Question

The first Indian writer to write a novel in English was:

• A. Rabindranath Tagore
• B. R. K. Narayan
• C. Mulk Raj Anand
• D. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee

Hint:

For questions about literary "firsts," create a timeline. For Indian English literature, note Rajmohan's Wife (1864) as the starting point for the novel, and then the 1930s as the era of the "Big Three" (Anand, Narayan, Rao) who solidified the genre.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question asks to identify the pioneer of the Indian English novel. This requires knowledge of the historical timeline of Indian writing in English.

Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
\[\begin{array}{rl} \bullet & \text{Bankim Chandra Chatterjee is widely credited with writing the first Indian novel in English, titled Rajmohan's Wife, which was serialized in 1864. [2, 3, 5, 6, 7] } \\ \bullet & \text{Rabindranath Tagore, a Nobel laureate, wrote extensively in Bengali and translated many of his own works into English, but he was not the first to write a novel originally in English. } \\ \bullet & \text{R. K. Narayan and Mulk Raj Anand, along with Raja Rao, are considered the "founding fathers" of the Indian English novel, but their major works appeared in the 1930s, much later than Chatterjee's novel. [11] } \\ \end{array}\] Therefore, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee is the correct answer.

Step 3: Final Answer:
The first Indian writer to write a novel in English was Bankim Chandra Chatterjee. Option (D) is correct.