Death of a Hero: a Novel

by Mulk Raj Anand, M.R. Anand

250 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Mulk Raj Anand was an Indian writer in English, notable for his depiction of the lives of the poorer castes in traditional Indian society. One of the pioneers of Indo-Anglian fiction, he, together with R.K. Narayan, Ahmed Ali and Raja Rao, was one of the first India-based writers in English to gain an international readership. Anand is admired for his novels and short stories, which have acquired the status of being classic works of modern Indian English literature, noted for their perceptive insight into the lives of the oppressed and their analyses of impoverishment, exploitation and misfortune. He is also notable for being among the first writers to incorporate Punjabi and Hindustani idioms into English.

Reviews

[Gul Faraz Khan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dr. Malik Raj Anand's novel "Death of a Hero" was written a long time ago. The situation in Kashmir was different at the time of its publication. The hero of the novel Maqbool symbolizes a long struggle against Pakistan's intervention in Kashmir. He believes primarily in freedom, justice, and human values. He doesn't accept the justification of terrorism, looting, and killings by naming it as the liberation of Kashmiri Muslims or the liberation of Kashmiris from Indian slavery.

While Maqbool is very steadfast in his political behavior, there is a fear and dread in his personality, sometimes he has a state of hesitation and conflict which is related to the affirmation and negation of his political behavior. This situation is exacerbated when he talks to people who have become pro-Pakistan. This young Muslim freedom fighter escapes from Baramulla and secretly enters Srinagar. Here he goes through many difficult stages of hiding and finally faces the oppressors. He is considered a traitor in the eyes of occupiers but he does not care.

The situation in the Kashmir Valley today reminds the Urdu reader of this novella. Especially its hero "Maqbool" who remains steadfast in his faith and clings to his roots even in his weakest moments. The whole perseverance, beauty, and meaning of Maqbool's character are summed up in the letter he writes to his sister. This letter has given a new meaning to man and his concept. Maqbool is actually a brilliant metaphor of man and his goodness and virtuous soul.

[Kanarese · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Death of a Hero by Mulk Raj Anand tells the story of Maqbool Sherwani, who stands against Pakistani invaders despite opposition from friends and close allies from his past. Choosing his own destiny, he faces these challenges with courage. It was a short and sweet read, and as my second book by Anand, I found it a good one-time read.

[Surabhi Sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

After Partition of India and formation of a new country called Pakistan, a new war begin when Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir decided to merge their independent state in to a part of India. How Pakistan through Kabayli captured a part of kasmir which in later days called POK (Pakistan occupied Kashmir) and the other part becomes IOK (India occupied Kashmir).

A boy named Maqbool run away from his home town "Baramulla" to Shrinagar when Kabayli attacked Kashmir and taken a part under its control. After a time he hated his coward-ship and came back to Baramulla and fought back for his mother land.

It is a story of a local boy, how at first he reacted when his town under threat and gathered his courage to came back and fought as a Hero.

Mulk Raj Anand are one of the first writers of the century who wrote in English.
The writer did justice with the story and wrote in a very clear and precise manner, avoiding all the destrection's which could divert the writer's intention to narrate a period which played an important part in the history of two countries.