TU and Mulk Raj Anand

T Vijayendra

Mulk Raj Anand (1905- 2004) is considered to be a father figure in the history of Indian English writings. A lifelong socialist, he is known for depicting life of the poor in India in his novels. He became known for his protest novel Untouchable (1935), which was followed by other works on the Indian poor such as Coolie (1936) and Two Leaves and a Bud (1937). He is also noted for being among the first writers to incorporate Punjabi and Hindustani idioms into English.

Barber’s Trade Union (1944) is a short story depicting two teenage boys–one an upper caste boy and the other the village barber’s son.

Chandu, a barber boy, is the protagonist of the story. He is a close childhood friend of the story teller. Chandu being senior by about six months, to the narrator, takes lead in all matters. He is very alert, agile and active in the boyish pranks like catching wasps, squeezing the poison out of their tails and making them fly by tying their legs with a thread. He is also dexterous in preparing kites of various designs. Alas! In spite of these talents, he is a duffer in learning. Nevertheless, he reveals a laudable memory.

The narrator’s mother does not like his mixing up with Chandu, because he belongs to a low caste. The narrator envies the freedom, enjoyed by Chandu, which fate had sanctioned to him by pulling a final curtain to the action of his father’s role in the drama of life. He takes the hereditary profession of shaving and hair-cutting. After finishing his day’s work, he goes to the town in the buggy of LalaHukam Chand, riding on the footrest!

While coming back from the town he brings some gifts to the narrator. It is in the town that he develops an irresistible fascination for the English dress. One day he even asks the advice of the narrator as to the question of wearing one. The narrator’s response is enthusiastically affirmative. So, he dresses up as a doctor in fine looking clothes ‘and a pair of pumps and a leather bag in his hand’. It is in this dress that he goes to the Zamindar’s house. The Zamindar is angry to see this low-caste barber wearing the dress of the doctor and defiling his house by entering. And therefore, he asks him to return in the formal dress of a barber. Then Chandu becomes the victim of the swearing tongue of the Sahukar Thanu Ram, a shopkeeper. He is scolded by Pandit Paramanand also very harshly. So, Chandu goes on strike! He stops going to the houses of the people as a barber.

Chandu starts going to the town and earning money by shaving people on the road side. Slowly his profession and prosperity make progress. One day he proposes an idea of buying ‘a bicycle from the gambling son of Lala Hukam Chand’ before the story-teller, who seconds the plan with all the cheerful feelings. He does purchase the one and learns to ride with the help of the narrator after a little difficulty. Then he makes the town a full-time field of work.

Meanwhile his strike has started showing results. Leaving the villager’s heads and beards growing without fear of brush and blade, they become the laughing stocks of the village. One day he says to the storyteller to shout ‘Beavers: Beavers: Beavers:’ while the elderly people gather in the Sahukar’s shop. On hearing it they all become angry but other villagers burst into uncontrollable laughter! There was a rumour that the Zamindar’s wife, who was many years younger to him, is planning to run away because she can’t stand his unkempt looks!

Further one witnesses the attempt of the village elders threatening to punish Chandu for his offences by committing him to the police pen. They even think of getting the barber from Verka, a neighbouring village to attend them and are ready to pay even an ‘anna’ instead of ‘two paise’ which they actually paid to Chandu.

Chandu turns their plan upside down by the “gift of his gab”. He succeeds in establishing Barber’s Trade Union with consent and contribution of his cousin Dhunoo and consensus of the barbers within a range of seven miles from his village.

Lenin called trade unions as schools for communists. In the Indian context, as shown in this story, they are also schools for social transformation.

The story depicts caste oppression humorously. The author is able to do it because he is depicting the story standing from a position of victory against caste oppression! This comes through the formation of the trade union. The author beautifully depicts formation of class consciousness due to caste oppression. But unlike most fiction of this kind where the poor loses and the reader is left angry, here there is victory!

There is also an implied criticism of the trade union and Communist Movement in India. During 1928 -29 there was a six-month strike in the Bombay textile industry. This was led by GKU–Girni Kamgar Union. Ambedkar, the Dalit leader was asked to help and he readily agreed. However, he raised the issue of how Dalit workers were not allowed to work in the weaving section because there you had to lick the broken thread with your tongue. The mill owners were not bothered with this issue. It was the upper caste Maratha workers who objected. Unfortunately, the Communist Party which was the leader of GKU did not bother and later under great pressure from Ambedkar reluctantly agreed. This mistake has proved very costly to the Communist movement in India and till today Dalit activists regard Communists as Manuvadi.

Even among Dalits caste is a problem because they are divided into sub-castes. Dalit theoretician Teltumbde says that today there are no subcastes left because all Dalits have become landless labourers and that they should unite as a class. But how and who will unite them? It is not enough that Dalit and Communist leaders share platform at JNU and other universities. I feel this story provides the answer– organising them in a trade union alone will help remove subcaste division and ultimately all caste divisions among the poor. Today MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) provides a good opportunity to unionise all Dalit workers.

There are other values in the story which form a sort of critique of Indian writings on social realism and political movements including the communist movement.

Most writings and even films on Indian poverty, oppression and exploitation are grim and often end in tragedies. On the other hand, this story is full of humour and the hero is bubbling with energy and tricks!

The hero is forever curious about new things–market, dresses, bicycle and technology. Even within his trade he is interested in ‘The Hair Cutting Saloon’ and ready to abandon his old ways of sitting on the ground. ‘Appropriate technology’ wallahs may marvel at the ‘jugaad’ and the simplicity of the old ways. They don’t want to see the humiliation and the caste oppression of sitting on the roadside like beggars and earning one’s living!

The trade union is essentially a democratic institution. It negates social hierarchy like caste and gender. All members are equal!

Indian political movement inherited the Indian social reform movement of the Indian saints and sanyasis. Vegetarianism, anti-alcoholism and even celibacy has been celebrated and taken as role models. This has made it grim and undemocratic. It created an unfathomable distance between the leader and the masses. And since these ‘virtues’ are impractical, a lot of hypocrisy among the leaders has been part of the movement. Although the Communist movement and the trade union movements have been relatively free of this, they were not unaffected by it either.

Top of Form
Mulk Raj Anand in 1944, has provided a comprehensive critique of Indian writings on social realism and political movements including the communist movement. To do it in an extremely readable short story is a great literary and theoretical achievement. This reminds one of Cervantes’ (1547-1616) famous master-piece Don Quixote de la Mancha, which did a similar job of providing a critique of Spanish medieval romantic literature.

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Vol 57, No. 21, Nov 17 - 23, 2024