The Todar Mals: Character Analysis in The Novel Coolie

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      The Todar Mals represent the upper middle-class Indian life in the novel. They reflect the typical qualities of this class of Indian society during the early twentieth century. The family consists of Rai Bahadur, his wife and his son. His son later becomes a Sub-Inspector of police who harasses Seth Prabha Dayal in order to force him to repay the loan taken from his parents. He also maltreats Ganpat in the same matter, since he was the co-partner of Prabha Dayal. Sir Todar Mal enjoyed prestigious position in the reign of British government. He says to himself that he is a servile supporter of the ruling Britishers. This is the reason why he was conferred the title of Rai Bahadur.

      Commenting on the character of the Todar Mals Saros Cowasjee writes: The Todar Mals are featured as equally repulsive, both in their appearance and their deeds. He is a quarrelsome person and picks up the quarrel with Prabha Dayal at the instigation of his wife and complains to the municipal authorities to take action against him for smoke from his factory enters his home. Todar Mal has been knighted for contributing twenty thousand rupees to the Viceroy’s War Fund. He was once a successful ‘Public Prosecutor’, he is now well-known as a ‘Public Persecutor’.

      Though Mr. Todar Mal is a very rich person, he is often amassing more wealth and loans money to the needy at a high interest. His wife is sharp-tongued, vulgar and fearless like Bibiji Uttam Kaur.

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