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The message in ‘Godan’: Indian society revolves around the caste system

While rereading Premchand’s classic Godan, Siddharth observes that two works of different genres – The Annihilation of Caste and Godan – published in the same year, 1936, underlined the fact that the varna-caste system is the pivot of Indian society

To qualify as a classic, a novel has to creatively mirror the core reality of its times. Marx and Engels used to tell their friends that if they wanted to understand the rise of capitalism in France they should read novels of Balzac instead of poring over the dreary accounts of economic historians. Marx wrote that he owes his knowledge of the history of France more to Balzac’s works and less to the writings of the French chroniclers.

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About The Author

Siddharth

Dr Siddharth is an author, journalist and translator. His books include ‘Samajik Kranti ki Yoddha Savitribai Phule: Jivan ke Vividh Aayam’ and ‘Bahujan Navjagran aur Pratirodh ke Vividh Swar: Bahujan Nayak aur Nayika’. He has translated Badrinarayan’s ‘Kanshiram: Leader of Dalits’ under the title ‘Bahujan Nayak Kanshiram’ (Rajkamal Prakashan). He has also edited and annotated Ambedkar’s ‘Jati ka Vinash’ (translated by Rajkishore, Forward Press)

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