Volume-II, Special Issue, February 2026
Novel Insights A Peer-Reviewed Quarterly Multidisciplinary Research Journal |
Volume-II, Special Issue, February 2026 |
Capitalism, Exploitation, and Human Sufferings: A Marxist Rereading of Mulk Raj Anand’s Coolie (1936) Dr. Sujit Majumdar, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Economics, Samsi College, Malda, West Bengal, India Email: majumdarsujit80@gmail.com |
Received: 01.01.2026 | Accepted: 20.02.2026 | Published Online: 28.02.2026 |
Page No: | DOI: | |
Abstract | ||
Mulk Raj Anand is credited with establishing the basic forms and themes of modern Indian Literature written in English. He is recognised as the figure who established the foundational forms and thematic concerns of modern Indian literature in English. His Coolie (1936) offers a powerful literary critique of capitalist exploitation within the socio-economic framework of colonial India. This paper undertakes a Marxist rereading of the novel to examine how capitalism perpetuates class oppression, economic inequality, and human suffering among the working poor. Focusing on the life of Munoo, a marginalised child labourer, the study analyses the mechanisms of surplus extraction, alienation, commodification of labour, and class hierarchy that shape his tragic existence. The novel foregrounds the dehumanising effects of industrial capitalism, where human beings are reduced to expendable instruments of production under colonial and bourgeois authority. Through a Marxist lens, the paper also explores the intersection of capitalism with caste, colonial power, and social stratification, demonstrating how structural exploitation intensifies the suffering of the proletariat. Anand’s realist narrative emerges as a form of social protest, exposing the moral bankruptcy of capitalist systems and advocating for human dignity and social justice. The study argues that Coolie remains a significant Marxist text that documents the lived realities of exploitation and underscores the urgent need for socio-economic reform. Keywords: Marxism, Capitalism, Exploitation, Proletariat, Colonial India, Human Suffering | ||