REFLECTIONS ON INDIA'S FREEDOM STRUGGLE: A CRITICAL STUDY OF MANOHAR MALGONKAR’S 'A BEND IN THE GANGES' (Pages 06-11) by Dr. Thomas. P. S in THE ENGLISH RESEARCH EXPRESS / ISSN:2321-1164 (Online); 2347-2642 (Print)

A Bend in the Ganges (1964) by Manohar Malgonkar is a gripping tale which combines fact and fiction dealing with the horrors that took place during the independence time and the partition in the years from 1947 and onwards.. Violence affected the lives of ordinary people. The author uses three main characters in his narrative Gian who is an ardent follower of Gandhi, Debi Dayal a terrorist and Shafi who ridicules Gandhi’s philosophy of Ahimsa. Sundari is another character who is a ruthless woman who does not believe that anything is sacred. How each character faces the trauma of post independence is the highlight of the novel. Though his writings have contributed to Indian writing in English still people have continued to misjudge Malgonkar. He was one of the few writers who witnessed history as it was happening. He had living memories of events that changed our nation’s history. His triumph as a writer lies in the fact that he was a master storyteller. His command over English was phenomenal that R. K. Narayan referred to Malgonkar as his favourite Indian writerhappening. He had living memories of events that changed our nation’s history. His triumph as a writer lies in the fact that he was a master storyteller. His command over English was phenomenal that R. K. Narayan referred to Malgonkar as his favourite Indian writerKeywords: Gripping tale, fact and fiction, terrorist and Shafi, philosophy of Ahimsa, Indian writing in English, master storyteller etc.