(i) Imagining a heroic past was one way in which the novel helped in popularising the sense of beloging to a common nation. (ii) Another was to include various classes in the novel so that they could be seen to belong to a shared world. Premchand’s novels, for example, were filled with all kinds of powerful characters drawn from all levels of society. (iii) The novels promoted an understanding of different people, different values and different communities. Bhudeb Mukhopadhyay’s – Anguriyo Binimoy (1857) was the first historical novel written in Bengali. It glorifies Shivaji and his many battles against the clever and treacherous Aurangzeb, the Mughal ruler. It describes how Shivaji escaped from the clutches of Aurangzeb. It helped the reader in imagining a nation full of adventure, heroism, romance and sacrifice. Shivaji became a nationalist figure fighting for the freedom of the Hindus.