PREMCHAND ON CULTURE & EDUCATION

Description

Premchand on Culture and Educationis a select collection of Premchand’s journalistic articles, essays, and editorials, in English translation, written in journals likeMadhuri, HansandJagranfrom 1928 to 1936. Indian society then witnessed an extemely perilous phase with British imperialism, capitalism, and aggressive nationalism distracting indians from the path of honesty, equality, and brotherhood. The present collection of Premchand’s non-fiction prose is an amalagamation of his impressions of, and responses to, the upheavals taking place in the politically and socially charged decade of the 1930s of the 20th century. Like a torchbearer, Premchand educated and guided public opinion on a wide range of issues such as education, culture, communalism, language, arts, and the Gurukul system of education, famous universities, broadcasting, and cinema. Nearly all the articles/essays/editorials were written to combat the topical crisis, but the nature of the articles and the solutions provided have a bearing even today. Just as non-fiction is called the genre of the future, this collection of Premchand’s non-fiction prose will, I hope, be conducive for posterity and will facilitate fresh avenues of research on Premchand.

Shuby Abiditeaches in the Department of English, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. She has also taught in the Department of English, Aligarh Muslim University for seven years. Her doctoral dissertation is on the Novelists of the Indian Diaspora. Her areas of specialization include Diaspora Studies, Indian Writing in English, and Muslim Women’s Writing. She has a keen interest in Translation Studies and has translated Shahid Nadeem’s playDekh Tamasha Chalta Banfor the bookIslam in Performance: Contemporary Plays from South Asiaedited by Prof. Ashis Sengupta and published by Bloomsbury. She has also translated several short stories by Premchang in English.