Page 170 - DENG503_INDIAN_WRITINGS_IN_LITERATURE

Indian Writings in Literature Gowher Ahmad Naik, Lovely Professional University

Notes Unit 21: Premchand: Godan: Detailed Study of the Text

CONTENTS
Objectives
Introduction
21.1 Text—Godan
21.2 Economic Injustice
21.3 Political Injustice
21.4 Village Injustice

21.5 Gender Injustice
21.6 Religious Injustice
21.7 The End of Nationalism and the Origins of the Awakened Self
21.8 Summary
21.9 Key-Words
21.10 Review Questions
21.11 Further Readings

Objectives

After reading this Unit students will be able to:
• Know about Premchand who is a renowned writer of Hindi Literature.
• Discuss Godan.

Introduction

Premchand was a renowned Indian writer of Hindi literature. He was born at Lamhi near Benaras
on July 31 in 1880. His real name was Dhanpat Rai and Premchand was his penname. Premchand
has received a great deal of critical attention since his death. Only a few of the books published
are, however, critical in a real sense. A large number were originally written as M.A. and Ph.D.
dissertations. They present a mass of evidence to substantiate the writer's thesis but usually shy
away from analysis and comment. Of the others, even the best confine themselves to a discussion
of his political and social ideas, basing it on the axiomatic truth that he was a "progressive"
thinker.
Premchand was keenly interested in the social and political questions of his time and it is not
possible to do justice to his work without viewing it in its social context. Premchand's heroes, in
their existential quest, are looking for some kind of order and coherence which can give meaning
to life. In spite of his involvement with contemporary affairs and trends of thought, the concept of
this meaning is derived from the age-old Indian tradition. And the quest for meaning makes
Premchand not merely an artist but also a moralist. Premchand avoided the use of highly
Sanskritized Hindi and rather wrote in a dialect understood by the common people. Some of his
famous works include short stories such as Shatranj Ke Khiladi, Panch Parmeshwar, Nashaa and
Atmraran. And his famous novels were Gaban, Godan and Pratigya.

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