has delineated, religious practices, food habits and belief in superstition. In both the novels he has depicted social evils such as – inequality, casteisim and hypocrisy. The political phenomena is directly described. The political activity is an integral part of novel. The novels depict the events in historical chronology. The author with his astonishing skill has embodied the political consciousness. Above all through the arresting narrative Lambert Mascarenhas has provided a criticism of political history and events of the times. The novels are ideologically oriented, written to propagate certain specific political values-used as a vehicle of political propaganda. Lambert Mascarenhas in these novels combines global and local themes on a political literary spectrum. It is Lambert Mascarenhas ‗combination of popular appeal and political presentation that makes his fiction fascinating. Lambert Mascarenhas disputes the separation of politics and literature and creates fiction which explicitly marries the two. ―The political novel has always been an odd hybrid of fact and fiction.‖ ivThe above discussion has illustrated how skilfully the author has used it. Political novels work best when they show how history really affects the fate of individuals. Tobias in Sorrowing Lies My Land or Ram in HeartBreak Passage are not cardboards cut outs, they have the density –of real people. The novels reveal the author‘s political insight. It is hard for novelists to relate ordinary lives to the larger movements of history. Mascarenhas has succeeded in this effort.

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Works cited

Primary sources

Mascarenhas, Lambert. Sorrowing Lies My Land. Panjim: Goa Publications, 1970. Print. All subsequent references with page numbers are from this edition.

-----. HeartBreak Passage. Panjim: Braodway Book Centre, 2009. Print All subsequent references with page numbers are from this edition

Secondary Sources i Howe, Irving. Politics and the Novel. New York: Horizon Press, 1957. Pg.19 Print. ii Dr. O. P. Bhatnagar, ed. ―The Emerging Perspective‖, Indian Political Novel in English. New Delhi: Sarup Book publications, 2007. Pg 292. Print. iii Kh. Kunoj Singh ―Indian English Political Fiction: A thematic analysis,‖ Indian English Literature. Ed. Basavaraj S. Naikar .7 Vols New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers, 2007. Pg 182. Print.

Morris Dickstein. ―Fiction and Political Fact‖. June/July/August 2008 . WEB. 28/Dec 2014.

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