Question

How did the colonial administrators find vernacular novels as a valuable source of information to native life and customs ? Explain with examples

Answer 1

1. Novels in vernacular language - normal spoken language by the public reflect the lifestyle of the people living in a society
2. They showed the way of dressing of people, their religious worship, their tradition, culture, beliefs, rituals, etc
3. Some novels were translated into English language by British administrators
4. Writers like Virasalingam used novels in vernacular language as medium to propagate the ideas of society
5. Christian missionaries translated these novels as they thought that they are valuable source of information of people, their life and their customs.
6. Most of them belonged to British administration and they used this information in governing India which has many communities and caste systems