Introduction

Abstract This chapter focuses on Dhanpat Rai Srivastava better known by his pen name, Premchand, who had the extraordinary privilege of being located in the interstitial space between the two dominant strands of North Indian culture, Hindi and Urdu. It discusses how Premchand is credited with the unique distinction of launching both Hindi and Urdu literature into their modernist phase, and how his life and works reveal the complexities of nation-making processes. It also analyzes Premchand’s writings that embody literary aesthetics attuned to his environment, the sociopolitical upheavals of his times, and the moorings of common people reeling under colonial rule. The chapter points out how Premchand’s play Karbala unfolds the making of a modern intellectual, involved in the profound task of imagining the nation. It summarizes Premchand’s predicament in negotiating his way through Hindi–Urdu, Hindu–Muslim divisions, and his critics’ dilemma over his legacy.