Ramapada Choudhury’s Novel ‘Kharij’ : Crisis of Human Values in a Criminal-prone Society/ রমাপদ চৌধুরীর ‘খারিজ’ উপন্যাস : অপরাধপ্রবণ সমাজে মনুষ্যত্বের মূল্যবোধের সংকট

Abstract

Ramapada chowdhury speaks of middle-class life in his work. In the early stages of his literary career, rural life, cultural conflict, industrialization, and superstitious society were predominant in his works. After the novel ‘kharij’ his literary subject matter changed. Middle-class life in the socio-economic context of civic background and Dalit thought became the subject of his story. The beginning of his second phase of literature is form the novel ‘kharij’.

           The novel ‘kharij’ is written in the words of first person. The novel is a self-criticism, of the narrator Jaideep. A good man excels at self-criticism, in this style the reader can identify the character. Jaideep a member of the middle class, lives in a rented house with his wife and children. One winter night, domestic servant palan died of suffocation in a room without a ventilator. The story revolves around palan autopsy. 

           The author shows the reality of the corrupt society surrounding the autopsy. Even in the 20^th century, the Lower class people enrolled their minor son in servant register in exchange for a full meal and some money. Child labour is a legal offence, yet our society uses cheap boys for various job. The landlord distrust and neglect These boy servant. The householder was not sadddened by the death palan. Wear a mask of sadness for fear of losing social respect or to present oneself as an ideal character in the eyes of society. Behind the mask, everyone pretends to be humane. Actually in our society now everyone is selfish and opportunistic.

            IN the novel ‘kharij’, Ramapada choudhury talks about the low mentality of a person living in a decadent society. The lower class people are still victims of exploitation and deprivation by the elite of the society. The fugitives do not get justice in the law sold to money. So palan father left the hope of justice and returned to the village. They distort the truth by means of money and titles. That’s why Jaideep walks with his head high despite commiting a crime like negligence. Novelist in the ‘kharij’ novel, he has shattered the false mask of our society and made us face the extreme truth. Food crisis, class conflict, self-interested opportunists, deprivation of lower class people are brought up in this novel. Also highlighted the crisis of the middleclass people.