Novel Coolie (1936) by the Indian writer Mulk Raj Anand from the perspective of postcolonial criticism: Marxist nationalist projects in India in the early twentieth century

Abstract

As a literary approach, postcolonial criticism can be used to read literary works born during the colonial period. This comes from the most basic content of postcolonial criticism, that is, the study of the colonial process (it can be traced back to the Renaissance), and the decolonization process (the process of colonialism). Indigenous cultures were re-established and prevailed again. This article approaches the novel Coolie (1936) by the Indian writer Mulk Raj Anand from the perspective of postcolonial criticism, namely from the emphasis on the anti-colonial content of this literary theory. The article emphasizes Marxist nationalist projects implicit in the novel as a feature of the nationalist movement in India in the early twentieth century. The article aims to confirm the possibility of reading literary works born in the colonial context from the perspective of postcolonial criticism.