Page 291 - Communication Processes Volume 3 Communication Culture and Confrontation

266 Shashi Bhushan Upadhyay

Surdas replies with the same childlike simplicity: Then we will also
build it ten million times.

This stance should also be viewed in the backdrop of the withdrawal
of the Non-Cooperation Movement, which was construed as a defeat by
many. To boost the flagging enthusiasm of the nationalists, Premchand,
through the medium of Surdas, seems to exhort them to take life as a
continuous struggle and to exhibit a spirit befitting it. To accept the
defeat as permanent would be fatal. Even if one acknowledges the
reality of defeat, one should not despair, but should prepare for the next
battle. Surdas, in his dying statement, expresses this sentiment:

You won and I lost.... You’re an experienced player, you don’t lose
breath, you play as a team and you’re enthusiastic. We get tired, start
panting and are divided. You’re a skilled player, while we’re novices.
But this is the only difference. Why clap? This is not becoming of a
real sportsman.... What if we lost! We didn’t run away from the field,
didn’t cry, didn’t cheat. We’ll play again, just let’s regain our breath.
We’ll learn from you, and shall definitely win one day. (Premchand
1925: 476)

In the novel, in a symbolic representation, capitalist industrialization
is equated with colonialism, which seeks to uproot the people. The
village community becomes a microcosm for the nation and the
resistance offered by the villagers is symbolic of Indian people’s
struggle for freedom from colonial rule. Surdas is a literary incarnation
of Gandhi and his method of struggle is indicative of the Gandhian
emphasis on non-violent and moral struggle.
Premchand’s strident criticism of modern industry came a little
late in his life. Earlier, during the Swadeshi Movement (1905–08), he
was not averse to the development of modern industries, if it was in
Indian hands. In 1905 he wrote for the promotion of Indian industries,
exhorted his countrymen not to use British goods, chided some of
them for being fond of foreign things and suggested various ways of
establishing factories (Premchand 1962: Vol. 1, 17–22).
Ideas of civilizational conflict had taken roots in Premchand’s
thoughts quite early. In an article written in 1912, he talked about such
a conflict in terms of Western versus Oriental, particularly Christian
versus Hindu civilizations. This binary was basically derived from some