Moorthy

Moorthy is the protagonist of Raja Rao's novel Kanthapura, which records the influence of Mahatma Gandhi's ideals on Kanthapura, a remote fictional village in South India, during the years of the Indian independence movement. It has been suggested that Moorthy is a stand-in for Rao himself.

Moorthy is a respected, college-educated young man, one of thousands inspired by Gandhi to fight for the cause of their motherland. Supposedly, he attends a public meeting in college and leaps up on stage to meet Gandhi, who then encourages him to go back to his village and help the common people. However, this event is presented secondhand by the novel's narrator, and so it is ambiguous whether this meeting actually took place or was merely a vision in Moorthy's mind. Moorthy then returns to Kanthapura and explains to the villagers the significance of Gandhi's struggle for independence.

Throughout the novel Moorthy acts as Gandhi's spokesman for the village, fasting and preaching against the caste system. Ultimately, he acquires the villagers' love, respect, and confidence, and the villagers in turn continue their protests after he is arrested. In the process, Moorthy transforms from a common village lad into an able and committed leader, becoming as much of an icon to the villagers as Gandhi himself. At the novel's conclusion, Moorthy shifts his support from Gandhi to Jawaharlal Nehru.