Jou nal o Resea ch and De elopmen
A Mul idisciplina y In e na ional Le el Re e ed and Double Blind Pee Re iewed, Open Access
ISSN : 2230-9578 | Websi e: h ps://j d b.o g Volume-17, Issue-9(V)| Sep embe 2025
44
De achmen , Rebel And Sea ch Fo Sel Iden i y A T ue Buddhis Jou ney In
A un Joshi’s The S ange Case Fo Billy Biswas D . Rau Suhas Ma u i
Tulja am Cha u chand College o A s, Science
And Comme ce, Ba ama i Maha ash a
Email: suha[email p o ec ed]m
Manusc ip ID:
JRD -2025-170911
ISSN: 2230-9578
Volume 17
Issue 9 (V)
Pp. 44-47
Sep . 2025
Submi ed:15 Aug. 2025
Re ised: 25 Aug. 2025
Accep ed: 10 Sep . 2025
Published: 30 Sep . 2025
Abs ac The S ange Case o Billy Biswas by A un Joshi is a s o y abou he he o’s con lic s o
mechanical codes o conduc s in u ban ci iliza ion and a sea ch o peace ul li e and sel -iden i y. I is an
aes he ic p esen a ion o he s e ili y o con empo a y mechanical u ban wo ld as opposi e o he peace ul
Bhil ibal wo ld. Bo n and b ough up in an uppe middle-class, he p o agonis has a disgus and
unwilling a i ude o li e in an a i icially oned cul u e. He has s ong desi e and a ac ion o he wo ld
o ibal beau y and hei cul u e. I is his shi om he mechanical eali ies o he na u al and meaning ul
eali y. The p o agonis depic s a ue Buddhis jou ney om he in-dep h ealiza ion o he sou ces o
su e ing o he meaning ul sea ch o he sel -iden i y in he company o ue na u e. I is his jou ney om
he endless su e ings o he in ended sel -sea ch. I is he jou ney om p o agonis ’s ealiza ion,
de achmen , ebel o he sel -sea ch, a d i om es less o anquilli y. Mode ni y and adi ion a e
s a kly isible as wo di e en wo lds in his no el.
Keywo ds: Buddhism, Rebel, De achmen , Su e ing, Absu di y, Exis en ialism, Con lic s, Powe , Peace,
Ambi ion, Renuncia ion.
In oduc ion:
The S ange Case o Billy Biswas is a compelling no el ha ocuses on di e en
concep s in Buddhism such as ealiza ion o ue meaning o li e, sou ces o su e ings,
de achmen , ebel and sea ch o he ue sel -iden i y. Billy is in sea ch o he ques o answe s
abou his exis ence and ue meaning o li e wi h peace. The no el and he p o agonis , Billy can
be seen h ough he pe spec i e o li e o Siddha ha, who abandons he ma e ial app oach and
lea es e e y hing and e e yone nea and dea o him om he u ban ci iliza ion in sea ch o he
‘sel ’. A un Joshi makes he in ellec ual explo a ion in o he exis en ial ques ions h ough he
p o agonis Billy. Billy, as he son o a judge om he uppe middle-class amily, especially
Hindu amily, is ed up wi h he mode n wo ld a ound him including he social no ms and
condi ions. He de es s he so called ‘ci iliza ion’ whe e he eels as a p isone o a i icial codes
and conduc s. His de ini ion o happiness is di e en om ha o he ‘condi ioned ci ilized
socie y’. He is a ee spi i and in sea ch o he sel -iden i y. He is in e es ed in a quie place like
he p imi i e wo lds om his childhood. The p esen no el explo es his jou ney om
‘de achmen o he sea ch o he sel ’. I was w i en a he ime when India was looking o wa d
o become ‘mode n’ a e eme ging cen u y’s c ises.
P o agonis ’s Realiza ion o he Human Exis ence and De achmen om he Mode n
Ci iliza ion:
In India, be o e 2500 yea s ago, he e was a p ince named Siddha ha. He was p o ided
wi h e e y hing ma e ial including ma e ial and sensual pleasu es. He was also he pa o
poli ical powe along wi h his a he Shuddhodhana. S ill, he ga e up e e y hing when he
ealized he meaninglessness o he li e ou side un il he sea ch o he sel .
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Add ess o co espondence:
D . Rau Suhas Ma u i, Tulja am Cha u chand College o A s, Science And Comme ce, Ba ama i
Maha ash a
How o ci e his a icle:
Rau Suhas Ma u i (2025). De achmen , Rebel And Sea ch Fo Sel Iden i y A T ue Buddhis
Jou ney In A un Joshi’s The S ange Case Fo Billy Biswas. Jou nal o Resea ch &
De elopmen , 17(9), 44-47
O iginal A icle
Jou nal o Resea ch and De elopmen
A Mul idisciplina y In e na ional Le el Re e ed and Double Blind Pee Re iewed, Open Access
ISSN : 2230-9578 | Websi e: h ps://j d b.o g Volume-17, Issue-9(V)| Sep embe 2025
45
Siddha ha, when achie ed ‘Enligh enmen ’ said o he wo ld ha ‘samsa a’ is no he ul ima e goal o e e y
human being. Ins ead, e e y human is bo ne alone and he o she has o ind ou he meaning o being on his ea h i.e
he sel . In his sea ch o he ‘sel ’ he abandoned all he ma e ialis ic pleasu es a ound him. The selec ed no el o
pape The S ange Case o Billy Biswas s ands me apho ically equal o he li e o Siddha ha’s li e. Billy (Bimal)
Biswas, he son o a Sup eme Cou Judge is send o school in England and u he o Ame ica o s udy enginee ing.
While li ing in New Yo k, Billy obse es he mechanical and a i icial cul u e wi h eadymade no ms and e hics. He
has e e y hing a ound him. He hinks abou many ques ions abou he sel and he socie y. Bu s ill om wi hin he eels
emp y in a ‘whi e ci iliza ion’. Tha is why he decides o s ay away om he ci ilized no ms and in he ou ski s o
Ame ican socie y. He seems unma ched o he p e ailing educa ional sys em. His inne odes owa ds he ques ion like
‘who i am?
Billy is much in e es ed in he pas han he p esen . While s udying An h opology, he belie es ha he pas
was much good han he p esen . This is he eason he lea es his enginee ing incomple e and p e e s Doc o al deg ee in
An h opology, he s udy o ancien ci iliza ion. He is cons an ly in con lic wi h he mode n echnoc a ic wo ld iew.
Acco ding o him, mode n socie y p opaga ed a single and di e se wo ld iews, whe eas he p imi i e ibal li e had
plu al and di e se wo ld iews. Billy ha es he ci iliza ion and de aches o he ush o eaching hei goals and
ambi ions. To quo e, Wha kep us happy we e he same hings ha ha e kep all he p imi i es happy h ough he ages;
he ea h, he o es , he ainbow, he liquo om he ‘mahua’ an occasional eas , a lo o dancing and lo e making, and
mo e han any hing else no ambi ion, none a all (p.107)
I is ce ain ha Billy uses he wo d ‘ambi ion’ o di e en ia e be ween he mode n socie y and ibal socie y.
I is ambi ion and he u ge o pe o m ha d i es he ci ilized socie y. On he con a y, he ibal socie y is ee om
e e y ambi ion. I li es in andem wi h Na u e. Billy says, e e y child bo n in o a sys em wi h expec a ions o which
o en he child is no e en awa e o i . To quo e, Wha made me unhappy, I suppose, was he awa eness ha all ha i
wan ed mos was jus he e, ac oss he li le pa ch o jungle, sc eaming o be aken, and I could do no hing bu si he e
in ha s upid chai all ied up in a kno by a s i ling sys em o expec a ions which i did no ye unde s and bu in which,
I knew, I had he mis o unes o be bo n (p.92)
Billy is ‘s ange’ because he hinks ha p e ailing no ms o ci ilized socie y do no i him. Ha ing e e y hing
enough such as money, iends, weal h and ma e ials he s ill eels aliena ed. I is in New Yo k ha Romi i s mee s
Billy. Romi is su p ised ha Billy is li ing in Ha lem, a slum a ea whe e Black people li e. Billy says ha ‘Whi e
Ame ica’ is oo ci ilized o him. Billy’s aliena ion is no a esul o sudden leap in his pe sonali y. Bu his
‘s angeness’ is depic ed in his ques om his e y childhood. Being a child in pas he seems o ex end his ma u i y
h ough he ques o his isi s o he age old places like Bhubaneshwa and Kona k. Simila ly, his isi o he ibal
people has always been he subjec o his ques . Being ex emely sensi i e, he sees and likes he ibal li e including he
ibe, hei dance, singing, and making lo e na u ally. The ibal li e appeals him much as he eels close o he na u al
li e. Somewhe e he compa es he u ban no ms and he mechanical li ing o he u ban people. This is he eason o his
es lessness. I leads him o de ach om sophis ica ed wo ld. The uppe class socie y seems o him di e en om ha
kennel ull o dogs. He is ed up wi h his wi e’s a i icial li ing, he g eed, a a ice and iches. He abandons his wi e
Meena and his child and decides o li e wi h he Bhil ibe. O cou se he pe son who is no s able in a ‘condi ioned
amewo k’ o socie y always ies o b eak ha amewo k, ei he indi idually o wi h he majo i y o his unending
ques ions o he eali y. Tha is he eason ha he decides o change his s eam o educa ion and sea ch o li e among
he ibals.
While doing his an h opological expedi ions he inds himsel deep down in Sa pu a Hills o unde s and he
meaning o li e and human ela ionships. Being ma ied o a well educa ed Meena Billy does no ind in he a good
pa ne . He makes a compa ison o his ma ied li e wi h he ibal peoples na u al eedom and genuine independency.
Meena is a p oduc o he money machine cul u e. She is much in e es ed in glamou i.e. he ou e wo ld. He says,
“Communica ion be ween us was educed o Ze o” (p.186) Billy ha es he mechanical app oach. Ins ead, he eels
na u al wi h Bilasia, a ibal woman as she enhances his soul. In sho , no only ma e ially bu e en sensually Billy is
us a ed in his ma iage li e. Consequen ly, he becomes socially isola ed o ind ou he answe s o li e and he
meaning o his exis ence. Hence Ha i P asad ema ks,
C isis o sel and a ques o ul ilmen , he in mo o The Fo eigne , con inues o be he cen al expe ience o
A un Joshi’s nex no el The S ange Case o Billy Biswas. The deepe signi icance o he wo k can p ope ly be
disce ned i i is explica ed bo h as an indic men o he phony, ho -sho , so did mode n cul u e and as an embodimen
o Pu ush-P ak i i uni ica ion, pa icula ly in he con ex o Sankhya philosophy. (A un Joshi, 87) In sho , he i s pa
o he no el gi es a con ex o unde s and he dis ac ed and ac u ed psychology ha o u ed Billy and his non
judgemen al iden i y. He el himsel o be a ebel in he so-called ci ilised socie y. He becomes in ol ed in explo ing
inwa dness o li e. I is Romi who igh ly concludes in he opening “I li e’s meaning lies no in he glossy su aces o
ou p e ensions.... hen i don’ know o any man who sough i mo e doggedly and...Abandoned himsel so ecklessly o
i s call” (p.08)
Jou nal o Resea ch and De elopmen
A Mul idisciplina y In e na ional Le el Re e ed and Double Blind Pee Re iewed, Open Access
ISSN : 2230-9578 | Websi e: h ps://j d b.o g Volume-17, Issue-9(V)| Sep embe 2025
46
Billy Biswas as a Rebel:
A ebel is a spi i ual phenomenon. I is an indi idual app oach. I is an indi idual app oach. Acco ding o he
ebellious pe son i we wan o change he socie y, we ha e o change he indi idual. Socie y in i sel does no exis ; i
is only a wo d like c owd. Whene e you encoun e someone you encoun e he indi idual. Socie y is only a collec i e
name, no a eali y-wi h no any subs ance. The indi idual has a soul and a possibili y o e olu ion, o change, o
ans o ma ion. The ebel b ings a change o consciousness. Rebellion is a discon inui y. I is no e o m, i is no
e olu ion; i is simply disconnec ing you sel om all ha is old. The old eligions, he old ideologies; e en he ebel
disconnec s himsel /he sel om he p e ailing u h. Simply, a bi h o a ebel is he dea h o he old.
F om he abo e poin o iew, A un Joshi p esen s he ex ao dina y skill o how Billy ge s aliena ed om he
ma e ial wo ld. He is no eady o accep he common s anda ds. Billy ejec s he Hindu cul u e. He accep s, on he
con a y, he ibal li e, hei my hs and legends, hei wo shiping gods and goddesses and he ibal belie in he supe
powe as he eels ul illed when he becomes he pa o ibal li e. Fo him, i is he ‘collec i e conscious’ which shapes
he li e o an indi idual. The Bhil ibe looks unci ilized bu in u h i has deeply oo ed codes o indi iduals which a e
no seen by Billy in he whi e cul u e. The whi e cul u e is upli ed by he ma e ial s anda ds bu has ailed in human
s anda ds. Tha is why Billy decides o accep he li e o ibal, an au hen ic na u al li e o joy and peace. Tha was his
childhood d eam. Billy ma ies Bilasia, a beau i ul ibal woman. I is his ebellion agains he ci ilized ma iage
sys em whe e he emo ional bonding did no ake place. He belie es in na u al a ini y and sees i in Bilasia. To quo e,
“Billy comes o li e among he ibes iden i ying himsel o ally wi h hem and hei way o li e and ma ies Bilasia
who symbolizes o him he elemen al in na u e and who unde s ands his need o ‘being le alone’. Thei union
exempli ies ha o anima and animas in he Jungian connec ion o ha o ‘P ak i i’ (Bilasia) and ‘Pu usha’” (Naik 60)
Billy Biswas o en ‘lis ens’ o his inne oice much o he su p ise o people a ound him. In he discussion abou a
go e nmen cle k mu de ing a boy, Billy and his a he discuss he happenings and case in de ails. Billy a gues ha
he e migh be a case o ‘ empo a y insani y’ bu his a he does no accep a concep o ‘ empo a y insani y’. Billy says
ha he e a e wo lds ha he ma e ial wo ld may no be awa e o . He has al eady s udied abou ibal li e and has seen
ee socie ies since his childhood. A he unconscious le el i is his u ge o accep ha way o li e. Indi ec ly, he says i
o his a he bu his a he could no unde s and his inne psyche. To quo e, All I am saying ha he e a e wo lds a he
pe iphe y o his one, abo e i and below i , and a ound i , o which we know no hing un il we a e in hem (p. 40)
Billy’s ebellion is seen when he decides o s udy an h opology han he enginee ing. He likes a pe son li ing in
ha mony wi h na u e and ollows his hea . When Romi asks him abou wea he Billy’s amily know abou Billy
s udying an h opology ins ead o enginee ing. To quo e, My pa en s do. My a he is mad wi h age. “An h opology!”
he sc eamed in amazemen when i old him. “An h opology! O all hings you had o go and do an h opology.” He
hinks he man is go e ned by only enginee ing and law and no hing else, a he a disg ace ul poin o iew o a
Jus ice, don’ hink? (p.25)
In Sea ch o Sel -Iden i y:
Billy’s ques o an h opology is his belie ha he peace ul li e exis s somewhe e in he pas . I is no possible
o ind i in he p esen p e ailing socie y. This is he eason ha his inbo n ques makes him aloo om he p e ailing
s anda ds in he h ee cul u es. Meenakshi Mukha jee has ema ked ha “Renuncia ion o aliena ion has always been
Indian ideal li e” Billy’s sel is no a social p oduc ion o his ‘I’. I is he uni e sal c ea ion o na u al appeal owa ds
joy, peace, aloneness, lo e, compassion and help. I is his ‘should be iden i y’ o e e yone. He belie es in he socie y
whe e na u alness in unde s anding, na u al belie and alue sys em exis ed; whe e e e y single pe son is accep ed as a
unique indi idual; whe e e e yone’s indi idual opinions a e aken o be conside ed. Billy’s li e in a whi e cul u e was
aliena ed because his belie sys em comes om he na u al spon anei y. Opposi e o his, his li e in ci ilized socie ies
was no less han hell. Ins ead, a ibal li e is he li e o newness, communal accep ance, espec and unde s anding.
Billy’s a i al in o ibal socie y is ma ked wi h es i i ies as hey ea him as he human-god and einca na ion o he
ibal king. He knows ha he is no god and he belie s o he ibes a e only assump ions. Bu he ealized he eal li e is
no in he g own up ma e ialised cul u e bu among hese ibal people. This is he eason he el connec ed o he T ibal
li e. Billy’s ques o ‘sel ’ is seen when he does no gi e his manly conce n and ca e o his wi e and his child. I
shows his disin e es edness in a ‘condi ioned’ men ali y. He does no ind a ul ilmen in ‘being happy’. His us a ion
leads him o he lib a y whe e he spends his much o he ime in eading he books on an h opology. Billy’s
‘s angeness’ signi ies his sea ch o his exis ence. Exis ence does no mean by he physical ali eness only. Ins ead, i is
s o ed in e e y momen whe e ue ichness and ullness o li e is possible. Tha is he ques o Billy ha he inds i in
he ibal li e. To quo e, “All I wan o do in li e is o isi he places hey desc ibe, mee he people who li e he e, ind
ou abou he abo iginals o he wo ld” The ibal li e is a ay o his d eamy hope. Na u e b ings Billy close o he
u mos li e and in ini e ision. He lo es and li es he p imi i e way; he dance, he olk song, he d um bea s, he
a ini y owa ds e e yone and ca e and eedom in sexual li e. I is his way o ‘sel ’. He could no ind hese all in he
upli ing wo ld. The mode n ci iliza ion is a dep i ed o all he human quali ies o head and hea . I is he cen e o
agonies o li e.
Jou nal o Resea ch and De elopmen
A Mul idisciplina y In e na ional Le el Re e ed and Double Blind Pee Re iewed, Open Access
ISSN : 2230-9578 | Websi e: h ps://j d b.o g Volume-17, Issue-9(V)| Sep embe 2025
47
Re e ences
1. Joshi, A un The S ange Case o Billy Biswas. New Delhi: Hindi Pocke Books, 1971
2. Naik, M.K. Aspec s o Indian W i ing in English, New Delhi: Macmillan India L e. 1999
3. Meenakshi, Mukhe jee, The Twice Bo n Fic ion, New Delhi: A nold Heinemann, 1971
4. P asad Ha i Mohan A un Joshi A nold Heinemann, 1985
5. Osho, The Rebel Jaico Publishing House, 1987
