Premchand was a writer of Hindi and Urdu fiction. His real name was Dhanpat Rai Srivastava. He wrote about poor farmers, workers, women and the caste system. He wrote more than a dozen novels and more than 250 short stories.

Life and work

Premchand learned Urdu at a madrasa near Varanasi. He worked as a school teacher, an inspector of schools and an editor of magazines. His first book of short stories, Soz-e-Watan, came out in 1907. The British government said that the book was against the state. Officials burned about 500 copies. Before this, he wrote with the name "Nawab Rai". After this, he used the pen name "Premchand".

In 1936 he became the first president of the Progressive Writers' Association in Lucknow. (PIB)

Books

You can read the Hindi texts on Wikisource. The books are in the public domain.

  • Soz-e-Watan (1907), short stories in Urdu
  • Nirmala (1925–1926), a novel about the dowry system
  • Gaban (1928), a novel about the greed of the middle class
  • Godaan (1936), a novel about a poor farmer. Many critics think that it is his best novel.
  • Kafan (1936), a short story

Known associates

  • Progressive Writers' Association, first president (1936)

Sources