Remembering Munshi Premchand on his 136th birth anniversary

Munshi Premchand, the greatest crusader of Hindi Literature was born in a village named Lamhi near Varanasi on this day in 1880. He is known as India’s Shakespeare for his notable work in Hindi and Urdu literature. Its his 136th birth anniversary.

Born as Dhanpat Rai, Premchand wrote extensively and published 250 short stories and several essays. Before joining non-cooperation movement led by Mahatma Gandhi in 1920s, Premchand was a teacher.

He began writing under the pen name of Nawab Rai which he subsequently changed to Premchand. His writing mostly focused on creating awareness among public about national and social issues.

Some topics recurrent in his writing style include corruption, child widowhood, prostitution, feudal system, poverty, colonialism and India's struggle for Independence. Some of his notable works are ‘Eidgah’, ‘Kafan’, ‘Namak Ka Daroga’, ‘Gilli-danda’, and ‘Zewar Ka Dibba’.

Suno Kahani - Shatranj ke Khiladi