Bilingual Premchand and His Legacy

Abstract

Abstract This chapter undertakes an end-century assessment of Premchand, who not only pioneered Urdu-Hindi fiction but also shaped and nurtured the readership in these language communities at their formative stages. He used literature as a potent instrument for moral edification, social awakening, and ethical reform. Almost all issues of contemporary Indian life can be seen reflected in his fictional and non fictional writings. Many of the social issues he grappled with have remained as relevant today, at the distance of a century, as they were during his lifetime. One of the difficulties that plagued Premchand criticism is that very few scholars could access the entire Premchand corpus that exists in Hindi and Urdu. They largely limited themselves to only one of the archives, basing their assumptions on that limited archive, without even a gesture toward the “vast unread.” This chapter discusses both the archives for complementary insights, looks at his reception in India and abroad to assess his global impact, and explores how Premchand shows a continuing relevance for both Hindi and Urdu literatures even though many of his contemporary writers have become dated.