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Karbala: A Historial Play by Premchand
At a time when communal antagonism was at its peak (1920s), Premchand was perceptive enough to fathom the cause for religious intolerance being rooted in mutual ignorance of communities about each other’s faith. To alleviate this, he decided to write a play about Karbala, a 7th Century event in Islamic history, in which the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, Imam Hussain withstood the brute forces of the debauch ruler Yazid and sacrificed his life along with that of his companions and family members in the battlefield of Karbala, in modern day Iraq. In an unprecedented leap of faith, Premchand’s play draws the Dutt brothers, descendants of Ashwathhama, spending their exile years in Arabia, in the battlefield of Karbala. Inspired by the uprightness of the Imam and bound by their moral duty to justice, the seven brothers join forces with the Imam and sacrifice their lives for him, singing praises of their motherland Bharatwarsh.
An illuminating blend of historical facts and imagination, this outstanding play reflects Premchand’s profound and enlightening grasp of the communal conflict in early nineteenth century India and his unique way of imagining the nation along the Gandhian principles of communal harmony and co-existence of religions.
An illuminating blend of historical facts and imagination, this outstanding play reflects Premchand’s profound and enlightening grasp of the communal conflict in early nineteenth century India and his unique way of imagining the nation along the Gandhian principles of communal harmony and co-existence of religions.
237 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 12, 2022
About the author
Munshi Premchand
1,052 books1,205 followersMunshi Premchand (Hindi: मुंशी प्रेमचंद) was an Indian writer famous for his modern Hindustani literature. He is one of the most celebrated writers of the Indian subcontinent,and is regarded as one of the foremost Hindustani writers of the early twentieth century.
Born Dhanpat Rai, he began writing under the pen name "Nawab Rai", but subsequently switched to "Premchand", while he is also known as "Munshi Premchand", Munshi being an honorary prefix. A novel writer, story writer and dramatist, he has been referred to as the "Upanyas Samrat" ("Emperor among Novelists") by some Hindi writers. His works include more than a dozen novels, around 250 short stories, several essays and translations of a number of foreign literary works into Hindi.
Premchand is considered the first Hindi author whose writings prominently featured realism. His novels describe the problems of the poor and the urban middle-class. His works depict a rationalistic outlook, which views religious values as something that allows the powerful hypocrites to exploit the weak. He used literature for the purpose of arousing public awareness about national and social issues and often wrote about topics related to corruption, child widowhood, prostitution, feudal system, poverty, colonialism and on the India's freedom movement.
Several of his early works, such as A Little Trick and A Moral Victory, satirised the Indians who cooperated with the British colonial government.
In the 1920s, he was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi's non-cooperation movement and the accompanying struggle for social reform. During this period, his works dealt with the social issues such as poverty, zamindari exploitation (Premashram, 1922), dowry system (Nirmala, 1925), educational reform and political oppression (Karmabhumi, 1931).
In his last days, he focused on village life as a stage for complex drama, as seen in his most famous work Godan as well as the short-story collection Kafan (1936).Premchand believed that social realism was the way for Hindi literature, as opposed to the "feminine quality", tenderness and emotion of the contemporary Bengali literature.
Born Dhanpat Rai, he began writing under the pen name "Nawab Rai", but subsequently switched to "Premchand", while he is also known as "Munshi Premchand", Munshi being an honorary prefix. A novel writer, story writer and dramatist, he has been referred to as the "Upanyas Samrat" ("Emperor among Novelists") by some Hindi writers. His works include more than a dozen novels, around 250 short stories, several essays and translations of a number of foreign literary works into Hindi.
Premchand is considered the first Hindi author whose writings prominently featured realism. His novels describe the problems of the poor and the urban middle-class. His works depict a rationalistic outlook, which views religious values as something that allows the powerful hypocrites to exploit the weak. He used literature for the purpose of arousing public awareness about national and social issues and often wrote about topics related to corruption, child widowhood, prostitution, feudal system, poverty, colonialism and on the India's freedom movement.
Several of his early works, such as A Little Trick and A Moral Victory, satirised the Indians who cooperated with the British colonial government.
In the 1920s, he was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi's non-cooperation movement and the accompanying struggle for social reform. During this period, his works dealt with the social issues such as poverty, zamindari exploitation (Premashram, 1922), dowry system (Nirmala, 1925), educational reform and political oppression (Karmabhumi, 1931).
In his last days, he focused on village life as a stage for complex drama, as seen in his most famous work Godan as well as the short-story collection Kafan (1936).Premchand believed that social realism was the way for Hindi literature, as opposed to the "feminine quality", tenderness and emotion of the contemporary Bengali literature.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 17, 2024
Although the seeds of discord aming Muslims were sown much before the ascension of throne by Yazid son of Muawiya. However, his assumption of caliphate in Damascus and asking Hussain ibn Ali, grand of Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) and few other notables of Madina for allegiance to throne and their reluctance caused uncertainity innthe ciry of Madina. The situation forced Hussain to leave Madina, firsy to Mecca and then towards Kufa for avoiding bloodshed in sacred cities of Mecca and Madina. This drama by Premchand, titled "Karbala", is narrating events from journey of Hussain from Madina to Karbala and happenings in Damascus and Kufa. Baring few factual errors this is fine depiction of the events unfolded in Damsacus, Kufa, Madina, Mecca and in Karbala.
July 24, 2022
कर्बला की दर्दनाक और ऐतिहासिक घटना पर बहुत अच्छा नाटक।
हर भारतीय को , विशेषकर सुन्नी मुस्लिमों और हिंदुओं को जरूर पढ़ना चाहिए।
हर भारतीय को , विशेषकर सुन्नी मुस्लिमों और हिंदुओं को जरूर पढ़ना चाहिए।
November 3, 2025
“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.” – G.K. Chesterton
July 20, 2025
Munshi Premchand wrote this masterpiece which helps us understand and feel the pain that Imam Hussain had to bear in order to protect the religion and teachings of his ancestors. This book isn't meant to be read by only those who follow Islam, but for the entire mankind.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews