In Six Points: Who Was Munshi Premchand?

Premchand, who is one of the most celebrated writers of the Indian subcontinent, is regarded as one of the foremost Hindi writers of the early 20th century.

Image: Twitter/ @jaya2004khare

New Delhi: India is today celebrating the 138th birth anniversary of the famous Hindi writer Munshi Premchand. He began writing under the pen name "Nawab Rai" but switched to Premchand. He has been an inspiration to filmmakers from Hrishikesh Mukherjee to Satyajit Ray In a tweet, President described Premchand as a fine writer and novelist. Mr Kovind said, his poignant stories centred on farmers, the poor and the extraordinary emotions of ordinary people.

Remembering Munshi Premchand on his birth anniversary. A fine writer and novelist, his poignant stories centred on farmers, the poor and the extraordinary emotions of ordinary people #PresidentKovind

— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) July 31, 2018

Many other politicians also took on Twitter to remember the eminent literature personality.

Who was Munshi Premchand?

1. Initially known as Dhanpat Rai Shrivastava, Premchand was born on 31 July 1880 in Lamhi, a village located near Varanasi, UP.
2. Dhanpat Rai began his education at a madrasa in Lalpur, located near Lamahi where he learnt Urdu and Persian from a maulvi in the madrasa.
3. At the tender age of 8, his mother died and his father remarried. It is said that Premchand received little affection from his stepmother. The subject of stepmother later became a recurring theme in Premchand's works.
4. He was married at the age of 15. After matriculation, he had to discontinue his education due to lack of money.
5. Premchand used his pen name for his dramas, novel, stories and used realism in his works.
6. He spent his last days in Allahabad as the first president of the Progressive Writers’ Association in Lucknow. He died on 8 October 1936, after several days of sickness and while still in office.

Premchand wrote over three hundred short stories and fourteen novels, many essays and letters, plays and translations. one of his famous short stories are ‘Eidgah’, ‘Kafan’, ‘Namak Ka Daroga’, ‘Gilli-danda’, and ‘Zewar Ka Dibba’.