Premchand, the great Hindi novelist, and story writer wrote for the common people in a simple and lucid Hindi. He was a trailblazer who ushered in the era of realism in literature. This article explores the unforgettable contribution of Munshi Premchand to India’s struggle for emancipation. He was a broad-hearted man with a broad vision. He was modest, simple, and unassuming by nature and had a deep and lasting love for the poor and downtrodden. He bitterly criticized the Indian bourgeoisie and its lust for power and money. He inspired not only many students and youth to fight against injustice but also many young writers to write for the common people. His works are still widely read and appreciated.

“If Govind takes the place of John and the educated section remains as self-centered as ever, I would say it would be better that such a ‘Swarajya’ (independence) never comes.” 

It is hard to find a better comment on the Indian freedom movement and the struggle of India for a more egalitarian society, than this quote from the story, Ahuti.

Nawab Rai, alias Munshi Premchand, the great Hindi story writer was a visionary and a man much ahead of his time, a man who understood India and its struggle for freedom. He was not a man to be easily carried away by spurious arguments and political sophistry; he was a writer who could easily plumb the depths of the human mind, motives, and complex situations. He was unrelenting in his criticism of hypocrisy and opportunism and was full of concern for the downtrodden. His admiration for people who had the courage to stand up and speak the truth was boundless. He had immense love for India’s suffering workers and farmers and he wrote heart-wrenching tales like Pus Ki Raat and Kafan to bring to light their misery. 

To remember Premchand is to remember his complete identification with the poor and underprivileged and with their struggle for freedom. He became their voice. The writer fought until the last day of his life for the emancipation of the downtrodden and his pen became his sword. There was nothing else that he dreamed of or ever aspired for. The simple and unassuming writer left his job at the call of the non-cooperation movement and devoted himself completely to writing and supporting the freedom movement despite personal hardships.

The best thing about Premchand was that he never minced his words; he never for a minute compromised his beliefs to appease anyone. He had the courage to stand up and question the highest authorities of his time and to disagree with the most influential people of his time. One of his books, Soz-e-Watan was banned for promoting anti-government ideas.

Premchand’s clear-cut views on religion, Hindu-Muslim unity, and secularism make him especially relevant today – the present era of divisive politics and religious extremism needs him more than ever. In his essay, “Communalism and Culture” he wrote “. . . there exists today neither Hindu culture nor Muslim, nor any other culture. There is only one culture that rules the world today – the economic culture. . . I don’t understand which culture it is that communalism is so bent upon preserving. In reality, the call of culture is sheer hypocrisy, pure pretense . . . it is a mantra to drag simple people towards communalism, nothing else. . . ”

Premchand was a trailblazer – he made Hindi a charming and simple farrago of Urdu and Sanskrit. Rather than succumbing to the elitist and puritanical demands of the literary pundits of his day, he constructed the language in which he wanted to communicate with the common people. He was a language-smith par excellence. Premchand’s writings also ushered in the era of realism in Hindi literature and he became the writer of the common people in the true sense of the term. A whole generation grew up reading Premchand. Anyone who read him could easily identify himself or herself with the characters of Eid-Gah and Bade Bhai Saab or Godan. Premchand was a visionary; he envisioned an India where education would be free, where the greedy Mahajans (businessmen) and their consumerist culture would be done away with, an India where no one would have to sleep on an empty stomach, and where life would be really beautiful and fulfilling. Premchand is a writer, our generation needs the most.