The Home and the World

India’s caste system has made notions of national identity a nightmarishly complex tangle. In The Home and the World, the caste structure underlies all of the conflicts as the novel focuses on the question of what is good for a country. The answer appears simple: the good of its citizens. But when a country’s citizens do not share equality, those without wealth and power have no say in defining what is good or bad. They must accept the decisions of the ruling castes.

Nikhil truly wants what is good for the country. He is the one who refuses to be pressured into a premature embrace of Swadeshi, knowing that it is unrealistic and would do more economic harm than good. He is unwilling to take a symbolic stand for the temporary appearance of change. Sandip, on the other hand, preaches fiery patriotism without believing much of what he says. His concern is not for the good of the country, but in using rhetoric as a means to enrich himself and raise his position. Ultimately, in The Home and the World, the pursuit of what is good for the country leads to the acts of violence that conclude the novel.